Annecy, and the craziest parade the world has ever seen

Orientation ended last Thursday night with a "soirée pub" organized by the OIP equivalent of Lyon 3. It was spectacularly awkward, especially with a history professor shuffling his way into our dancing circle after a few beers. With the day off on Friday, I decided to visit the Musée des Beaux Arts (free with a student ID card) which is housed in a gorgeous 17th century abbey. On Saturday, it was raining non-stop, but that didn't stop me and two of my friends from taking a day trip to the lovely little city of Annecy. It is the capital of the Haute-Savoie department (Savoy was once an independent entity and included parts of Switzerland and Italy) and rests on the banks of a beautiful lake. As a result, the old town has two canals running through it, leading some to dub it the "Venice of France". Annecy is a short 2 hour train ride from Lyon, and only 20 miles away from Geneva.

Luckily, the weather cleared up today just in time for the Grand Défilé of the Biennale de la Danse, Lyon's twice annual dance festival. The parade is the centerpiece of the festival, which continues until the end of the month. Each act was as breathtaking as the last, featuring innovative modern dance unlike anything I've seen before. According to the festival's website, it is the largest choreographed parade in Europe, and featured over 4,500 dancers. The costumes were absolutely incredible. Here are a couple shots from the day. As always, you can find more on my Photobucket site.