Annecy France

Caught the fast train from Paris to Annecy, a town on the east side of France near Switzerland border. Have a lovely apartment with a balcony overlooking a park and fountain. Marie the owner lives next door and speaks English and she invited us in for a cup of tea when we arrived. I must say Annecy Lake and Old Town is the most beautiful I have ever seen. The water is so clean they filter it and use for tap water, which may I say is very nice to drink. The lake has a silver shine to it brought about by the reflection of the majestic mountains surrounding the lake. It took my breath away when we first sighted it and as the day was also very warm and sunny every turn of the head was a picture postcard moment. 

After stocking up on some groceries we decided to take one of the lake charters that gives a running commentary. There where castles and chateaus dotted along the lake, fishing boats bobbing in the wake of the ferries and hang gliders in the 100s jumping off the mountain and sailing boats cruising across the waters. One of the castles Chateau de Menthon-Saint Bernard has been in the same family for over 1000 years and reportable the inspiration for Walt Disneys castle. We walked around the old town looking at the many shops and restaurants and canals. We stopped at Lovers Bridge to view the lake and mountains.

The weekend was very summery and we headed for the food market to buy some salmon, olives and cheese. We really are doing it tough lol. I brought a top from a lovely lady and chattered about Australia. We heard that the Basilica referred to as The Visitation of Annecy was open in the afternoon for a recital of bells that are housed in the tower. After a steep walk and then up the stairs of the tower we found the organist ready to explain how the system worked. It was all in French but the method was similar to an organ and as he played the pulleys and levers worked to ring the 37 bells to create the music. He played Que Sera Sera and other tunes and we then climbed up the next level to see the bells in action. Very noisy but worth the trouble. Down in the church we found the relics of Saint Francis de Sales and Saint Jane de Chantal who lived in Annecy and worked with the poor and those in the community who were disadvantaged. 

Walking towards the lake we heard lots of horn blastings and watched as a wedding party came around the bend straight past us. It must be some type of tradition to have the bride and groom in a carriage with the wedding party hooting and crying out, some literally hanging out of windows yelling. I turned to Cliff and said, well we won't be doing that for our wedding. Lol. 

On our way back we stopped to watch the display of athletics in the park. We watched the pole vault, gymnastics and fencing. It was a great display of physical strength and we really got into cheering for the contestants. We sat on the grass and ate our rolls and clapped along with the crowd. It was quiet exciting to watch. 

Sunday was a bit wet but we managed to find an advertised event held in a park called Les Jardins Extraordinaires and yes it was extraordinary as it consisted of wooden planks made into sculpture, wire run along garden beds making sounds, hose running water under a tree to comedown on top of people walking around in a funny metal hat (this was supposedly to make sounds) and bushes vibrating and making sound. We thought we managed to avoid the funny hat wearing but as we were leaving a guide asked us if we had had a go and enthusiastically called us over and laughed the whole time we paraded around. Wished I had taken a photo but we exited just after that. 

We walked around a bit more than took the opportunity of resting for the day.