With just a few weeks until our resistant departure from la belle France, we made one last short voyage to Annecy, a storybook little town that we had heard many friends rave about. It lived up to its reputation with its squished, colorful, canal-lined edifices, nestled up against the misty Lake Annecy. It looked like the setting for your typical "Once upon a time..."
Our touristic activities commenced the moment we stepped off the train because we arrived too early to check in to our hotel. Map in hand, packs on backs, we labored from the station up to one of Annecy's highest points, upon which Basilique de la Visitation sat.
For us, the most impressive thing about it was how its steeple appeared to loom over you, even once you joined it on the hilltop. I really can't say the architecture was as impressive as some other religious buildings we had seen in France, but it was also built a lot more recently (20th century) and was not as elaborately embellished as other sites.
Charlie decided to take the unconventional route back to the town center by sliding down the bannister on the stone stairs that lead up to the Basilique.
Monumental stuntman
He's only laughing so that he doesn't cry.
Still unable to check into the hotel, we wandered over to the Château d'Annecy (12th-16th centuries). We love castles so we were particularly excited to visit this one. Much to our dismay, we found that it had been converted into a museum and filled with a bunch of crappy modern art. We breezed through the exhibits rather quickly, just wanting to look at the building itself and hopefully find some remnants of what used to fill it. But alas, much of the building had been restored in a not-so-renaissance fashion and there was only a small collection of furniture from the 15th century and later than may or may not have even belonged to the castle. The security staff took note of how quickly we were touring the building and became suspicious.
Castle courtyard
Spiral staircase
Lake Annecy from the window.
Nice view
The more interesting part of the castle was what had been converted into an "observatory". Basically, it was the castle's tower, the various floors of which had been filled with local archaeological finds, aquariums with local fish, bad taxidermy of local animals and models of boats commonly used in the lake.
Mermaid fossils
I knew they were real.
A terrifying stuffed beaver.
Finally, we were able to check in at Hotel Alexandra, with which we were very pleased. It was centrally located, moderately priced, the front desk staff was incredibly helpful and friendly, breakfast was awesome, and our room, while having a pretty garish color scheme, was impeccably clean and comfortable.
Charlie marvels at the interior design.
We had a corner room on the second third floor with a great view of the bustling street below on one side and a babbling canal on the other.
Pleased
Agua
We wandered a bit more for the afternoon and then took a rest until restaurants started to open for dinner.
A small pedestrian passageway
Our dinner that evening was nothing impressive but our options were limited since we were visiting during the off-season. The service, even for France, was terrible.
That night I was awakened by shouting and looked out our hotel room window to see two very drunk men, one of them elderly, swearing and fighting on the sidewalk. They were so drunk that their fight mainly consisted of lying entangled on the ground, panting, and throwing a punch or a kick now and again. Someone eventually called the police. I would have, but didn't know the word for "fight" in French. Also, I didn't know how to call the police.
The next morning, I convinced Charlie that we should rent bicycles and ride around, or part-way around, Lake Annecy. It was pretty cold and drizzly, but totally worth it. The stillness of the lake was other-worldly.
A good sport
Clear water
Kissing on the "Lovers' Bridge"
For the birds
Camouflaged trees
Curious fowl
I could have taken a million pictures that day.
I nearly did.
Truthfully, we only rode about 1/4 of the way around the lake. Once you get out of Annecy proper, it becomes much less hospitable to bicycles because of the traffic.
Just as we were about to turn around, I inexplicably, while at a full stop, simply tipped over on my bike and fell directly into a puddle.
It was awesome.
Our ride back to the town center was much colder for me now that I was soaked and muddy. We stopped at a little brasserie for what must have been some very typical or very mediocre fare because we didn't take any pictures of it.
I did take a picture of my date though.
After lunch we returned our bicycles and took our customary afternoon rest until it was time to eat again.
That evening, we chose a restaurant that we had scoped out earlier in the day called Les Chineurs de la Cuisine. Along with its general, very enticing, dinner menu. It also had the following posted outside:
The "terrible kids' menu"
It is a little family-owned restaurant just off the touristy Place Ste. Claire. The atmosphere was rustic and cozy, the owner was friendly and engaging and our 12-year-old waiter provided better service than we had received in some of the best restaurants in France.
The amuse-bouche: Asparagus velouté with cauliflower foam.
Foie gras de canard en torchon to die for!
Octopus escabeche in a spring salad
Roast duck in a fig sauce
Coulant au chocolat
Ice cream and coffee, mmmmm...
After visiting with the owner a bit, who kind-heartedly gave us two non-drinkers a shot of local liqueur (we each took a polite, minuscule sip), we paid our bill and went for a post-meal digestion walk.
Tiny Palais de l'Isle in the middle of the Thiou canal.
Our last day in Annecy, we rose early, packed our things and checked out of our hotel. Our only real goal before catching the train was to visit the boat-shaped Palais de l'Isle, which was built in 1132. Over the years it had served as a residence, an administrative building, a courthouse, a mint and a jail.
The little castle in the middle of the canal
Charlie and Marie-sized doors
The poo house
Where else would you expect to find him?
This wooden table and this room were used for torturing people during WWII. We both started to feel sick after being here for a few minutes.
The canal from the palace's tiny entrance plaza
Waterfront property
Unusual architecture
With that, our trip to magical Annecy had come to a close. We hopped on the train and zoomed back to Paris for our final stint in this lovely country.
