Kébabs and Ice Cream

The döner kebab (or simply kébab in France) is a Turkish dish that has become popular in many countries around the world. Similar to a gyro, the kebab usually involves beef shavings, lettuce, onions, and some type of sauce all stuffed into a half pita.

I first tried a döner kebab when I visited Berlin, Germany in 2006. Since I had not seen this item at all in the United States, I figured it was something specific to Germany. A little more research revealed that döner kebabs are very popular in Europe, Asia, and Australia. The kebab craze is definitely noticeable in France. With well over 5 kebab shops just in the centre ville of Annecy alone, they are certainly not hard to find. And due to their cheapness, quickness, and deliciousness, they have become my favorite dish in Annecy.

When ordering a kebab, it's necessary to specify two things: with/without fries and the sauce. Sauces vary from ketchup, mayonnaise, sauce blanche (a white garlic sauce), harissa (a spicy red sauce), curry, and others. Also, if you order fries, they will come piled on top of the kebab, sometimes drenched in the specified sauce. I still haven't figured out the proper protocol with the fries. I've been dumping them onto a napkin and eating them separately, usually after I've finished the kebab. I've seen people eat them first, right from the kebab. I've also seen people eat the whole thing at one time...fries and all. I'll eventually get the hang of it.

Annecy is also loaded with ice cream shops, which are even more plentiful than kebab restaurants. Most of these places manufacture their own ice cream on location. I've been enamored by the chocolate/Nutella combination, but I have tried other flavors. You have to catch these shops at the right hour though, or you will be waiting in line for quite some time (even when it's cold outside).

For now, I'm not going hungry in Annecy. I feel like I've eaten my weight in kebabs and ice cream alone. Not to worry though, I've been walking and biking enough to work it all off!

Next food item to try: tartiflette.


ABOVE: A kébab with sauce blanche.

Geneva, Switzerland

I had the opportunity to visit Geneva, Switzerland this weekend. Since it was a pre-organized trip through IFALPES, we had bus transportation and a tour guide at our disposal.

Our first stop in Geneva was to the old part of the town. We visited the statues of Jean Calvin and other well known Protestant leaders. We then visited the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre (photos are on Facebook). Our trip continued by visiting the Jet d'Eau, which is one of the signature attractions in Geneva. The Jet d'Eau sprays 100 gallons of Lac Léman water over 400 feet in the air. Our trip finished by visiting the United Nations building in Geneva.

Switzerland is a little divided in terms of language. In the west, closest to its border with France, the people speak French (as they do in Geneva). In the middle and northern parts of the country, the people speak German. In the southernmost part of the country, they speak Italian. In the easternmost region, they speak a language called Romansh, which is a hybrid of different romance languages. And considering that Switzerland is less than half the size of South Carolina (the 11th smallest U.S. state by land area), that's pretty incredible.

There were certainly some noticeable differences between people in Geneva versus people in France. First, drivers seem to be a little more forgiving. A car might actually stop at a crosswalk to let you cross. Second, Switzerland does not use the Euro. This created a ton of confusion on how much you were actually paying for a given product (until I found out that the exchange rate between Swiss Francs and US Dollars is about 1 to 1). Finally, the people who speak French in Geneva definitely have an accent that is, at times, difficult to understand.

Overall, Geneva was well worth the 25 Euros I paid to take the trip. And for the record, I did not open any Swiss bank accounts.

New pictures are posted

Pictures from my trip to Geneva, Switzerland have been posted. You can access them from the menu on the right. Enjoy!

IFALPES

I'm going to put cultural differences and French driving laws on hold for a minute to talk about what I've been doing over the past two weeks. In addition to my host family stay, I've been taking classes at Institut Français des Alpes (IFALPES). Classes are taught all in French by French faculty. It's basically like a typical French class in the United States...but in France of course! We were placed into varying levels based on our performance on a written and oral test, which we took on day one. IFALPES is operated in conjunction with IPAC, which is a French university with about 1500 students.

My class is a fairly good mix of different cultures. Americans make up the majority of the class (two from Michigan, several from the Chicago area, a few from Colorado, one from Minnesota, another from Texas, and one from Florida/Peru), but there are other students from Scotland, Japan, China, and New Zealand. Compared to what I'm used to, these people definitely add a different dynamic to the class...which is a good thing. For Anglophones learning French, there are some words that look the same, are spelled the same, and even sound the same. For some of these non-anglophone students, their first language may have close matches with completely different words, if any at all.

I have classes from Monday through Friday, for four hours per day. Monday, Thursday, and Friday, I have class in the morning from 8:30am to 12:30pm. Tuesday and Wednesday I have class from 1:30pm to 5:30pm. We also receive one 20 minute break each class period (vive la France).

So far, it has been a great experience. It's hard to believe that only two weeks remain. Tomorrow, I'm heading to Geneva, Switzerland for a day trip to visit some museums and the United Nations building. Next weekend, I'm planning on heading to some of the chateaus in the Loire Valley. Stay tuned for more photos and updates.

By the way, thanks for reading. I really do appreciate it!

Driving and other transportation in France

It's the classic scene from a 16th birthday in the United States: the teenager tears off the outer wrapping paper from a little box to discover the keys to his brand-new, 2009 Cadillac Escalade. All excited, he rushes out to the family's six-car garage, only to discover that the Escalade is not the color that he wanted. Devastated, he throws the keys on the garage floor, rushes into his room, and locks the door for days on end. With minimal hesitation, his family offers to exchange the vehicle for a new one, even though it amounts to a net loss of thousands. The teenager reluctantly agrees, but still insists that the color mix-up ruined his "sweet 16" experience--an experience that he can never get back.

OK--so maybe this is a little extreme, but you still get the idea.

In France, the legal driving age is 18. At that time, one must take classes at a driving school, log a certain number of hours behind the wheel, pass a written test about signs, warning, and right-of-ways (as if that concept exists), and then finally pass a road test that is designed for first-time failure. All of this comes at a price, too. An average driving student spends nearly €2000 ($2800) taking classes and tests.

Driving in France is no easy task either...and the French agree. Aside from the endless array of signage, every rule seems to have it's own exception, which also seems to have a rule. Different signs exist to tell you what you have to do (very pleasant round blue signs) AND what you can't do (very flashy round red signs). Then there are those signs that tell you the end of an obligation, which is usually just the same sign as the obligation, but with a slash through it. Passing vehicles is another complicated issue. This can be marked in one of two ways. The first is by a round, red-edged sign with two cars in the middle, the left car being red (no passing). The other is by the use of different lane markers on the road. The first one is a broken white line 3 meters long at 10 meter intervals, which indicates that you can pass anything while going the legal speed limit. The next one is a broken white line that is 3 meters long, but at 1.33 meter intervals, which means that you can only pass slow-moving vehicles, such as tractors, bikes, and semi-trucks, but not slow-moving cars. Then, arrows are painted between the broken white lines, indicating that your freedom to pass is about to end, but not yet. Let's not forget the solid white line which means no passing anything. And as if varying intervals are not enough, thicker boundary markers indicate reserved lanes. Oh yeah, remember that no passing sign? That only means that you can't pass vehicles with more than two wheels, leaving room to pass motorcycles and mopeds. Got it?

Gas prices are another thing. Across all of Europe, they are pretty high compared to the United States or Canada. In France, gas prices that I've seen range from €1.25 to €1.35 per liter. This equates to about $1.75 to $1.89 per liter, which equals about $6.65 to $7.18 per gallon (3.8 liters in 1 gallon)! Could you imagine paying that much to fill up your car? A full tank for my little Cavalier would cost about $80! Yikes!

Due to the expensive nature of driving cars in France, many people opt to use bicycles, mopeds, or any form of public transportation that is available. France is very public-transit friendly, with most towns having a bus network, if not some type of rail system or metro. Thanks to the TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse), Paris is usually no longer than 5 hours from any other major city in France. In smaller towns and cities (such as Annecy), bus systems run throughout the town proper and surrounding areas. Train stations, which can be found in nearly every town/city in France, make intercity rail travel very easy. This all means that cheaper alternatives to expensive road travel are plentiful.

If I had to choose, I would probably aim for a mélange of both. I'm in favor of driving at 16, but dislike the lack of adequate public transportation in the majority of the United States. In Europe, I enjoy the public-transit opportunities, but dislike the general cost of driving individually. I think there is something to be learned from both systems. For now, however, the Americans will keep on driving while the Europeans keep on riding.

There will be a quiz over French road laws on Monday, so study up!

Bicycling in Annecy

I've pretty much accepted the fact that I risk my life every day when riding my bike to and from class. Many people here ride their bikes, but it is really an unfriendly bike town. The streets are narrow, people are always walking out and about, and those driving cars seem to invent their own right-of-way laws.

My bike ride starts off at my host families house which is on top of a very steep hill. Just down from this hill is the piste cyclable, or bike trail. The piste parallels the shores of Lake Annecy for about two miles, which is a very pretty ride. This bike trail isn't all fun and games, however. It's usually filled with other bikers who look like they're training for the Tour de France (which, by the way, is scheduled to stop in Annecy this year. Too bad I won't be here...). The bike trail is also filled with people walking (with or without dogs), running (with or without dogs), and rollerblading (with or without dogs). All of these people can certainly get in the way, especially since everyone is moving at different speeds. The other day, I pulled into the other lane to pass an elderly-looking couple only to see the future Lance Armstrong rushing toward me. It was a near-miss, but I definitely felt (and smelled) the breeze.

My bike ride continues into the main centre ville of Annecy. Once I cross over Rue de Marquisats (think of Mission in Mount Pleasant with only two lanes), I end up in the center of all the craziness. On Tuesdays and Fridays, the town center (photo on the right) is bustling with a farmer's market. I usually hop on foot for this, as it is nearly impossible to peddle anywhere without running over someone or something.

On days that the market is not active, the rues piétonnes (pedestrian streets) make for decent bike travel...in the morning, that is. In the evening, the streets fill up with people, making a quick, clear sail through the centre ville nearly impossible. On days that there are too many people, I dodge down a narrow one-way street. All is find and dandy until a car comes along, in which case it is usually necessary to stop peddling to allow the car to pass.

Nearly 3.5 miles later, my bike ride finishes by following Rue de la Gare before turning onto Chemin de la Praire. All is fine on these streets until the schools let out for the day. At that time, I can pretty much count on non-stop traffic at all of the crosswalks and a crazy amount of pedestrians on the sidewalks.

For now, I have yet to be hit...or to hit anyone, though I did almost hit a pigeon the other day. I really do enjoy my bike ride to and from class as it is very relaxing and scenic (or as the French say, zen). Let's hope that it stays that way.


View Bike Ride in a larger map
ABOVE: My bike route as plotted on Google Maps

The Euro- the Dollar's arch nemesis

When traveling abroad, money can easily be the source of a lot of confusion, panic, and headache. Exchange rates change every second, money exchanging businesses charge crazy "convenience" fees, and, depending on your bank, a percentage amount is added to credit-card purchases for which a currency conversion is needed. And there's always the possibility that your bank will stop your credit/check card despite the phone call that you gave them before you left.

France is one of 16 countries currently using the Euro. The exchange rate as of today is roughly 1 US Dollar equals 0.70 Euros (or 1 Euro equals 1.40 US Dollars), though that literally changes every second.

Using a different currency definitely takes some getting used to. Since I've lived my entire life thinking in Dollars, it's not so easy to make the adjustment overnight. Escalating the situation is the fact that the smallest Euro bill is a 5. Below that, there are 1 and 2 Euro coins. Additionally, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 cent coins also exist. All of this coinage is definitely noticeable after a while. Since us Americans are bill-oriented people (usually relegating change to our pockets, ultimately ending up in our washing machines, or in some type of coin jar), it takes no thought to open the wallet and hand over a bill every time we buy something. In Europe, this practice usually amounts to large quantities of change filling your pockets in return. And when you actually think of using that mountain of change to buy something, you can never seem to find the right combination of coins, usually resulting in angry people waiting in line...or MORE change.

Certain things are better with this system though. In France, the price you see advertised on a given product is the price you pay--no calculus experience necessary. There is none of this "$11.99 plus tax" business that you find in the United States. Tax is automatically included in the advertised price, which is usually rounded to the nearest 10 cents. This way, you don't have to stand in a store trying to mentally compute the prices of several products with wacky dollar amounts, then needing to add 6% of total price back to the original total.

For now, everything has worked out surprising well. My Wells Fargo check card has proven to be my best friend in all of my excursions abroad so far. They do, however, charge a $5 ATM withdrawal fee while abroad, but it is a far better option than some of the alternatives. Now, about that exchange rate...