Aix-les-Baines et beaucoup fromageries

After my long weekend in Switzerland I stopped by Aix-les-Baines in France on my way to Lyon. The first day I went to a French movie. I at least understood the storyline and picked up a few expressions. After the movie I went back to the hostel and talked to the receptionist about hiking nearby. I met my roommate, Nadage, who was “trés sympa” at my hostel. She chauffeured me on a tour of the region’s cheese-shops. We visited trois fromageries in one day and went for a short hike looking out over the Massif Central, I believe. Aix-les-Baines is the in Savoie region and there are some beautiful mountains as well as a gorgeous lake right there. I spent the day enjoying cheese and the sun and was speaking with Nadage in English and in French. I am sure I learned a lot of French that day and worked on my fluency. That sounds funny to say because I really just have a few months of French lessons, but have had some great tutors along the way. She was from Bretagne or Brittany and was in-town for an interview but had a free day in-between. She had to collect some good cheeses to bring home because she said that this region really had better cheese than Brittany so she was bringing some to her parents. She really was a sweetheart and I felt so fortunate to have met her. Nadage even drove me to the train station the next day before her interview, after an eventful night of the wind blowing open a window.

It was an ideal day visiting fromageries (cheese-shops), one even had a tour/museum on the cheese making process, and a hike in the mountains as well as a short walk through Aix-les-Baines. The hike was at the top of a skiing slope and there was a beautiful look-out point onto Aix-les-Baines below. At the hostel before leaving the next day I had a conversation with the director about my view of my country; he had asked. It was quite challenging in French to explain so that will be my French homework for the next week. They were really welcoming and fun people and if anyone is traveling in France, in that region, I would recommend the hostel. Hosteling International proved a more helpful company than Hostelworld.com because I couldn’t find anything in that region on Hostelworld and very few things even in Lyon. For Hosteling International, you have to initially buy a 15 euro membership card that lasts for a year, but I was very happy with the two hostels I stayed in. The maximum amount of people in one room was 6, at least in the two I stayed in. Breakfasts were included at both places and they both had a good atmosphere.