Last week while G was at her last sewing class (making cute cactus pins),
Jody went for a run (no photo),
and L and Mike went skating at the indoor ice rink in Annecy. Wednesday afternoons, the kids don’t have school, so we thought there might be some more kids around. It wasn’t super busy, but there were a few kids. They skated for almost 2 hours!
We spent a fabulous Saturday morning and afternoon enjoying “la 43ème édition de la fête du retour des alpages” (the 43rd organized celebration of the return from the Alps). Essentially, when the cattle come back from the pastures, where they spend the summer, the return to the valleys is symbolized by this festival, which stems from the Middle Ages! The streets of Annecy were filled with traditional crafts and tradespeople, folk dancers and music, and local foods, including traditional Savoyard dishes, including the tasty tartiflette dish made with potatoes, reblochon cheese (local), bacon, and onions.
While walking through the streets of the old city, an older gentleman called G over and asked if she and her brother would be interested in folk dancing. (L, before knowing exactly what was being asked, took cover behind Mike.) As we learned more, we realized that he wasn’t talking about a quick spin in the street. He was teasing the kids, wondering if they’d be interested in joining their group and traveling around with them. He asked where we were from in the U.S. When we told him Minnesota, he went on to tell us how he lived in St. Paul for a time (on Summit Ave.) many years ago, while he was teaching at Hamline and then returned later (after living in Colorado) to teach at Macalester because he liked Minnesota so much! His wife sweetly helped the kids and I choose some hand carved needle/thimble/spool tools. (Below is a picture of he and his wife with the kids and then later walking in the parade.)
Later in the afternoon, we watched people from various villages dressed in period costumes as they played traditional music and paraded animals, including geese, cows, St. Bernards, donkeys, horses, goats, and sheep, through the streets of Annecy! The start of the parade was heralded by the beautiful sounds of the alphorn. (The kind used in commercials for Ricola cough drops. :). )
We had the pleasure of standing next to a woman whose family has lived in the Haute-Savoie region since the 1600’s! She and G had a marvelous time chatting while we waited for the parade to start and all through the whole parade. (She did mention that the region is known for being quite chatty, which resonated with me, having been described as chatty once or twice before!! 🙂 ) While I caught on to some of the conversation, the two of them had much more fun just chit chatting without worrying about translating for me. 🙂
As a side note, she let us know when a high-up official in the French parliament ended up standing right next to us that it was a big deal. 🙂 He was very pleasant and after hearing G and our new friend, Therese, speaking for a bit, turned to G and told her how well she spoke French. Listening to the kids speak and seeing how much they understand as they translate for us just never gets old. I’m not sure that I’ll ever be able to speak/understand French as well as they do, but I’m so happy that they both can confidently speak another language!
We ended the day by having dinner at Frenchy – know for their “burgers from New York made in France.” These were the first hamburgers we’ve had since leaving the U.S., and they were worth the wait! We were greeted by the manager, Raphaël, who went through the whole menu with us, which was written on a giant chalkboard. The burgers were covered with bacon, sauce, lettuce, onions, local cheese and served with homemade fries. They were just plain delicious! I actually had the chicken sandwich because it sounded too good to pass up — chicken marinated in coconut milk and baked in cornflakes, served with lettuce, sauce and homemade fries. It was magnifique!
I don’t think I’ve been to a circus since seeing the Shrine Circus when I was really little, Mike hasn’t been to one since going to one at the State Fair Coliseum, and G and L have never been to one. For the past couple of weeks, we’ve seen posters, brochures, and flags advertising Le Cirque Arlette Gruss everywhere we go.
Last Monday morning, we saw dozens of circus semis rolling through the streets by where we live to unload at Les Haras. (The large open area/park I mentioned in an earlier post that used to be used for raising horses.) They all had the words “Arlette Gruss” or a picture of the Arlette Gruss circus painted on the side of them. Every time we walked past the park, we’d see another tent set up, or animals — including napping camels and an ostrich walking by — and then finally the giant big top tent, which in shape reminded me of a white meringue with red stripes! They also had a metal structure in a circle high above the tent that spelled out Arlette Gruss in red lights, so you could see it during the day and night.
The whole thing definitely piqued our interest, and after talking on Wednesday to the woman (at the shop where G is taking her class) about whether or not it was something to see, we decided to purchase tickets for Friday night! We were not disappointed!!
Upon walking in, we were greeted by the smells of sweet popcorn and lovely soft lighting with drapes of red curtains everywhere and tables to stand by before entering the tent.
Once we entered the tent, we waited for an usher to show us to our seats! I don’t think there was a bad seat anywhere, with the exception of being right behind one of the large poles. The tent itself, while large enough, wasn’t gigantic and had just one ring, so it was a much more cozy, intimate setting than I had expected. We could easily see the faces of the performers and animals without squinting or using binoculars.
The ringmaster stood on the side of the tent but as he announced each act, he’d show up in a different location, including the stairs right next to our seats. There was a live orchestra up high and to the right of us providing all of the music, which was surprising to me but added so much!
The opening act had all of the members of the circus out in the ring in beautiful costumes with traditional circus music playing as they walked around, walked on stilts, 2 people swung through the air on a hoop, clowns joked, etc. It was a beautiful scene of whites and bright pinks, greens, blues, and yellows. The next 2 hours (minus one 20-minute intermission) flew by as we watched animals and acrobats, jugglers and clowns, russian bar performers and a tightrope walker, motorcycle jumpers and a laser light fight! It was indeed a magical spectacle that we all enjoyed! (See G and L’s thoughts below, in their own words. 🙂 )
G’s Thoughts and Favorites: It’s gonna be hard for me to tell you what acts I liked the most because I liked almost all of them! One of my favorite acts was the seals. You could tell that the trainer loved his job and that he was super nice to the animals. I also liked the little albino wallaby. He just hopped around the ring like no one was watching. Another act I really liked was the laser light fighting show. They were really cool because it looked like they actually had lightsabers. Sometimes they would make the lasers go on the audience. Every time I tried to touch them, they would disappear (which happened 3 times!).
Two more acts I really liked were the tightrope walker/lions and tigers and the Russian bar performer. Before the Russian bar act, the ring master told everyone that this was one of the most dangerous acts in the circus. The acrobat looked kind of freaked out when she was in the air. The tightrope walker walked over a group of lions and tigers multiple times. One of the times, he had his feet attached to rope with some kind of braces that allowed him to swing down off the rope but not fall off. He pretended to fall and most of the audience gasped. He also walked on stilts across the tightrope over the lions and tigers.
That performance led into the lion/tiger tamer doing a show with the “ferocious beasts.” One of the lions kept giving the tamer lion frown-y faces, which I thought was funny. And, last but not least, the motorcycles that came flying in through a tent entrance, over a ramp, flipping in the air before landing on a truck with a ramp on it were super cool!
L’s Thoughts and Favorites: First of all, it took Mommy and I an hour and a half to buy the tickets. Mommy doesn’t speak French very well and got confused about the sound of the words for price vs. hours — euros vs. heures. 🙂 This was my first circus ever! I loved all the clowns and stuff but did not like the parts with the animals because I felt bad for them. My favorite parts were all the little clown skits because they were funny; the juggler, who juggled five soccer balls; the tightrope walker, who walked above the lions on stilts with no net and also pretended to fall and held on by his shoes and then stood back up; and the laser show that had lights go across the whole audience. I got to put my finger on one of the lights, but every time G tried, the lights would disappear. :p It was a really fun night!
Sunday was our impromptu hike in the Semnoz forest, but we’d planned to do a real hike on Monday, as it’s been on the kids’ to-do list. 🙂 We were able to catch a bus a few blocks from our apartment for a short bus ride (20-minutes) to Talloires — a small village on the other end of Lake Annecy.
(On our way down the hill into Talloires, we saw lots of paragliders floating around above us and landing in a field close by.) 
(Bus stop view!)
(The St. Germain church in Talloires was built in 1780. There were 3 large, elaborate tombstones along the side of it and a cemetery in the back. 
(The beach is beautiful and deep enough for a diving board at one spot. The two splashes are from two people we watched challenge each other to go first into the cold, October water!) 
(Couldn’t resist the quaint beauty of this sign painted on the side of a hotel.) 
After stopping in at the tourism office for suggested hikes, we headed for a waterfall — Cascade d’Agnon — which was about a 45-minute hike. Perfect! We hiked basically straight uphill (thank you, Trumi!) through the forest on a path covered with small rocks and boulders to step on. Ever since our hike in Vermont a few years ago (which ended up being on really big boulders and rock that you had to pull yourself up onto), the kids always ask before any hike, “will there be rocks?”
(Taking a break on a big boulder as we head up the hill.)
Although the rocks and boulders on this hike weren’t as big, they enjoyed it and were satisfied, especially when we got to the waterfall itself. While it was a nice wide path for a majority of our hike, close to the waterfall, there was a warning sign of a hiking boot (meaning: need good hiking footwear beyond this point) and a baby with a dotted line going from the parent to the child (meaning: watch your children). This was the part that the kids really liked.
(Almost there…)
The path became much narrower and seemed to be cut right into the cliff; the cliff rock hovered right above our heads at some points. For a while, we continued without any guard rails, but a straight drop down, so we kept close to the cliff side. A few meters ahead, the guard rails began and ran along the path as it continued up and down all the way to the back of the 40 m high waterfall!
(Notice the cliff rock hanging above G and L’s heads! L reached in to feel the water of the smaller waterfall we passed to get to the big one.)
(Is it a trunk or a brontosaurus???) 
(The beauty of nature…) 
(Mike and the kids head for the waterfall…I stayed up high to take pictures…someone needed to…) 
(I’m the silhouette standing on the rock on the right. Mike snapped this picture of me while I was taking pictures of them.) 
(The waterfall up close!) 
(On their way back from the waterfall.)
(Heading back up and out from under the cliff overhang.) 
(Time for a snack…Fanta and Pringles a tasty treat!)
(Views from our way back down the hill — the mountains, the lake, and beautiful, wide paths through the forest.)
A great day! “La fin!” (The end!) 🙂
