Day 14- travel from Lyon to Annecy, a mid-sized lake city in the foothills of the Alps. International youth hostel number deux, good facilities, lots of ppl from Germany, the entire facility situated on a large hill. Played some table tennis and tossed the frisbee around. Nice and scenic, a triathlon was about to be held in the city. Dinner in a touristy lakeside castle area
Day 15- Hiked up Mont Vernier, David and Ian found a supermarket afterward to gorge themselves (this will become a trend). Ate at a European pasta chain, closing out the day. Nice view of the city and lake from the mount, hiked through some clouds. Went on the straight up trail rather than the switch backy one, a nice exerting day.
Day 16: Swam in the famed Annecy Lake. A bit chilly, but doable. By sheer coincidence ran into a French kid our age who had given us directions two days earlier. This time he had some ribbons that we could use for a 2.50 euro movie at the local theater. All the movies were in French, but it was fun wandering the cinema area.
Day 17: Somehow ended up in Le Puy En Velay, a little city in the Massif Central region of France, the wildest and least explored region of the country. Chance so had it that our hostel was on another large hill, above the valley, this time in an eerily silent convent shrouded by narrow cobblestone streets. Quite the contrast from the bustling Paris and Lyon, a good contrast. Ate at Le Croco, which served huge salads and equally excellent desserts, fit for a crocodile, do it would seem.
Day 18: Did a one day rundown of Le Puy, visited Notre Dame on the hill ( the third Notre Dame!), as well as St. Michal's, a church built atop a volcanic pillar. The Massif Central area at large has quite a few volcanos, making it an interesting region geologically.
Just noticed this--day 18 of the trip happened to be my (Ian's) eighteenth birthday. We celebrated by going to a restaurant approved by some sort of tire company. Lentils and Sausage, very filling, good stuff.
Day 19: Took 1 bus and 3 trains to Toulouse. Long travel day. Ended up in a sketchy area of Toulouse, but found a decent hotel, complete with AC. Woohoo.
Day 20: Escaped Toulouse, took one of EuRail's scenic train routes through the Pyranees to Latour De Carol, a border town between Spain and France, girdled on all sides by the Pyranees. It's a small place really, best known for it's train station. We had a three hour layover. In search of food, Ian wandered several kilometers, likely across the border...found pizza. Jacket weather. Took another train from Latour De Carol to Barcelona, and another to Zaragoza. Ended up on the streets of Zaragoza around 22:00. Chance so had it that we arrived the night that Spain defeated Italy to claim the Euro Cup. Parties everywhere as we walked about 2 miles to our hostel. A celebratory arrival, to say the least.
Day 21: Here we are, Zaragoza, day 21, a city known for its confluence of Roman, Islamic, and Christian culture. Our hostel is centrally located in the historic district, so we were able to see another giant basilica, and more unusually the Palace of Aljaferia, an important government facility in ancient and modern times, complete with a moat. Middle eastern meat market, delectables like horse meat. More appetizing, a super cheap super market. Dinner will be a 3 euro feast, and alas, the day is young.
Until next time,
Adios
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