Le Franco Phoney

Annecy bursts into life as soon as winter ends, as you can see from this photo from just a few days ago. The old town of Annecy becomes a labyrinth of tourists and locals lounging over long lunches on chairs and tables speckled over the cobblestone roads.

The intersection of Rue Royale and Rue Carnot, pictured, is no exception, with café patrons and shoppers filling the streets. This area is pushed to capacity during festivals such as the Venetian Carnival and the Annecy International Animation Festival, when people flock to Annecy. Rue Carnot links the old town to the new town, and is lined with shops on either side, making the road into a mall where cars do not enter.

This crossroad has a very different past, and one that I knew nothing about until an old man in Annecy pointed out this sign. The plaque appears right above the road sign on the crossroad of Rue Carnot and Rue Royale. The top line refers to the road being the ‘Route Nationale 201‘ – the main highway in the area. It lists some cities nearby, including Geneva at 41.8km away.

Now pedestrianiased, these two roads are the main arterial for nothing more than foot traffic these days. And if you’d asked me last week if these roads were ever part of a Route Nationale, I would have been certain that such narrow roads couldn’t have been.

The plaque is a fantastic reminder to look up regularly when you’re in a city, and finding it has motivated me to find some other interesting objects at height. Feel free to share any you’ve found, and watch this space for new ones!

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One of the things I love about living in the French Alps is the slow pace of life and a feeling of community and security. It sometimes feels like Haute Savoie is stuck in the seventies, with the same shopping hours and the popularity of fondue.

However, Annecy seems to be launching into this millennium, with a cupcake shop, the recent modern art cheese roundabout, and an explosion of Asian food restaurants. And the Asian food trend doesn’t stop there: Carrefour supermarket in Annecy now has its very own sushi bar. You can watch the staff make the sushi while you wait, or pick up one of their earlier creations from the shelf of sushi options.

Placed between the fruit and vegetable section and the fresh fish counter for maximum client exposure, the sushi bar was a hive of activity last week. Customers browsed not just the sushi, but the typically overlooked Japanese items that had previously only been for sale in the exotic food aisle. The shelves around the sushi, filled with miso soup, wasabi and a variety of noodles, were emptying as fast as the sushi.

I’m pretty sure a few of those customers were considering whether they could dunk the fish into melted cheese or drizzle Raclette cheese all over it.

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Public services in France, like most countries, vary in quality and accessibility.

This advertisement in Annecy displays the faces of local public servants — lovely smiling faces, like Sebastien’s, above. Just last week, I had a positive experience at the Annecy prefecture (council), where the new kid handed me the forms I needed without making me to take a number for the queue, then complimented me on my spoken French.

However, that’s the first positive experience I’ve had at the prefecture, with most visits taking longer than expected: someone once jumped the queue and took my spot, and the reception lady always tuts about incomplete paperwork, then gives in with a sigh when I insist I have everything listed on the official paper in front of her. Twice, I’ve arrived to find a sign that says the office is closed due to exceptional circumstances. Opening for those four-and-a-half hours per day is too long, perhaps?

Sebastien here is probably sneering, thinking of ways to make a simple request from the member of the public into a week-long effort for that person.

But that’s just the prefecture, and I do feel for public servants who have to answer the same old questions day in, day out. So what’s the excuse for La Clusaz?

The ski resort opened for the weekend of 1-2 December due to so much snow, and they had the busiest opening weekend ever. They must have expected a similar situation last weekend after more snow fell during the week, so you’d think they’d get the roads as clear as possible the night before, then start work early in the morning to remove the overnight snow. Yet the roads were clogged not only with snow, but with snow-clearing trucks and tractors which caused a hold-up of traffic through town before the lifts had even opened. Carnage continued outside the town centre, with the roads so poorly cleared that a truck was stuck on a corner near the La Balme ski area, and cars lost traction on the alternative route up, blocking it too. No worries: the top section of La Balme never opened, and the bottom section opened closer to 11am than 9am, and those waiting couldn’t even access the few other areas open because the Fernuy lift didn’t open until after midday. But the (non-public service) ticket office were still charging people €28 for a day ticket. Safety is obviously a priority, so piste closures were inevitable, but if you’re advertising an early opening to the public, at least prepare all the roads before 9am, and offer a price that reflects the limited skiing options.

That grin on Sebastien’s face is perhaps his relief that he had to work on Saturday morning instead of navigating the roads in La Clusaz. Wait; the prefecture isn’t open on weekends either. So, well done to the person who put this poster up. It’s now soggy and flaky, which seems like the perfect advertisement for public services around these parts.

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Yesterday, there was snow in Annecy, and it was 27°. Okay, it was man-made snow, but the kids didn’t know the difference. The snow was there as part of the weekend’s Reels Festival (winter sports movies at the Decavision cinema in Annecy), and that big marquee in the background was full of next season’s snowboards. But who cares about new equipment when there’s such entertainment on the snow outside? Kids were able to try snowboarding for the very first time, and some took to it like ducks to water. A two-year-old boy just couldn’t fall over, but I’m pretty sure there was no skill involved: his centre of gravity was so low to the ground (and his ski pants very baggy as they had none small enough for him) that he had no way of toppling the big snowboard under him. Signs, like the road sign-style one on the left in the photo above, were dotted around the gentle slope, and when one of the kids reached the tiny quarter pipe at the end of the snow, his helper flipped him around in the air as if he had done a full 360° flip. The kid was impressed and the helper was enjoying every second of it. In the background is a Forum snowboard stand selling hot dogs, although it was closed when I was there. I guess the staff figured their mother company Burton had  stolen the show with the snow already and gorged themselves on hot dogs instead.

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Pictured below is the Menthon St Bernard castle. There are so many impressive facts about this castle, starting with this week’s posthumous award as Righteous Among the Nations for Count Henry de Menthon, who housed three Jewish kids during World War 2. But more on that later. First, check out the photo:

The castle was built in the 12th Century, with turrets and extra sections added as recently as 1880. The interior is full of interesting stories, and of course the most reputed is that of Saint Bernard himself. Bernard de Menthon, born in 1008, escaped a planned marriage after jumping out one of the castle’s high windows. See the problem there? The castle hadn’t been built, but it’s presumed that there was some other family dwelling in its place. It’s said that the day before his wedding, locked in his room, Saint Nicolas materialised and told him to take a leap of faith (literally — out the window). Angels protected him and he fleed to the Aosta valley, where he devoted himself to religion and making the mountain passes safer for travellers, founding hospices along the way. His work got him a sainthood and a whole breed of dogs named after him centuries later.

This week, the grandson of Count Henry de Menthon accepted the honour of Righteous Among the Nations on his late grandfather’s behalf. He was given the award for his care of three Jewish children during the war. His gardener had agreed to take in a girl during the war, but she refused to be separated from her two brothers, and the Count, who overheard the girl’s protests, agreed to take in her brothers. The gardener cared for the girl, Clair, during the day, and she slept at the castle each night. The villagers knew of the Jewish children and the danger of their presence was clear to all. After the war, the children were told that their parents and other siblings had died at Auschwitz and they were sent to an orphanage. The connection between the families was lost until a chance meeting between the granddaughter of the Count and Clair, who is now known as Dina Godschalk. After reconnecting, Dina made the request for the posthumous award. Dina’s own granddaughter now works as a guide at the castle, doing tours in Dutch, English, French and sometimes Portugese, so the family connection continues.

The castle holds two libraries, a chapel dedicated to Saint Bernard, two kitchens, amazing views of Lake Annecy, and a lot of really interesting facts. If you’re in the area, it’s well worth a visit.

Cupcakes. I remember my grandma teaching me how to make them before the muffin came along and took all the glory. This decade’s cupcake revolution has seen shops like The Hummingbird Bakery in London, where the cupcakes are only sold if they’ve been baked the same day. There’s nothing like biting into a freshly-cooked cupcake, with this soft and fluffy centre complimented by the creamy, thick frosting. I’ve been patiently waiting for cupcakes to arrive in the Aravis, and yet, somehow, I missed that they’ve already been in Annecy for two years.

Yes, cupcakes are available in Annecy.

Bagels et Cupcakes, or B&C, opened in June 2010 in the old town and have apparently been doing well enough to stay open in an area of France where traditional bakery goodies are still the preferred treat of choice.

Cupcakes are available in both normal and mini sizes, and upon first look, the choice of flavour seems pretty wide. Actually, it’s the frosting choices that are wide, with only chocolate or vanilla cupcakes on offer the day I was there. This is no doubt good business sense if demand is low: less of each variety will ensure fewer stale cupcakes, right? Frosting flavours included pistachio, raspberry, caramel, passion fruit, chocolate and vanilla, so I bought a vanilla cupcake with vanilla frosting and a chocolate cupcake with raspberry frosting to sample with a friend.

The icing was spot on, but I’m pretty sure the cupcakes weren’t baked that day. It doesn’t inspire me to go back for more, yet it’s the only cupcake option around these parts, so I will no doubt go back and hope to get a fresh one next time. If nothing else, they offer bagels and other American-style treats that are worth sampling too.

For those of you nearby, B&C is smack bang in the old town, at 2 faubourg Sainte Claire, towards the cinema end of the pedestrianised road.

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The other day in Annecy, I was sitting by the lake and watching some ducks. I was also watching three boys wading through the shallow water throwing something at the ducks. At first, I thought it was food. They were throwing stones. Aware that a large stone could severely injure or kill a duck, I looked around for the kids’ parents and hoped they would notice what the kids were doing.

If I had been in an English-speaking country, I wouldn’t have waited, but that’s the thing about learning a foreign language: the nuances make all the difference. Even if my French is word perfect, how do I convey the right amount of sternness in my tone? How do I pick the words that convey the sentiments. In our brains, our mother language thesaurus started growing when we were babies, but my French language thesaurus only began around five years ago. The appropriate words might not be the ones I’m really looking for. And on top of all that, what do I do if the kids yell something back at me that I don’t understand?

As I sat there wondering why it was taking me so long to react, I realised I was scared. Confrontation doesn’t really bother me, but in another language — and with kids who are already being naughty — it made me hesitate. But what’s more important? Me looking like a fool by saying the wrong thing in my second language (and that wouldn’t be the first time), or trying to stop ducks getting maimed or killed? I walked over and told the kids off, wondering why I’d chosen ‘tu‘ (used for kids or those you know well) instead of ‘vous‘ (used for plural, even when kids) to tell them off. I explained in dodgy French what might happen if they hit a duck and told them to stop. They replied in perfect French and I walked away.

Did they stop? No. As I turned back to check, one held a stone ready to throw. He saw me and put his arm back down. Then I heard one of them say: ‘It was him’ in English and I realised they were English kids. Damn! I could have told them off in perfectly good English, with all those well-picked words and correct intonations and so much less effort! A quick look around led me directly to the boys’ mother, who I know, and the kids finally stopped throwing stones.

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The 21st of June is a special day in France and other parts of the world. It’s the national day of music – la Fête de la Musique. After much uncertainty about the weather, I headed down to Annecy with umbrella in hand. There was the usual quirky stuff and non-mainstream bands which I’ve written about before, like the death metal band singing to an audience wearing mostly black.

As I looked around at the crowd, I wondered where this lot go for the rest of the year. There are few lively venues in Annecy that cater for anything that hasn’t made it into the charts during the past 50 years. When they put their arms in the air to do the devil’s horns (index finger and pinky sticking up while the rest are folded down), some of them left their thumbs sticking out, as if they were telling the devil to hang loose (hang loose, if you don’t know, is thumb and pinky sticking out only). Come on, goths and headbangers, you’re letting the team down. Know your devil’s horns.

Rain unfortunately caused a whole lot of the stages to close early, no doubt disappointing hundreds of band members who had been hoping for that big break, but the good times continued elsewhere. Never in Annecy have I seen such a party atmosphere as the one created by a ska band in the old town. The crowd danced and clapped, and their vocals were almost as loud as the band’s. Here’s some footage:

Not bad for 11pm on a wet Thursday night, eh?

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This photo is probably a bit misleading after a title about toilets. This is not a toilet block, but there is a link, I promise. Last week, Annecy was flooded with animation fans from around the world. This caravan was parked outside the Courier shopping centre, welcoming the public over to take a look. Miniatures from animated movies have been inset in windows all around the caravan, and the level of detail was impressive.

So what’s the connection with public toilets in Annecy? It’s a very loose one. The animation festival brings an influx of people to Annecy for the week. They need to use toilets, and Annecy has them dotted around town. The Courier shopping centre has gone from one extreme to the other, requiring people to pay to use the toilets just a few years ago and now providing them free, along with a water fountain and a lounge area. Fantastic!

Meanwhile, closer to the nightly outdoor cinema screenings by the lake, the toilets are less obvious. The closest ones, near the Pont des Amours, were struggling to keep up with demand. No worries: the Bonlieu Centre has some public toilets down some stairs. I headed over there before the outdoor cinema started, but the cleaner had roped it off and said they were closed until the next morning. I asked again in case I misunderstood: there was an international festival going on outside and Annecy decides to close its toilets? He nodded and said there were some on the first floor instead. A goose chase for toilets ensued, with staff sending the chain of people in front and behind me to different floors of the building only to find all the toilets locked. Twenty minutes later, the original toilets were reopened. Twenty minutes seems much longer when you need a toilet.

So, if you find yourself in Annecy during a festival and the toilets at the Bonlieu Centre are closed, you could try any of the smelly outdoor public toilets, or just head to the Courier shopping centre where the toilets are clean, free, and come with a complimentary lounge area.

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Just a few summers ago, the few Chinese restaurants in Annecy served less than authentic food, including omelettes and stir-fries using tasteless, pre-cut, frozen vegetables. Some were called ‘Asiastique’ restaurants, serving everything from Thai to Japanese — the authenticity watered down with ever country added. In the past few years, things have improved! Not only are there better Chinese options in Annecy, but sushi and Thai food options have improved too. Here are my top three:

1. Sushi Shop (13 Rue de la Poste, Annecy)

This place opened in late 2011 with the involvement of one of the judges of the French version of TV show Top Chef. It’s a chain sushi restaurant, and I love it because there is so much choice for vegetarians. You’d normally expect a fish restaurant to have the least options, but here in Haute Savoie, it’s the opposite. No diot sausages or lardons in sight. Service is professional and helpful.

2. Le Petit Shanghai (Grand Epagny shopping village, about five shops after Espace Montagne, outskirts of Annecy)

In the middle of a huge outdoor shopping village, Le Petit Shanghai opened just a few months ago in early 2012. The Cantonese dishes are authentic, varied, tasty and cheap, allowing a group to share an abundance of dishes without over-spending. Service is friendly and fast.

3. Lan-Som-Tam (33 Avenue des Romains, Annecy)

I wrote about this place when I discovered it in January this year. Decent Thai food in a cute little restaurant a ten-minute walk from the Courier shopping centre in a residential area. The plates are a little small, but the taste is fantastic. Service is friendly and welcoming.

Sushi in particular has exploded in Annecy. A friend tells me that O Sushi near the Palais de Justice has been running for years and is very tasty, while another friend raves about a new place called Sushi Express in the old town. There’s also Bingo Sushi in the Carrefour Centre but I rarely seem to be there when it’s open or when I’ve got time to stop. It looks like I have some more ‘research’ to do. If anyone wants to add to this list, please add yours in a comment below.

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