My Fertility Journey

For about three and a half years I attempted to get pregnant, and finally, after working with California Fertility Partners in Los Angeles, was I able to get pregnant.  The following is my story and my advice to women who are trying to get pregnant.


Don't Waste Time With Your OB GYN
When I first told my doctor that I wanted to get pregnant, but wasn't having a hard time, I was referred to the "fertility specialist" in the office.  Other offices might be different, but this doctor was only the "specialist" because he threw different drugs at me.  I was first started on Clomid, which is typically the first drug doctors will start women on if they are having a hard time ovulating.  Each month I was given a higher dosage of the drug, but I was never able to ovulate.  After a few months, no one ever asked, "Why I wasn't ovulating?" but just assumed I needed more drugs.

I was then put on Menopur.  Menopur involves injections each night into either a fatty part of your leg or abdomen.  My first take with Menopur felt like someone throwing darts into the dark.  Every few days I would go in and have an ultrasound to see if my ovaries were responding. When no response was seen my doctor would just have me increase the dosage.  I began with 1/2 a vial and was injecting almost four at a time.  Again, there was no real monitoring going on or awareness that this amount of Menopur could be harmful.

After two weeks of the injections I began to experience an acute pain in my ovaries, which then became unbearable.  One night my husband took me to the Emergency Room and I was informed my ovaries were enlarged and had the potential of twisting.  The reason for this dangerous enlargement was because of the over dosage of Menopur.  Basically, my ovaries were freaking out.

After the trip to the hospital I was placed on bed rest for three weeks to ensure my ovaries didn't twist.  Once I was off bed rest I returned the doctor's office for a follow-up and learned I was pregnant.  Now, I wish this was the end of the story, but unfortunately, three weeks later, we were unable to see a heart beat and I suffered a miscarriage.  At this point we decided to stop working with this specialist and find out why I was not ovulating, why I did, and why I had a miscarriage?

How To Find The Right Specialist:
When I finally decided to consult with a fertility specialist I wasn't sure where to go. I was given a few recommendations, but probably the best advice I got was to do some research on my own and determine the answers to the following questions:
  

• How long has the fertility clinic's medical director been there?
• How long have the doctors and technicians been there? High staff turnover can be a sign of bad management and can contribute to mistakes.
• Which procedures do you do, and how often? Be sure the clinic has a wide range of infertility remedies available and is familiar with the latest technology, such as something called blastocyst transfer.
• Do you have age limits for treatment? If so, it's a good sign that the clinic is concerned about ethical issues.
• When you do an advanced procedure that involves fertilizing the eggs outside the woman and then planting them inside her, who decides how many eggs go back in -- the doctor or patient? Wisot recommends steering away from a clinic that gives complete control to the doctor. This is important because the more eggs planted, the greater the chance for multiple births.
• How many cycles per year do you do? Wisot notes that some clinics handle so many patients -- each of whom may be treated for multiple menstrual cycles -- that patients end up feeling like a number.
• What does treatment cost? While you don't want to choose strictly on price, it's good to know costs ahead of time so you know what you're getting into. Beware of clinics that offer a money-back guarantee if you don't get pregnant -- the doctor may have a financial incentive to treat you more aggressively than you want.

All these questions can either be answered on clinics' websites or with consultations. 

California Fertility Partners: 
Eventually, I chose California Fertility Partners because of their success rates, the facilities they had on site, the number of patients and because of Dr. Kelly Baek.  From my initial interview I felt like Dr. Baek was going to approach my case as methodical as possible, and was going to find answers to my ovulation and miscarriage questions.  

As before, Dr. Baek started me on Menopur, but with a small dosage and more visits to truly track my progress.  Eventually, after a few rounds she was able to see that my body took a long time to respond to Menopur, therefore, upping the dosage wasn't the answer, but longer periods of the medication.  Three times were able to get to the artificial insemination points, but each time I was unable to get pregnant.  

Dr. Baek then tried a combination of Clomid and Menopur, which got me a little faster to ovulation, and then used Progesterone, after the inseminations for added hormone therapy, or as an attempt to stave off a miscarriage.  Again, no success.  

At this point Dr. Baek was troubled because she couldn't fully diagnose me.  My blood work showed I was ovulating, but something was missing in communication from my brain to the ovaries.  Consequently, Dr. Baek ordered a MRI.  This decision was met with a lot surprise from her partners, me and my ob gyn, however, Dr. Baek was convinced I had a tumor in my pituitary gland, which was causing all my problems.  And she was right.  Apparently, the tumor was secreting a large amount of prolactin, which can cause you to experience headaches, which I did, not ovulate and can cause miscarriages. 

Initially, Dr. Baek tried the drug Bromocriptine, but we still saw high levels of prolactin in my system.  I was then referred to Dr. David Geffner, an endocrinologist, who put me on Cabergoline.  This drug finally brought my prolactin levels down, and for the first time, without drugs, I was able to ovulate.   Once I saw ovulation, Dr. Baek performed an artificial insemination and four weeks later we found out we were pregnant.  
 
I understand my story is not like everyone's else, but what I can say from the experience is this: 

1. If you are serious about being pregnant - go to a specialist.  They'll have you do blood work, perform x-rays to see that your fallopian tubes are working and open, will closely monitor the process and get results.
2. Don't give up. Unfortunately, with infertility each test, each round takes weeks, months - don't give up.

San Francisco

A few weeks ago the husband and I traveled up to San Francisco for a long weekend trip.  If you haven't had the opportunity to explore this city I recommend making the time.

First, transportation around and inside San Francisco is incredibly easy.  We flew into SFO and then took the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) directly into the city.  Buying tickets was very intuitive and stops were very clearly marked.  Then, while we explored the city, we utilized the public busing system.  For two dollars we were able to travel across the city, and because the initial tickets are good for four hours, we were able to jump back on the bus and cross to another part of the city.  I found the buses to be extremely clean and again stops were clearly marked.

For accommodations we decided to stay close to Union Square because there's a BART stop there, a trolley that travels all the way to the Wharf starts there and its close proximity to all tourists sites in the city. (ex: Chinatown, The Wharf, Market Street etc.)  We ended up staying at the Sir Francis Drake.  This hotel was built in 1928 and offers a great view into the glamorous history of San Francisco.  The lobby is absolutely gorgeous and the room, though small, was elegantly furnished.  In retrospect, I do wish the rooms had been slightly bigger for the price we were paying.  The sink, though very cool, offered no space for a toothbrush and if you wanted to use the bathroom there wasn't much space between the sink and the toilet.  However, again the location was fantastic.

As for sightseeing San Francisco offers an incredible wide range of sites.  Here's what I recommend:

Alcatraz: 
Alcatraz Cruises is the official ferry provider to Alcatraz and back. Departures start at 9:30 AM and are available every half an hour throughout the day. However, please note that these cruises frequently sell out, so as much as possible, plan and book your cruise in advance, especially in the summer and on holidays.
To purchase tickets, view the schedule and/or for more information, visit the Alcatraz Cruises web site at www.alcatrazcruises.com.

Golden Gate Bridge:
Pedestrians including wheelchair users and bicyclists can go on the sidewalks of the bridge during daylight hours but roller blades, skateboards and roller skates are not permitted. There are vista points on both north and south sides of the bridge with parking lots.

We decided to rent bikes through Blazing Saddles, which we were able to rent right at Union Square and ride across the bridge to Sausalito and then back through Golden Gate Gardens, Haight-Ashbury and back to our hotel.  Sausalito is a great little town and we had a delicious Italian sandwich at Venice Gourmet.  After a long bike ride it was great to enjoy a good sour dough sandwich and watch the town go by. 

Ultimately we ended up paying a little over seventy dollars for the day, and was definitely the best way to explore the city.  There are a bunch of bike companies around the city and all offer a daily rate, a great comfort bike, a detailed map and the option to take the ferry back once you reach Sausalito.  I would recommend forgoing the ferry because riding back is easily marked and the gardens are definitely worth seeing...and the ride back is mostly downhill.

Fisherman's Wharf/Ghirardelli Square:
The Wharf offers fishing boats, sea lions basking in the sun, seafood stalls, steaming crab cauldrons, seafood restaurants and sourdough French bread bakeries.  It also offers souvenir shops and historic ships with detailed signs detailing the history of the Wharf. The historic F-Line streetcar and two cable car lines terminate in the area and sightseeing boats and boat charters link to Alcatraz ("The Rock") , Angel Island and other points around San Francisco Bay.

Ghirardelli Square is worth visiting for the free samples the Ghirardelli store offers, or if you want to wait in line, you must try one of the many concoctions of goodness the Ghirardelli kitchen prepares. 

Haight-Ashbury / Chinatown:
Both of these areas can be easily reached through a public bus, through renting a bike or walking.  There's not a lot to do in these neighborhoods, but they are worth exploring to just see the different sides to San Francisco.

Lastly, I recommend coming up with a plan ahead of time for food.  There is literally amazing options on every street and it can be slightly overwhelming.  A few things we enjoyed were:

Crab at the Wharf:
Right along the Wharf you can buy a whole and very much alive crab.  They'll steam it right there for you and offer a loaf of bread along with the meal.  The husband went down this route and was blown away by the taste and size of the crab.

Cafe BaoNecci:
Located in the Italian district of San Fran, this was an outstanding dinner.  We started with a light Italian salad that literally tasted exactly like the salads we enjoyed when we traveled Italy and then chose two pizzas with prosciutto and fresh basil.  All the servers spoke Italian and the food was fast and hot.

Super Duper:
This casual burger place was fantastic.  I got a chicken sandwich with an amazing aioli sauce and the husband went for their classic double patty burger.  I loved the laid back atmosphere and only regret not trying their shakes.

Overall, this was a great trip and I will definitely be back. 

Century City Mall

Last weekend the husband and I went to Century City to grab some dinner and see a movie. Sadly, this was my first trip to Century City after living in LA for five years. What can I say, Santa Monica is just that cool - and I'm just that lazy.

I got to admit that I found the mall at Century City to be a very cool alternative to Santa Monica. First, there is an incredible amount of parking, and they have great deals with movie validations and allotted times of free parking. If you have lived in LA longer than a week, you know parking situations can be deal breakers - so rest assured this won't be a problem.

Second of all, outside of the great options for shopping, the outdoor mall also offers great options for getting food. Compared to the new mall at Santa Monica, the restaurants available at Century City are considerably better. For example, Gulfstream Restaurant offers an awesome menu of seafood and a very cool ambiance, and if you are feeling a little more casual, but still want a great meal, the mall has the Counter and Pink Taco.

The Counter is probably one of my favorite restaurants. Instead of dictating an order to the server, you are given a clipboard of options to build a meat or chicken burger with endless toppings and sauces. It might take two trips to get the order just right, as I learned with the mountain of grilled onions, but once you got your groove this will become a favorite. The Counter also offers a huge platter of fries (sweet and regular), onion rings and some of the most creative milkshakes. Each month they feature a milkshake. I recommend October for the churro milkshake.

As for Pink Taco, last weekend was my first try of the iconic LA establishment. To begin with I found the salsa to be just right. (For me, this can make or break a Mexican restaurant) and the service was awesome. I chose the Mexican cobb salad. I got to admit, it wasn't the best thing I've ever had. I was feeling like a traditional Mexican salad, but I found the blue cheese to be a little overwhelming. The husband chose some chicken enchiladas with a verde sauce, and I'll admit I was a little jealous. As for portions, it wasn't your typical Mexican restaurant. Things were slightly understated and not covered in cheese and grease - which I prefer. Overall, I would like to try Pink Taco again, but just order something different.

After dinner we headed over to the movie theater, which offered a lot of options and very comfortable seats. (What, I have strange levels of criteria.) We ended up seeing The Hunger Games. Our friends had reserved seats ahead of time. I might be doing this from now on when buying tickets for the movies. It was so nice to just walk in and know we had some seats. As for the movie, I was a fan. I had read all three books and had very low expectations for the movie, but I found the adaptation to be spot on. My husband even turned to me and said, "I'm actually liking this movie." For someone who hates all "youth books made into movies" I think that was saying something.

So, if you are in the LA area and you want a cool night out check out Century City. You might even be lucky enough to see some celebrities.

Nook Color

For Christmas I got a Kindle, but returned it because I found it hard to read without really good light. Therefore, I decided to get the Nook Color from Barnes & Noble, which I've found to love and hate. Below are my pros and cons of the Nook.

Pros:
1. Great screen size and very easy to read.
2. Internet connection is fast and loads pages well.
3. Good amount of storage for a lot of books and apps.
4. Compatible with files I can download or buy off Barnes and Noble.
5. Creates bookmarks for you without indicating them.

Cons:
1. Battery life is not great. If I read the Nook for most of the day I'll be out of battery. I think I've found I can get about six hours out of the thing.
2. I haven't figured out how to go back on things. For example, I was writing an email the other night and by accident I pressed something that presented options to cut, paste, select all etc. I had no idea how to get back to my email. Instead, I had to press the home button, go back into the internet, log into my email and find the draft.


Overall, I really like the Nook, but if I was making the purchase again I might think about the Kindle Fire, or wait for the Nook to work out its first edition glitches.

An Alternative To iTunes

I've debated about advertising this little gem, but since I know I have so many readers, who depend on my opinion, I feel it is my duty to share.

For about two years I've been using the site: www.gomusicnow.com to download my music. It's completely legal and I do pay for the songs, but the best thing about this site is this: songs range from $o.15 to $0.09. Yep, you read that right. AND, if you buy the entire album they usually discount it by 10%. Now, I know what you are going to say, "Do they have current albums?" Um, they actually have albums that haven't even been released on iTunes yet. "Is the quality good?" The download quality is actually a little better than iTunes. "How do you pay for the songs?" I set up an account from my debit card and with my account it keeps a great catalog of my downloaded songs and the amount of money I have left to spend.

So, here's what I do. I go to iTunes because I like the structure of this site. I like that you can see what are the most popular songs, preview them and then even find bands that are similar to what you like. I then find the songs I want to buy and then head over to my site and download. I would say the only downside, and this is the only one, is that sometimes for whatever reason they don't have particular albums. For example, they have an awesome live recording of Adele in London, but they haven't posted her 21 album, which has won a thousand awards. So, I'll admit it's a little random, but in the end, if you are willing to wait, almost everything you want will be posted.

So, if you are willing to walk away from the grips of iTunes and stop paying $0.99 for a song come on over to gomusicnow.com.

Malibu Golf Club

A few months ago the husband bought off groupon.com a groupon for two rounds of golf at Malibu Golf Club. With the groupon we were able to save about fifty dollars and had no trouble getting a tee time.

Malibu Golf Club is located up in the mountains of Malibu off Encinal Canyon Road. We decided to take PCH from Santa Monica and then traveled about fifteen minutes in the canyon until we came to the club. Before I talk about the golf, let me just say this drive is gorgeous. Encinal Road winds through the mountains and opens up enough so you can see the ocean and the expansive coast. The husband and I have ridden this road a few times on our bikes and it is definitely one of my favorite roads to drive or ride.

Okay, the golf. The course is nestled right in the middle of the mountains in this beautiful valley of rolling hills and trees. I didn't find the course to be overly complicated and definitely found the distances to be manageable for someone at my level. I did find each hole to be quite narrow and deeply forested on each side. The starter let us know to just stay left each time and we would be fine. His advice proved to be correct and each time the left side seemed to be the safe bet. There was not much in the way of water. The only difficult water hazard you have to navigate is on the 9th hole and if you hit a good drive you should have the distance to pop one on the green. The water isn't very long but snakes across the entire hole.

Overall I really enjoyed the course for these reasons:

1. The carts have GPS and were about 99% correct in your distances.
2. A lot of the tees are set up high and give you a great look down the hole and into the beautiful course.
3. There weren't a lot of bunkers, which I sort of hate, so approach shots were a little more forgiving.
4. Distances of the holes are manageable but challenging.
5. The club is organized well and we didn't have to wait for the groups ahead of us.
6. The club house has great chili. Just saying.

The cons:
1. The greens seem like they are in pretty bad shape. I have seen municipal courses with better greens. There's a lot of bumps and patches.


If you are looking for a great drive and a great course check out Malibu Golf Club.

Jersey Boys

If you don't have a particular show in mind when you get to Vegas, but you know you want some form of entertainment for the night, I recommend getting up early in the morning and hitting one of the tix4tonight kiosks located around the strip. These are great because they offer shows and buffets, for that night, at almost half the price. We decided to try the one located in Fashion Show Mall, which was close to our hotel and wasn't too busy. While waiting in line they offer great assistants that can let you know what is available and what is worth seeing. We decided to see Jersey Boys, and ended up paying about 40% less had we bought the tickets ahead of time. We also we were able to get great seats up in the second level.

We decided on Jersey Boys because of the amazing reviews on yelp.com and because the employees at tix4tonight said it was a guaranteed good show. In my opinion, which is obviously incredibly important, I found the show to be incredibly entertaining. The changing sets were dynamic and easily took you through the different places Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons experienced throughout their career. Also, the music was awesome. I had no idea The Four Seasons had written so many songs I was familiar with and had grown up hearing. The man who played Frankie Vallie had a ridiculous voice and sounded almost exactly like the original guy.

I would say the only disappointments of the show were, and this really wasn't the fault of the show, but the theater was almost empty. Therefore, I felt bad for the performers because there was almost no energy in that place. (A guy in front of us actually slept through the entire thing.) And lastly, I definitely wouldn't recommend this show to families. The language and comments are pretty intense and definitely could be slightly uncomfortable for families to hear.

Outside of those riveting opinions if you are looking for a good time in Vegas, on the cheap, try tix4tonight and check out Jersey Boys.

Food In Vegas

Recently, the husband and I went to Vegas to celebrate our anniversary. While we were there we enjoyed some amazing meals and shows. The following are my recommendations for doing Vegas right (and which don't leave you with a strange wife or disease.)

Food:

El Segundo Sol

This amazing Mexican restaurant is located across the street from the Wynn Hotel and in the middle of the Fashion Show Mall. You might miss it being tucked in the corner, but I promise you, you won't find a better Mexican restaurant in all of Vegas, or in the west for that matter.

First, you must start with their homemade guacamole and salsa. The guacamole is literally made to order and you can taste the ripe avocados, limes and cilantro. In addition to the guacamole is a salsa platter that comes with chips and offers awesome verde and regular salsa. Another amazing starter is the chicken taquitos. I'm not usually a huge fan of fried food, but this somehow comes off light and flavorful with the orange salsa.

Next, and I can't impress upon you enough, you must have the tacos. All of them are amazing. My husband loves the baja fish tacos, which again are fried, but come off just right, and I love the chicken tacos. The chicken has obviously been marinated over night and then grilled over a hot fire. It's so good that I could just eat without anything. However, as good as the meats are the tortillas make this meal. According to the manager, they literally have a woman designated as the tortilla maker and that's all she does. The tortillas are a perfect and made with a ground corn. In addition to the platter, you also get rice and black beans. Unlike other Mexican restaurants these sides are equal to their main courses.

Lastly, and again, you must somehow save room, you must order the tres leches cake. I'm not even a big dessert person, but this is insanely good. Again, somehow they manage to make a rich dessert so amazing and light.


Strip Burger
Next door to El Segundo Sol is a small outdoor eating area that serves awesome burgers, fries, sandwiches and shakes. It's the perfect place for curing a hangover and gaining some energy to go shopping. While we were there I had the California Chicken Sandwich and my husband had the Green Chili Burger. I love places that cook their burgers and chicken sandwiches on a grill and this was definitely the case. The portions were huge and warm as we sat outside. However, the winner of the meal were the sweet potato fries. They had some type of sugary taste to them and came with this amazing sauce. Every time we pass through Vegas I sort of crave those fries.



Mon Ami Gabi
First, this restaurant is amazing because of its location. It is located in the Paris Casino and faces the Bellagio Fountains. As you eat, you can perfectly see and hear the water show. We ate here once for my husband's birthday and it was so romantic to sit outside, enjoy a great meal and see those fountains.

As for eating, this place offers an amazing menu. To start I recommend trying either their French onion soup or the sea scallops. Both are cooked to perfection and show you from the very beginning what type of caliber this restaurant offers. I would however also mention for starters to stay away from their salads. I've had the house petite salad and the ceasar and found both to be very lackluster. They just don't seem to fit on the menu because of their lack of flavor and thought. Therefore, if you aren't a big starter hang with the delicious bread they provide and wait for the main course.

I've eaten at this restaurant four times and I've tried some of their specials. I've had a pot roast they advertised as being cooked for a few days, which was alright but I found to be very fatty, I've had a few fish dishes, that were amazing, but the real winners at this restaurant are their steak dishes. So, if you hear specials, close your ears and focus on the steaks. I recommend the classic filet mignon merlot. It is mouth watering good and the sauce...it's like butter. Also, what makes this meal are the frites that come on the side. They are the perfect compliment to add a little salt to the steak and soak up the juices and sauce. Another favorite is the bone-in ribeye. This is a monster dish, but again the ribeye is moist and juicy.

For dessert I'm not crazy about their selections. During the summer you get a lot of fresh fruit from California and the chef makes some amazing cakes and crepes with the fruit. During the winter months, they desserts aren't as amazing. We've ordered a few items, but were never overly impressed.

So, again remember come here for the steak and you will leave happy.

Lyon

From Chamonix we decided we didn't want to drive the entire distance back to Paris in order to fly home. Therefore, we decided to stop in Lyon, drop off our rental car, which was probably the hardest thing we had to maneuver since being in the country, spend one night there and then take a train directly to the airport the following day. We found this allowed us one more day to explore an additional city, and have a direct ride to the airport.

After finding the Budget Rental Car company, which was sandwiched between the train station and some side road, we took off to explore Lyon. According to Rick Steves' Europe travel book, he recommended walking through the Croix-Rousse district, which is the silk weavers district of Lyon. We absolutely loved walking these streets, which had secret passages, random off shoots and showcased gorgeous Italian architecture. It was slightly raining as we walked, but this little old part of Lyon offered many enclosed walkways and shops for us to stay dry.

Lyon, according to our research prior to traveling, was designated as the gastronomy capital of France, therefore we decided after exploring to treat ourselves to a very gourmet dinner. We decided on Le Winch, which was located on a quaint street lined with restaurants. My husband decided on an amazing dinner of duck and vegetables, and I finally, succumbed to steak and pom frites. (The first time I went Paris as a 13 year old girl I only order steak and pom frites, so this time around I promised myself I would try other things.)
After dinner we walked back to our hotel. We ended up staying at Hotel Central because of its location to the train station. Though this was a last minute decision, we were really impressed with this hotel. It has a very modern feel to it, the rooms are quite large and they offer a great breakfast in the morning.

Chamonix

From Annecy we traveled to Chamonix, which is located a little over an hour down the road. Chamonix shares the summit Mont Blanc, which is the highest mountain in the Alps, with its neighboring commune of Courmayeur in Italy, and has the appearance of a beautiful ski town like Aspen or Park City, Utah.

As we drove into the valley of Chamonix we were able to see several waterfalls coming down the mountains. Unlike Annecy, Chamonix was very easy to navigate and we were able to easily find our hotel. We ended up staying at the Hotel La Vallee Blanche. We decided on this hotel for its location, which was within walking distance of the Tourist's Welcome Center and the main streets of Chamonix for food. As for all our trips, we find Trip Advisor to be the best website to refer to for rates, reviews and recommendations. I have yet to find a hostel or hotel off this website we weren't completely satisfied with. As promised on Trip Advisor, the rooms weren't amazing, but the hotel is located next to a river, and while we slept, we were able to hear the river rustle by.

After quickly dropping our bags down, we headed over to the Tourist Welcome Center. I really enjoy starting a city this way because we find the best maps there and always get great recommendations on how best to see the city. (That's how we found out about hikes and bike rentals in Annecy.) After, learning a little about the city, we decided the best attraction in Chamonix, when there's no snow of course, is to take a cable car up to the top of Mont Blanc.

So, the following day we took the Aiguille du Midi cable car and traveled 12604 ft up into the clouds. It cost about 12,70 € per person, and it was completely worth the money. At the summit, are man made terraces that allow you a 360° view of the French, Swiss and Italian Alps. While we were traveling up the cable car a cloud cover began to hide our view, but once we made it to the top the skies opened up and we were able to see everything.

At the top.
The terraces built on top of the mountain.
Separating each terrace and level were man made ice tunnels.
At the top an additional gondola ride can take you over Glacier du Géant to the Pointe Helbronner in Italy. We decided not to take this additional trip because of the cost, and we felt we had seen everything.
From the top people were taking off to hike down. They were equipped with ice cleats, tents and skis.

The cable car ride between Chamonix and Aiguille du Midi is broken into two stages. At the intermediate stop, at a height of 7, 578 feet, the Plan de l'Aiguille offers a departure point for individuals, who aren't equipped with ice gear, to hike the rest of the way down. We decided to get off at this point and walk the rest of the way down. The hike was long, but offered some amazing pockets of water left from glaciers, great views of Chamonix and different types of scenery from large boulders to forests.

Annecy

After six hours of driving we pulled off the highway into Annecy, which is located in the southeastern part of the country. (I should mention that we were not warned ahead of time, but Annecy is slightly confusing to navigate in a car. There didn't seem to be one main street, but a criss-crossing of one way streets. Eventually, we found our hostel, but I'll admit we drove around for awhile - and most likely drove by it a few times.)

Anyway, we ended up staying at the Alexandra Hotel. This place was perfectly located in the middle of town, close to restaurants and provided free parking underground nearby. We also really enjoyed this hotel because of the amazing service and the very filling breakfast they provided each morning.

Now, the reason we chose to stay in Annecy was strictly because of the beautiful Lake Annecy. Lake Annecy is the second largest lake in France and deemed as the cleanest lake in Europe. I can't describe how beautiful and blue this lake was. In order to truly enjoy the the lake and the surrounded trees and hills, we decided to go hiking our first day. According to Rick Steves' France guidebook we were able to find a trail and followed as it winded along the lake.
After hiking for a few hours, we decided to try one of Annecy's favorite meals: Raclette. I'm not sure how to describe this meal, other than I sort of want it to be my last meal if I'm ever on death row. It was amazing. Raclette consists of Raclette cheese being heated, either in front of a fire or by a special machine, then scraped onto your plate with small potatoes, ham and a small salad. In addition, to this delicious meal is always bread that is by far the best in the world. We enjoyed not only eating this meal, but preparing it at our table and taking our time enjoying the experience. If you travel to Annecy find Chez Mamie Lise Restaurant, which is right next to a beautiful canal and try Raclette. You won't be disappointed.

Here you can see the stove you are given to cook the cheese. On top you cook the potatoes.

Our last day in Annecy we decided to rent some bikes and ride around the lake. I can't remember the exact company we rented from, but I do remember it was near Chez Mamie Lise Restaurant, and it wasn't expensive.

Again, I can't emphasize enough how beautiful Lake Annecy was, and how fun it was to explore the surrounded towns and farms along the way. If you decide to rent bikes, don't feel like you have to be an expert rider. There's a very smooth bike path that travels almost half around the lake. It provides about an hour ride, and there are restaurants and picnic tables along the way.
If you are looking for a change from museums and large cities, Annecy is the perfect stop.

Get Off The Highway and Explore

Before we arrived in Annecy, we randomly chose a town off the highway and decided to do a little exploring. The city we chose was called Beaune, which is one of the key wine centers of France. In addition, Beaune is a fun stop because in the center of town are electric and quaint little stores, and around the city is an ancient wall and moat. It's not a huge city, but definitely a fun stop to just see a little French history.

Center of town is about four blocks of criss-crossing streets full of fun stores and shops.
Before we left we enjoyed some wonderful ham and cheese sandwiches at at Brasseire Le Carnot. The interior of the restaurant has the original wood and counter from the 1920s, and outside you sit where the roads of shops intersect into a quaint square. If you are looking for a short stop to break up the trip, grab a glass of wine, pull up a chair and enjoy an afternoon in Beaune.