Annecy

Day 22 continued (Friday, September 18, 2009)

A few hours after leaving Chamonix, I finally arrived in Annecy around 18:00, and was easily able to find Hôtel du Château without any problems. After parking the car in their free lot, I headed into the small hotel, which was slightly rustic, but in a very cute alpine way. My room had an amazing view of Annecy and all of its colorful tile rooftops.

Exterior of Hotel du Chateau in Annecy.

My room at Hotel du Chateau in Annecy.

View from my room at Hotel du Chateau in Annecy.

Exterior of Hotel du Chateau in Annecy.

After settling in, I immediately headed into town as I was starving. I had not had a proper meal that day, so after snacking on just bread and fruit, I was quite hungry. Since I was in the Alps region of France, eating fondue was a must for me. After conferring with my guidebooks on the many different restaurants in Annecy, I settled on a place called Le Freti, as it was listed as having reasonably priced fondues.

Before entering the restaurant, however, I decided to walk through Annecy for a bit. I was surprised that the historical old town was much larger than I had expected. It was also far more beautiful that I had imagined it would be, with all of its multi-colored buildings reflecting beautifully upon the Thiou river.

Annecy

Annecy

Annecy

Annecy

Annecy

Annecy

Annecy

Annecy

Annecy

Annecy

Annecy

Annecy

Annecy

Annecy

Annecy

Annecy

Annecy

I finally walked into the restaurant, Le Freti around 19:00, and was one of the first people there. After surveying the menu for at least ten minutes, I finally decided on ordering a bowl of onion soup (guidebook had indicated that it was great), a plate of various charcuterie, and cheese fondue, which came with potatoes and bread. Normally, I wouldn’t have ordered so much food, but for some strange reason, I was paranoid that I wouldn’t be full with just the cheese fondue alone; I think this was because I was starving. When my appetizers arrived, I was very pleased with the various meats on my charcuterie plate (salami, pancetta, prosciutto, ham, etc), but only mildly impressed with the onion soup.

Eventually, my large bowl of fondue was brought out along with the two bowls of dipping goodies. As soon as I dipped some break in, I decided that it was definitely the best tasting cheese fondue I had ever had. As I ate my way through the bread and potatoes, I soon began feeling very hot and very full; all of the previously unoccupied tables at the restaurant were now full of people, so the internal temperature of the room was quite warm. That warmth, combined with the hot fondue made for a rather uncomfortable experience. Regardless, I still enjoyed every last bite of that amazing fondue. And luckily, my precautions of having taken three lactaid pills worked wonders for me as I had no problems with the cheese that evening.

A very low-quality photo of the bowl of onion soup from Le Freti.

Plate of charcuterie from Le Freti.

Fondue at Le Freti in Annecy.

All in all, a wonderful day capped by a delicious dinner; it would have been the perfect day had I not spent nearly 115 Euros ($173 USD) earlier that day on all of my sightseeing adventures back in Chamonix. It had definitely been the most expensive day of travel ever, and one that I would spend days trying to recuperate my budget on.

Day 23 (Saturday, September 19, 2009)

Although I had been expecting to wake up to rain showers in Annecy, I actually woke up to partly cloudy skies, which was a pleasant surprise. After getting ready and checking out of the hotel, I headed out in order to further explore the historic core of Annecy. Although the streets were much less busy than the night before, there was still a whirl of activity going on as the shopkeepers and restaurateurs prepared for the coming day ahead. After walking through town for about an hour and stopping in to buy some things at a boulangerie, I headed back to the car and left Annecy.

Annecy

Annecy

Annecy

Annecy

Annecy

Annecy

Annecy

Annecy

Annecy

Annecy

My second stop of the morning was to a tiny town about 15 minutes away from Annecy called Duingt. From this small village I had amazing views of Lac d'Annecy, which fortunately for me, was lit up beautifully during my visit by the sun. The clouds were still hovering over the nearby Alps however, so I knew my time in the sun would probably be short lived.

Lac d'Annecy from Duingt.

Lac d'Annecy from Duingt.

Lac d'Annecy from Duingt.

Lac d'Annecy from Duingt.

House in Duingt.

Lac d'Annecy from Duingt.

Lac d'Annecy from Duingt.

Building in Duingt.

Just a few decades ago, Lac d'Annecy was extremely dirty and even unsafe to swim in. Fortunately, government agencies stepped in and undertook a massive campaign to clean-up the beautiful lake. Thanks to their great efforts, the lake is now one of the cleanest in all of France.

After enjoying views of the gorgeous lake for quite some time, I headed onwards to my next stop of another tiny village called Col de la Forclaz. Although only a short distance in kilometers from Annecy, because this village was located up in the foothills, it took nearly 45 minutes to reach by way of very twisty and windy roads. Once I reached Col de la Forclaz though, I knew it had well been worth the motion sickness I was feeling as the views of Lac d'Annecy and further of Annecy itself were absolutely incredible. I had wished that the weather would have been slightly more clear so that I could have obtained better shots of the area; however, it was still beautiful, nonetheless. The viewpoint in Col de la Forclaz from which I was standing was also the launching pad for hang gliders. Hang gliding is something I've always wanted to do, and had I had more time and better weather, I probably would have glided over the gorgeous waters of Lac D’Annecy.

Beautiful view from Col de la Forclaz.

Beautiful view from Col de la Forclaz.

Beautiful view from Col de la Forclaz.

Beautiful view from Col de la Forclaz.

Beautiful view from Col de la Forclaz.

After enjoying the views, I got back into the car and headed towards Chamonix again, where I would spend the next two nights.

In hindsight, I wish that I would have been able to spend more time in and around Annecy. I would have liked to have dedicated more time to further exploring the beautiful and colorful city, and it would have also been great had I been able to partake in some boating activities on the lake. My advice to those visiting Annecy is to spend no less than two full days in the city; with the multitude of things to do in and around Annecy, you will not find any of your time wasted!

Please see the prior entry on Chamonix for a continuation of this travel day.