On my Thursday off in my first week,I went with Ashley and Adam and their friend Lindsi (who just moved here from Philly for her job at PricewaterhouseCoopers) to Evian-les-Bains, in France. It’s only about a half-hour or less drive there (in Ashley and Adam’s sweet blue car – go Cats!) and since we had the day off but it wasn’t hot and sunny for a beach day.

It was a pretty ride and we sort of went through “Suburban France” on the way there and saw what appeared to be a French Home Depot, as well as some super-sized grocery stores. Once we got to Evian, we parked and ate (Ashley got a lasagna because she hadn’t eaten lunch, the rest of us got Nutella and “chantilly” crepes – good to know that Chantilly is delicious whipped cream!) We all laughed at Ashley for her bold move of ordering lasagna for lunch (up until then she had just been discussing getting a “snack”) and then she ended up getting a crepe later. A girls gotta eat. I liked her style. It fit mine. Then she ordered a coffee “ to go” and the guy clearly was thrown off by this (he was a springy Frenchmen with a sense of humor – he acted like he wasn’t understanding her when he was). He found her a cup but it was just a basic plastic cup, like for water, with no lid. Haha. She went with it, though. Quite brave.

So we walked past some cute shops and quite a few people were out. Then we went to a little tourist-y area about Evian water, where they had displays and explanation for how the water is made so good (naturally, that is, through rocks and such). Then we stopped in at a big casino that is in the middle of the town. We had to show our passports to get in (?) and then we walked around – it basically had a jungle theme. I kind of felt like I would find a water slide at the top, but no such luck. Just old people glumly pulling on handles just like they would at a US casino. They would’ve been smoking too, but luckily it was non-smoking. There was what appeared to be a smoking booth thing, though, which looked like it sucked the smoke away at the same time, so I guess that’s good for the smokers. Guess what was setting out for free on little side tables? Why, Evian water of course! No alcohol, but Evian! haha. Ashley and Adam were feeling lucky so they played one slot machine and won 20 Euros! Not too shabby. Overall, a lovely day away!