Yes my French mother loves rap music.

It's true. She does. And here's the story of how I found out...

Last Saturday, my family invited me to go with them to Annecy (a cute, small French town on the French/Swiss border. I'd actually gone to Annecy a couple times while I lived in Switzerland, and I was quite happy to be given an opportunity to go back).

Didier's parents live in Annecy, so we stayed with them. They are adorable, and after about 2 hours the mother told me that I has magnificent eyes and that I was a wonderful person. She also made many delicious, stereotypically French meals. I love her.

We got in just in time for dinner Saturday night, so we ended up just relaxing at the house, watching the rugby game (I believe it was Ireland/Italy but I can't be sure...) It was really nice to just spend a nice, relaxing evening with my French family. When I'm in town there always seems to be a kind of pressure to go out at night, which I love doing, but still... sometimes it's nice to just take it easy.

On Sunday, after eating a number of croissants and pain au chocolats, we (the grandparents not included) went to explore the town. Even though I had been there before, it was a while ago and I ended up seeing much more of the town this time around. First we walked along the lake. Even though the weather was rather dismal and dreary, it was still really pretty.














Here's my family (on the left) walking along the lake. There were also tons of boats, paddle and otherwise (as seen on the right), on the lake. It was a lovely walk. Didier and I talked about various laws in the US, mainly the drinking age and driving age, and how we think it's all set up much sillier in the US than in Europe. Elliot and I talked about Blink 182. Agnes and I talked about which places I like going to best when I go out at night, and Julia and I talked about theater in Lyon.

After walking around the lake, we went into town. The downtown area is neat because in the middle of town there's a river with houses literally IN it. Basically someone can walk out of their house and be in the water. I don't know, it looked really cool. There's also a small castle-ish looking building placed in the middle of the river, which I liked a lot:It's common to have street markets in many places in France on Sundays, but apparently they're especially common in Annecy, and not just on Sundays. We walked around one for a while, tasting different cheeses and honeys, and trying on different hats and scarves.

Eventually we left town and took a 30 minute or so drive to a mountain top. In the car, Elliot was choosing the music. (Side note: on the way to Annecy we listened to a ton of: Ben Harper, Radiohead, AND that song Save Tonight by Eagle Eye Cherry, all played from Didier's ipod. I was very impressed). Elliot likes a lot of good music. He also likes some very loud rock that Agnes wasn't feeling. She asked him to change the music, and she then says, "Put some rap on!" An enormous smile spread across my face as I asked, "Agnes, you like rap??"
"Oh yes yes I love it, I think it's so funny! And I like the beats!" she exclaimed.
Elliot proceeded to play some French rap and Agnes proceeded to sing along, knowing almost every word. Here is a picture of her getting down.

She is fucking amazing. Also, at one point I noticed that she was wearing Diesel jeans. Man, I have such a hip French mom.


Anyway, after a very amusing car ride we made it to the mountain top. We went for a 2 hour hike where we were surrounded by views of the Alps and the French countryside. We also came across a lot of cows, which made me think of (and miss) my parents. Not the same as Swiss cows, of course, but pretty damn close. Here's a couple pictures of the view, but they don't really do it justice.
All in all, it was a very nice trip. I'm so happy I get to spend time with them like this, it really makes me feel like a part of the family. If only I could have hopped over to Switzerland to see everyone there! Oh well, next time.