Lisa and I spent 3 nights in Annecy, France as a way to acclimatize and have some downtime before heading off to Chamonix to start the trek.
I met Lisa Velasco at the Geneva Airport. If you remember we met in the Atacama Desert last spring and got along well, deciding to trek together on this next adventure.
I left the apartment a bit early (And thank goodness I wasn’t charged anything extra by HITRentals for the pits I saw one the cooktop) and used some of the extra time getting one last icecafe at Heinle.
While having my very wonderful ice cream drink I got a notification that part of my train journey was canceled, so I caught an earlier train to Geneva. Along the way I came to find out I have to pay another 10 Swiss Francs because I had a super saver fare - ok, could be a lot worse. It was a nice journey and I saw 2 deer farms along the way which included bucks with big racks and a fawn suckling.
EasyJet has been canceling a lot of flights, so I was watching this carefully. It seemed touch and go for awhile until I got confirmation the flight actually left, only 25 minutes late. Now I was at the airport about an hour and a half early. I found a place to perch in the shade and eventually went downstairs to the arrivals hall. The flight finally landed, but the luggage just refused to come off. It took a good hour for the notice to be posted that the luggage was coming. Poor Lisa finally did get her luggage (yay), but then it took a few extra minutes to find each other - finally success and we were ready to start our joint adventure.
(Lisa coming through customs)
We took the taxi Lisa arranged, with our driver Guy, to the Ibis hotel located in the old town section of Annecy and I was very glad to have a place to put my extremely awkward and heavy duffle bag.
Annecy old town reminds me of a film set - it doesn’t look real. It is situated on Lake Annecy - the 3rd largest in the region - and located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. The Counts of Geneva used to live and govern there. The old town is divided by several rivers coming out of the lake and has many charming streets and bridges. Above the town is Chateau d’Annecy when the Counts used to live and is now a museum.
After we dumped our stuff we went for a walk through the old town and looked for a place for dinner. We saw the Palaise de l’isle, built in the 12th century on an island at the fork of 2 of the rivers. This really looks like something off a movie lot!
(I have to wait until I get home to put in these pictures - only takes Jpg)
We searched for a place for dinner - unfortunately many restaurants are closed since it is August in France and many are off on vacation. The river by our hotel is shallow and you can see where people build “cairns” and rock pictures in the middle - it is charming. We end up at a restaurant called La Coupole with a terrace on one of the rivers where we have Arctic char and then go to have home made ice cream at Edelweiss. I have passion fruit and lavender ice cream which is very good.
(To be added later - network issues - don’t forget picture of river going by restaurant)
The next day (August 25) dawns with beautiful weather and we head out to a bakery and, instead of spending 40 Euro to eat a bland breakfast, we have croissants and caffe au lait at the Paul Bakery (I’ve seen these in the states).
It is a beautiful day, so we plan to spend it site seeing through the old city. We start up to the Chateau d’Annecy which, of course, is at the top of a hill and don’t like the feeling of going uphill! Oh, shades of things to come. We are a bit early, so go down the other side of the hill over to the lake front to see the English Gardens and a pretty bridge. We actually totally miss them and have to double back to see the underwhelming gardens. The bridge is cute, as it is called “love bridge” and has a bunch of locks on it. Afterwards we walk along the winding streets of the old town looking at the charming shops.
Along the way we stop at several churches and by that time the Chateau is open. There is an interesting exhibit which talks about the regional lakes and their make up. It turns out Annecy Lake is the third largest in the area. Upper floors have exhibits pertaining to the region’s history, intermixed with modern and older painting exhibits.
We come down along a winding side street and end up on the Main Street near an ice cream shop that had ice cream bars displayed upright on their handles, like popsicles.
We had wonderful crepes for lunch and headed back to the hotel for a free afternoon to relax.
We met again at about 6:30 and went to a wine bar where I had an Aperol spritz and Lisa had a white wine. Then we wandered over for a cheese fondue dinner. Luckily we didn’t combine that with a racklette because here they used half a wheel of cheese and already the fondue was a lot of food.
The next day, Friday 25 August, brought rain. We brought rain coats, but the rain, for the most part, was quite light. Fridays are market day in Annecy, so we had to see everything and even get samples from some stalls. I got a Cappuccino from vendor and further down Lisa bought me one of the most wonderful peaches I’ve had in a very long time.
We walked along the lake, on the other side from yesterday and in the rain. On the way back we were distracted from continuing to the Casino when we saw a continuation of the market. Then we stopped for a croissant and coffee
Along the way home, we walked by the restaurant we targeted for dinner, Le Bouillon, to try to get a reservation. I believe it has a Michelin star and has about 10 tables. Dinner was fully booked, but we were able to come and have the same menu for lunch. So went for a short rest and came back an hour later. I had Gazpacho, Mackerel and strawberry tartlet
After our 2.5 hour lunch, we decided to take the afternoon off, during which the rain ended. We went to the Midget Cave for drinks before dinner where I had a rose and then ventured forth to have Dim sum for dinner
Time flew and the next day was Saturday and time to go. The rain passed and the weather was wonderful. We ventured forth for one more breakfast and this had the best croissants of the visit - extremely flakey. We were surprised by the morning’s “Antique” outdoor market. Then it was time to pack and head off to the train station. I repacked so my duffle was a bit lighter, but was so heavy that started to rip at shoulder strap, so back to old way of carrying.
Now on to Chamonix and the start of the main event - TMB!
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