AprilHollands

Musilac music festival was held last weekend in Aix-les-Bains, and the crowd had that lovely festival feeling. The usual weirdness of a festival, such as this rubber chicken on a stick that was waved around near the front of the stages for most of the day, was present, along with a few other notable things. The view from anywhere was glorious, ranging from the lake and boats to jagged mountains and rolling green slopes. For a change, a music festival had some geographical ambiance — a nice... Read Full Story

Before you study this photo, look at the logo for my blog. A beret-wearing cow with a curly moustache, holding wine and a baguette. It’s missing a bike and a stripy top, but it’s pretty stereotypical of the French. I did once see a man in a stripy top riding a bike with a baguette in his backpack, but only once. I’ve done a mean thing and embraced an unfair stereotype about the French. Now, let me rewind a little. When I first arrived in France and spoke only English, the most I could... Read Full Story

La Clusaz has just ended nine days of horse competitions, named “ Jump’In ” which saw a whole lot of massive trucks and temporary stables take over the under-utilised Salon des Dames car park at the entrance of town. I know absolutely nothing about horses or the competitions, but I was impressed at just how high and daintily these well-groomed, heavy animals can jump. Before each competition starts, the riders are allowed onto the course to check out the jumps. As you can see from one of the... Read Full Story

This is how the green fields of the Paquier area of Annecy could have looked in seven years’ time had they won the 2018 Winter Olympics bid. However, favourite contenders Pyeongchang in South Korea won, leaving the Paquier full of a crowd of people who sighed and muttered before walking away, ending the party that had been happening all day in the lead-up to the winning bid announcement. There was, however, one group who kept partying. They were the ones holding the placards protesting... Read Full Story

Who knew that Segways were for mountain-loving thrill seekers? According to this brochure advertising their arrival to La Clusaz, a Segway can help you “attack the mountain”. I think I might have to agree with that: the weight of the Segway is surely going to do some damage to it at the very least, and possibly to the riders as they attempt to go “off-piste” for higher thrills. They will inevitably pop over the handlebars when they accidentally hit a rock in one of those cow fields they... Read Full Story

With just weeks to go before the decision of who will host the 2018 Winter Olympics is announced, I spotted this graffiti in Annecy. In case you didn’t guess, “ NON ” in French means “NO” in English, and this sign is right by the lake on one of the entrances to the Bonlieu Centre which houses the tourist office. Foot traffic from tourists and locals alike is heavy, so whoever defaced the sign picked a very public place. Plenty of people want the bid to be a success, but lots of locals are... Read Full Story

Yesterday looked like a great day for a walk, so we packed some lunch, water and sunscreen and headed for le Lachat de Thônes, at 2,023 metres above sea level (more than 1,000 metres higher than St Jean de Sixt, where we walked from). My first clue to not leave the house should have been the struggle I knew I’d face in keeping up with two muscly, long-legged blokes. At different times, they patiently waited for me under the shade of trees while I caught up, puffing and hot with the clear blue... Read Full Story

At first, you might not notice anything missing from this photo, but if you were walking past it regularly, you’d notice the absence of the mannequins. I’ve written about them lots of times , but they’ve been missing for a few weeks now, and there’s a good reason. The man responsible for the mannequin scenes, George Davy, passed away a few weeks ago. He was allowed to add his mannequins on this plot of land instead of the roundabout (for purported health and safety reasons of crossing onto... Read Full Story

Last weekend, the town of Alex held a Vide Grenier — a giant garage sale where the locals bring all sorts of odd things to sell. I had to go: I love these events! Bizarre offerings included a variety of champagne bottle tops, a four-poster bed (assembled) and a monoski in excellent condition. The usual household goodies were on sale as well, and needing rustic-looking containers for the garden, I asked a woman how much for the two baskets in my arms that she was selling. She said €5 and I... Read Full Story

This stencil graffiti has started appearing around the Aravis. So far, I’ve seen it here, on the road between Thônes and St Jean de Sixt in the village of Les Villards sûr Thônes, as well as on the outskirts of St Jean heading up to La Clusaz, and down on the back road between Thônes and Annecy. It’s probably in some other places I haven’t noticed too. I have no idea what it’s meant to mean or who it’s supposed to be, but for a region that doesn’t have a huge graffiti problem, it’s at least... Read Full Story