Adieu to Annecy

Last Annecy-Francey post, I promise!  There are just too many beautiful photos to share.  Buckets of sorz.

Though the rainclouds from earlier that morning had scuttled away by lunch, the afternoon weather was apparently no good for hang gliding, and the World Championship task for the day had to be canceled.  Luckily, “no lift” has no bearing on walking around eating French gelato, so the day was not ruined.

I abandoned my grassy lakeside post and went right back to where I’d come from to meet Jonny and his team of glider pilots, including a couple other OBX faces I hadn’t seen in ages!

IMG_5832

Their hang gliding headquarters was in Doussard, on the south end of the lake, and this was the first time they’d come up to Annecy proper, so we spent the afternoon wandering around the vieille ville, dipping in and out of shops and picking out dream houses along the canals.

IMG_5815

IMG_5818

It was much a repeat of my first afternoon, but with scenery like this I wouldn’t dream of complaining!

IMG_5731

IMG_5734

IMG_5736

As the restaurants began to prepare for the dinner crowd, we saw people start to emerge from their flats in the candy-colored buildings, hop on their bicycles, and pedal off for their evening shifts.

IMG_5735

IMG_5782

Can’t you imagine sipping your morning coffee while sitting on one of these stoops, or perching on a balcony overlooking the canal?  I can.  I totally can.

IMG_5737

IMG_5833

Behind a cluster of restaurants back in the corner of the old town, there’s a little winding road that leads you up a steep hill to the Musée-Chateau (literally “museum-castle”) and panoramic views of the French Alps.

IMG_5739

IMG_5744

IMG_5746

As the sun started to dip lower in the sky, the little village turned golden.

IMG_5755

IMG_5756

IMG_5757

Despite as much wandering around as I’d done over the past couple of days, I was constantly stumbling upon bridges, alleys, and pathways I hadn’t yet seen.

IMG_5759

IMG_5761

IMG_5762

Finally I bade Jonny and the others au revoir and they returned to Doussard.  I was tres fatiguée, but in my perpetual endeavour to overcome my own lameness, made myself stay out at least until it got dark.

I had a delicious dinner with a view of Le Thiou (thanks Mum for imparting the worldly wisdom that aperitifs are not supposed to be taken like shots TWO HOURS TOO LATE), then slowly meandered back to my hotel, watching the lights turn on over the canals and the evening’s entertainment begin to take shape.

IMG_5822

IMG_5826

IMG_5824

My evening’s entertainment looked more like this:

IMG_5767

I found Friends in French!  Disappointingly, they did not find a French voice actress who could replicate Janice’s laugh.  She sounded sort of normal.  It was weird.

The next morning was to be my last chance at seeing some world-class hang gliding… and we woke up to buckets of rain.  We had one last crepe to console ourselves before I was off to the train station.

IMG_5838

Even though I didn’t get to see any of the hang gliding I went for, the weekend in Annecy was so worth it.  It had been far too long since I’d gone traveling by myself, it was lovely to be in France and get to speak the language again, and seeing OBX friends was absolutely priceless.

The last gift of my mini-holiday was unexpectedly chugging past this vision (later identified as Lac du Bourget) on my way back from Aix-les-Bains to Geneva:

IMG_5852

Until next time, France!

IMG_5863

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...