A visit to Julie's home in France

This past weekend Cierra and I went to visit my cousin and her family in France. It was definitely my favorite weekend trip so far. It was so nice to be around a family atmosphere, and everyone was so accomodating and friendly.


Cierra and I left for the airport around 3 A.M from our pensione to catch the Terravision bus at 3:30. From there, we arrived at the Pisa airport and checked in. Luckily our flight was on time! We transfered in Munich and had a short layover and then we arrived in Geneva (which is about half an hour away from Julie's house) around 1:00. Julie and two of her boys were waiting for us outside of baggage claim and it was so nice to see them again!

That afternoon, we had some tea and caught up and talked about life. About an hour later, Cierra, Julie, and I went to a small town called Annecy, which was absoloutely adorable. We took some pictures and walked around the little town and walked into some local shops. Cierra treated us to some amazing chocolate caramels at a small chocolate store. For dinner, we had some authentic French Crepes. I had one with cheese on top and on the middle and ham. It was delicious!

The next day, we had a lovely Breakfast at the house and then Cierra, Julie, Benjamin and his friend Piere went skiing/snowboarding in the French Alps. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. It was sunny and clear skies. The snow conditions were great too! I also got to borrow Julie's friends' skiies and boots, which was very nice. After we were done skiing, we had a quick bite to eat at the lodge. I had a ham and cheese sandwich, french fries, and a coke. That afternoon we pretty much relaxed, and then for dinner we had another authentic French meal. For our apertivo, we had some chips and pecans and some lovely Champagne. For dinner, I forget what it is called, but basically you put these cheese slices into a little metal pan and stick it into a machine that melts the cheese and makes it crispy (depending on how long you leave it in there). It was amazing! Once the cheese is melted to your liking, you pour it on sliced potatoes with cold cuts on top.

On Saturday (Valentine's Day), Julie, Cierra and I went to the town of Chamonix, which houses the largest mountain peak in Europe. Once we got there, we looked around at a couple souviner shops. I got Chris a small gift and some postcards. Then we bought our tickets for the two gondolas, which would take us up to the top of the mountain peak. Once we got to the top, I was absoloutely in awe of how gorgeous the views were! It was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity. After we came back down on the gondola, we had some extra time to walk around the little town and take pictures. Cierra and I split a banana and chocolate crepe... yum!

That evening, the whole family took us snowshooing at nightime with a guide. I had never been snowshooing, and it was quite the experience! I really enjoyed it. Our guide even stopped to pour us some hot grape juice! It was delicious. We were out for about an hour and a half in the snow, and then we rested up at a restaurant and had fondue. It was my first time having cheese fondue, and I was immediately in love.

On Sunday, Cierra and I slept in and then had a late Breakfast with Julie. We hung out for awhile and packed up our stuff and then we had a road tour of Geneva on the way to the airport. Before we left for the flight, Julie treated us to some snacks at a local gas station. We got a baguette and cheese, chips, a candy bar, and Cierra got a pepsi. We were definitely set! Our flight left around 7:00 P.M, and everything was on time so that was good. Once we got to the Munich airport to transfer, I was lucky enough to get a staff member at Lufthansa to run and get my camera at lost and found (I had accidently left it on the plane coming from Pisa to Geneva). I was very lucky to get it back with such short time!

Well that concludes the trip! We had a fun filled weekend, and I will surely never forget it! :)