November! We had a great November! For one thing, my mom came to visit. We had a fantastic time and loved showing her around our new turf. The kids were super happy to have her here as well. We took her to Chamonix and it was nice to be in a ski resort town off season. We loved walking around and had really good meals too. We introduced her to fondue and tartiflette done in the true Savoyard style. I think everyone gains a few pounds going into winter here. Basically all winter we eat potatoes, cheese, ham and bread. Not a recipe for a slim figure, but it sure tasted good.

While my mom was here we also did a lot of hiking. We visited a couple of castles and walked around the lake and around Ferme de Chosal, a local farm with great trails and handcrafted artwork throughout the trails. We all loved watching the pigs eat. I think it made us feel better about our own gluttony. Even the trees in Chosal are wearing hand knit sweaters!

And as usual, more hiking and more great views. Every time you turn a corner, there’s something else you just have to take a picture of.

We also discovered the legend of the Annecy mermaids while my mom was here. The remains are kept at the chateau downtown. They’re actually a breed of extinct manatee but they sure look like mermaids to us.

In other big news, we got our first snow! It was beautiful and lasted about 3 days. It’s amazing how quickly the seasons change. We weren’t even wearing jackets the day before and then bam! Snow!

We also hosted 19 new friends for an American style thanksgiving dinner. We didn’t know what we were doing but somehow we pulled it off and everything went great!

And then the snow was gone and the weather warmed back up and we were back to hiking. These cool guys were playing down by the lake.

Yes, November was a good month. We have a funny goal to make every month the best month ever. So far we’re doing pretty good. 🙂