Annecy

I went to Annecy today for a medical visit with the Office of Immigration. So much went wrong the first part of the day...After turning off my alarm at 9am, I slept for another unplanned 2 hours. Long story short, I missed the last train that would have made it to Annecy in time, which meant I had to take my car. Gas is really expensive and so are tolls, so it's quite a bit more to take a car alone than to take the train, especially since I am under 25 and I have a youth reduction card for the train system. Anyway, I ended up taking the non-toll road through some windy roads and ended up in Annecy with plenty of time to spare. I didn't know where to park and was about to pay for hourly parking when I asked a man about parking (it pays to ask questions!) and found a free lot not too far away. So, I managed to find my way to the Immigration Office, depsite the POS map they sent, which was mislabeled. But since apparently I'm too cool to read official documents from the Immigration Office, I failed to note that I had to get chest X-Rays before I showed up at the Immigration Office. Luckily, I was 30 minutes early, the x-ray place was only a ten minute walk, and they fit me right in. The whole thing ended up taking about 2 hours. I felt a little weird about the whole thing - I had to get undressed a couple times, which is always weird, but even more strange when you're not really sure what people are saying to you. I also felt a little bit like a dog getting a collar put on. I know all this procedure is neccesary for me to get a social security card so France can give me free medical care and whatnot :) but I did feel a little owned by the state. Oh well.

After receiving my special visa, I walked around Annecy, which boasts a nice lake with a beautiful view of the mountains, and lots of cute rowboats (Can you tell I miss the water?). There are tons of tea, coffee, chocolate, and pastry shops, all of which are overwhelmingly alluring. I stopped more than once just to stare at baked goods and other treats. I ended up buying a few caramel and salted butter-filled chocolates. They were heavenly. I also saw a beer specialty shop which I didn't stop in because I was still trying to figure out the medical stuff, but I plan to head back there some time. There are also lots of clothing shops, all of which are having their final days of "soldes" or sales. I was very tempted to buy an extremely French looking white silk shirt, but in better judgment decided against it.

It was funny how a few hours in the "city" wore me out - I use quotes b/c Annecy isn't really a city like Chicago is a city, but it's 100x different from where I live normally. I had a thought today that I must have been a farmer in another life. Being in the country really doesn't bother me, and I was happy to return to it at the end of the day. Tomorrow I have a day of relaxing (so different from my usual schedule) before a couple tutoring sessions in the evening, plus a couple more on Saturday morning.