Entry #02 - Annecy, France

I lived in France for almost 3 years and still speak fluent French.  So, naturally I came to visit Cristobal, Jaki, Ben, Alban, Margaux and everyone in Annecy for 4 days of NON-STOP fun.  I lived here in the Alpes - in Grenoble which is 1.5 hours south of Geneva.  For you Americans, I like to describe it as, "the city of Berkeley in the Yosemite Valley."  Check out the photos (below).  When I lived here back in 1998, I opened a night club and played drums in a rock band - so i made some pretty good friends as you can see.... 

I stayed with my close friend Cristobal (Jean-Christophe).  He was the guitarist and singer.  He made sure the whole weekend revolved around me.

  The first day, we had about 15 rendez-vous and visited EVERYONE. I must have had 5 beers, 6 wines and 8 coffees all before 7pm. We visited the studio where we recorded music in 1998.  The producer found our recording from almost 10 years ago.  It was an amazing memory to listen to it.  I will try to post a song for you.  Then, we went to Ben's - the bass player's house.  Benoit Gasquet's house is like a museum - like Antonio Gaudi-style. Ben is one of the most creative guys I know.  What he is doing to his house is absolutely stunning.  It is truly unbelieveable.  I am sure his home will one day be a museum.  Check it out in the photos.

So far, i have completely emersed myself into my French friend's lives.  i have not spoken English in a week now!!  Yesterday was a day of "firsts" for me.  We went to our friend Jacki's house - an old french brick building from the middle ages - like a classic farm in the countryside.  We picked fresh rasberries and ate them.  We drank fresh apple juice that he pressed THAT morning.  We picked fresh Sensimilla that he was growing.  I helped stir his "prune" fermentation which would soon be brewed into a dessert wine.  I watched my first rugby match with the guys.  Then all the guys played Bocce ball for my first time while their ladies prepared the feast.  And finally, we all stood around the cozy kitchen and prepared quiche and ate until very late. We ate for almost 5 hours with 17 different cheeses and 8 bottles of wine.  I felt like I was in a movie.

Today, Cristobal took me to Grenoble where i used to live.  This is where I "studied" (my dad might read this) in 1995 and then opened a night club in 1997.  It was my first time back to Grenoble since 1999. I took tons of photos. 

Gotta go.  Enjoy.  See you soon......!