Audentes fortuna iuvat. (Fortune favors the bold.)

(Before I get into my post today, I wanted to share a plug for the book I just finished, and where the quote for this blog post came from.  The book is called Wonder, by RJ Palacio (recommended to me by the lovely Karen Zwolak) and we have both determined that it should be one of those mandatory reads for the world.  No matter your age, background, or circumstance, everyone could benefit from reading this book.  I mean, I gave it 5 out of 5 stars when Amazon asked me to rate it.  Look into it. 

 Audentes fortuna iuvat.  (Fortune favors the bold.)

I start this post this way, because I finished Wonder while I was taking the bus to Annecy yesterday, and it seemed pretty fitting for my situation.  Sophie wanted to give me a day off to do some exploring of my own, and she found out that you can take a bus from a nearby town to Annecy (the small city about 45 minutes away where I will be taking my french lessons, starting in September.)  She dropped me off at the bus station at 9:40 and by 9:45 I was on my way.  I got on the bus, with my euros ready to go, but then the driver said something to me in French that I didn't understand.  I quickly said "I'm sorry" (and then realized out of the french that I do know, "I'm sorry" is one of the phrases I have mastered, and felt like an idiot for not saying "Je suis desole.")  Oh well.  He let me on the bus and I took a seat.  Side note: this bus was a coach bus.  Not a city bus like I was expecting.  It was quite lovely, and the views were seriously unreal.

Flash forward to 45 minutes ahead, when I arrived at the bus/train station in Annecy.  As anyone might be, I was a little apprehensive when I stepped off this bus, looked around, and had basically no idea where I was.  We had come to Annecy last Friday, the first day I arrived, but I was jet lagged, and wonderstruck, and don't really remember much of where I was that day.  We also drove in, right near the city center.  So here are the 3 most important things I learned yesterday, after exploring an (almost) foreign place for about 5 hours by myself.  (I'm sorry, Dad.  I probably should have known all of this before...Nothing like being on your own to finally learn some lessons.)

1. Find a point of reference.

The one thing that I did remember from when we were here last was that Sophie told me "if you ever get lost, just find the mountains, those will lead you toward the lake, and then you can orient yourself."  So, stepping off the bus I did just that, and made it my first priority to just find the lake, and then go from there.  For the rest of the day, whenever I wanted to figure out where I was, I would find the mountains, and then compare that to the closest road sign I could find, and then figure out where I was.  Thankfully, it's not too big of a city by any means, and I spent a good portion of the day in the downtown area window shopping, so I never really felt like I got lost. 

2. Learn to read a map and follow road signs. 

I hadn't realized until yesterday how much I depended on my iPhone maps app and google just to get around, even to familiar places.  It's so easy to just type in a place, and follow the driving or walking directions.  I was probably doing it at least a few times a week at home.  So without either of those things to guide me, I initially felt pretty confused.  Sophie had given me a map, but I didn't want to look like a tourist.  So I looked around for road signs, and sure enough, one pointing toward the "centre ville" (city center) and the "Lac" (Lake) were right there for me to follow.  (Another one pointed toward the "Gare" (train station) so I knew I could follow that one to get back later.)  I spent a good hour on the lake, starting a new book on my Kindle and reading from another new book on learning french that the previous au pair had left behind.  The lake was right near the downtown area, the city center, so I found my way there quickly after. 

3. Trust your gut.

I have a pretty decent sense of direction, and get a pretty good gut feeling very early on about people/situations/etc.  My gut about Annecy told me that once I could get around and knew where I was going, I would feel comfortable there.  It was a nice, small city, full of both tourists and locals.  It felt safe, and was really beautiful.  However, I also knew that by the end of the day I would have to find my way back to the bus station, and make sure I got on the right bus to go home.  I didn't want to  stray too far away from the roads that came to be semi familiar (since after reading on the lake, I truly spent the rest of the day just walking the streets and trying to figure out what was where.)  By the end of the day, when I was trying to find my way back by following my map (I had let go of the whole "I don't want to look like a tourist" thought pretty early in the day...), I found the station in no time!  I was pretty impressed by myself.  That keen sense of direction kicking in.  I was 30 minutes early to the bus, but whatever.  I checked all the monitors to make sure I was taking the right one back, confirmed with the bus driver in my poor broken french once I arrived, and was back an hour later.  Easy as pie. 

All in all, it turned out to be a fun day.  While it might have been more fun to do it with a friend, it was cool to know that I could get around and find food, and do it all by myself.  And, mom, you'll be proud to know that I barely spent any money!  Just on a few cards and post cards, and a panini and a water.  (Trying to save what I can for Barcelona in one week!)  Enjoy some pictures of this truly picturesque place.