sunny day in annecy! :D

Get ready for LOTS of pictures… (they're super out of order because i'm a little too lazy to organize all 80 of the pics :S désolé!)

This last Saturday, after a long week of classes, some friends and I went to Annecy, which is sometimes compared to Venice, with an Erasmus group. Usually, it’d be around 50-60€ for a round trip train ticket, but this group had set up a trip for about 50 students to go on a charter bus for only 25€! (And it even included a guided tour :P)

It turned out to be a beautiful day, which was soooo nice because Annecy was absolutely gorgeous with the breath-taking view of the lake and the mountains! We walked along the canals and over bridges during our tour, visiting the island prison and the chateau above the city. After some lunch, we had a little adventure visiting the cathedral. Then, five of us took a paddleboat out on the water for a little while. It was a ton of fun, and incredibly beautiful. The water was crystal clear, the sun was out, the sky was clear – it was simply perfect!

All in all, it was the perfect day, and I would loveee to go back sometime and go swimming or something in the summertime! All the words I use and the pictures I have here don’t even compare to how amazing it is! And just as we were pulling back into Lyon, the sky was SO beautiful with the sun having just set and the buildings just lighting up. My friend and I were talking about how we will never get tired of the views here! It’s so true! You should all come visit! :P In the meantime, check out some pictures :) (I had a hard time choosing what photos to include, so sorry for the many, MANY pictures!)

I made fries! :P

the most delicious thing EVER - definitely bringing a jar back to the US with me :P

attempt at 'baked brie' with jam - but i only have a microwave =\ worked out pretty well though :P 

fourvière at night - my brother said i look european :P

lac d'annecy

the château in annecy 

View from the château - can see the lake on the far right! :D

the canal :)

basilique de la visitation

pear sorbet on top and grapefruit on bottom for 1€80! yummmyy

view of the lake while ON the lake :P

some guy doing the chinese yoyo/diablo thingy - 4 of them! (this picture is for eric wu :P)

soo cute! definitely wanted to try this out, but i think i'm a little too old for it :(

the army had some exhibition thing and the band played right before it

my camera died, so could only get a shot with my ipod.. loveee the sky!

pink martini is coming!!! too bad i finish class right when it starts ;( for those of you that don't know...they are simply amazingg jazz/classical/lounge music group from PORTLAND hehe :) <3 Check em out here! :D

statue of antoine de saint-exupery (born here in lyon!) and le petit prince (the super famous book that he wrote :D)
for those of you who haven't read it...you shoulddd! such a cute book :)

the château from below

our enthusiastic guide on the left - he almost hit someone with that baton haha

the island prison from the middle ages!

another view of the prison

part of the wall that used to be all around the city

l'occitaine en provence IN france! :P

huge crowd of people at the end of the street cheering because france won the rugby match against wales to qualify for the world cup

the château

tartiflette - typical savoyarde dish - was only mehh haha

trying to walk to the basilique was a bit of a fail.. just walked up millions of stairs and kept seeing this wall 

after taking the very long way around the wall.. we found it! :D

view from the basilique

there was a german mass going on while we were here

the crosswalk had cute little pictures of animals on it :P

'lane of happiness' - with a heart below it! so cute huh? :D

no ice cream sign, because it was next to a couple ice cream shops haha

look how clear that water is!

you can rent slides into the water! haha so awesome