Annecy

Firstly, our apologies to those who received more than one (indeed, up to six) email notifications of our last blog. Hopefully the problem is now corrected.

It was quite late before we arrived at our next destination, Annecy. We landed at Orly airport, collected a hire car and drove almost six hours (570Kms)  to our apartment base for the next five days, Comfort Suites at Seynod, just outside Annecy in Seynod. This offered self catering accommodation close to the busy and popular tourist destination of Annecy. The roads we travelled were almost all Autoroutes which were much less stressful for the driver (and passenger) than the smaller roads in Corsica. The tolls added up but we could see the benefit in the three laned 130 kph smooth road surfaces, the viaducts flying over valleys and the tunnels going through mountains. We also appreciated the discipline of drivers in pulling out to the far (left ) lane only when they were actually overtaking a car or truck. No-one stayed there indefinitely so the far lane was routinely available for overtaking when required.

Our first visit was to Annecy itself, a short bus ride away. It is a pretty and interesting town set at the top of Lake Annecy with two canals in the Old Town enhancing the interest of ancient buildings and narrow alleys. We were there on the Saturday of a four-day long weekend and the streets and the lake were packed with tourists, especially in The Gardens of Europe and the adjacent foreshores where there were boats and pedal vehicles of all sizes and shapes available for hire. Chateau d'Annecy

There are high mountains all around but the town itself is quite flat. Later we walked along the Western edge of the 14km long Lake enjoying the expected reeds, trees and birds but surprised to come across a snake, the first we have seen in France. Our trip to Chamonix took us higher into the Alps, closer than ever to those snow covered peaks we had seen from the plane. View from Chamonix

Mont Blanc is very close to Chamonix but we still could not see the whole mountain; cloud cut off the top from view. We could persuade ourselves that we had seen Mont Blanc in two sections. We wandered around this very pretty town with its amazing views, with the River Arve racing along the length of the town, coloured green/ grey from the mineral deposits in the area.

On the theme of going higher each day, David next took to a hot- air balloon to rise over 2000 metres. The alps spread out beneath the balloon; sometimes the Montgolfier skimmed quite close to jagged rock formations but David was confident in the skill of his very experienced pilot. After almost 90 minutes, the landing was a bit tight, skimming the trees in the small field, but achieved safely. Inflating the Montgolfier

He then enjoyed a 30 minute drive through the mountains to return to the launch area. This ride was a gift promised for David's 60th birthday so it was only just redeemed before his 70th which is later this year, but it was worth the wait to be able to enjoy such stunning scenery. View from the balloon

Our trip to the Alps finished with a drive to Geneva, only 45 minutes away. There we took in the modern city, explored the old town and met a newly- discovered cousin who works there. We had a most enjoyable meal on the Lake shore with him, then back to our apartment to prepare for our return North to Migennes to get Anja ready for our last season of cruising.

Best Regards,

Penelope and David