Monday-Tuesday: Annecy, France

After a 6 hour train ride that included a crying child and a Rottweiler dog at our feet (yes, you can bring your dog on the train), Adam and I arrived in Annecy, France. Annecy is a small town located next to a pure water lake (Le Lac) in the French Alps and also known as “Venice of the Alps”. The town is filled with buildings dating back 3100 years before Jesus Christ, water canals, parks, bike paths and colorful gardens. Similar to Boulder, it is known for its natural beauty, outdoor recreation and preserving the environment.

On our first day in Annecy, Adam and I decided to rent “comfort bikes”, heavy bikes with very large seats, and ride to a town on the other side of the lake called Doussard, located 19 kilometers (12+ miles) from Annecy. On our ride we enjoyed photographing spectacular views of the mountains, the lake, greeting others with “bonjour and watching a few locals rock climb. Once in Doussard, we parked and locked bikes and headed to the “le plage” (the beach) to cool off from the ride.

At the beach, we enjoyed a refreshing dip and the cool water of the lake. Next to us was a German family of 5 that Adam called the “naked family” as they seemed to have fewer clothes on than most around us. The youngest was an adorable 1.5 to 2-year old little girl, naked of course, with “floaties” on her arms. She was enjoying the water so much she decided to pooh in it. We thought, cute but not that cute -- time to go!

After returning from our bike ride, we headed to the nearest restaurant that served lunch and televised Stage 16 of the Tour. We enjoyed a few Belgian beers, some food and watching the race with other fans, a Frenchman and his family and a cute couple from Denmark.  We were hoping Lance would take the stage, but unfortunately he didn’t have the sprint in him.

After the race finished we headed out to shop for dinner. We decided to enjoy a picnic rather than spend money at a restaurant when we didn’t know what we were ordering (almost all menus are in French). We stopped at the local “chacuterie” (cured meats) for some “saucisson” (salami), then the “boulangerie” for a baguette and finally to the “epicerie” (grocery) for the camembert cheese, a few kiwis and a bottle of Bordeax. All of this for $12 Euros! Hard to believe yet meats, baguettes and wine are incredibly inexpensive as well as delicious in France.

While picnicing out on the deck of our hotel room, we enjoyed live entertainment from a local Frenchman fixing the frame of a futon on his deck.  With a hammer in his hand he got into a heated argumet with his neighbor across the building (we believe the neighbor was complaining about the noise of the hammer).  After a few heated exchanges in French, the gentleman with the hammer stormed down four flights of stairs to confront his neighbor. Luckily, no blood was shed and Ad and I were happy not witness a homicide.

Tomorrow (Wednesday), we leave for Geneva, Switzerland and then to Bern for the night. Bern is located on the Swiss Plateau just west of the center of Switzerland. The official language of Bern is German yet most residents speak either German, French and/or Italian. Most importantly, Bern is home to Berner Sennenhund (or in English, the Bernese Mountain Dog), referring to the area of the dog breed's origin. We can’t wait to hopefully see little Bernese Mountain pups bouncing around town reminding us of our beautiful and very much missed little girl at home.

Love you,
Cathy and Adam