From the Mountains to the Valleys- Beautiful!!!

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On Saturday, October 5, after a bad start with an overflowing washing machine and a French neighbour pounding at our door because there was water running down into her apartment, we shook ourselves off and decided to take a ride around Lake Annecy. As we started on our jaunt, the sun came out and it turned into a beautiful day so we decided we should go to Chamonix since we wanted to stay in town on Sunday as it was Market Day. I had read that there was a scenic route and a fast route. Of course we would want to go the scenic route one way and back the other and that is exactly what we did. The distance is about 100 km. and the scenic route took us 2 1/2 hours not counting a half hour stop for lunch. And was it scenic???? Well, maybe a little for the passenger but definitely not for the driver. To make the drive even worse, we hit a detour and were taken high into the mountains on narrow switchback roads with few to no guard rails. Needless to say when we finally got to Chamonix, Bonnie was exhausted and needed a half hour rest.

Chamonix-Mont Blanc was the site of the first winter Olympics in 1924. Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in the Alps at 15,774 ft. It is a skiing village like Blue Mountain multiplied a hundred times. There are many beautiful shops and restaurants and of course a cable car that takes you to the summit. Unfortunately the afternoon we were there the summit was shrouded in clouds and we really could not see it.

After a couple of hours browsing we headed back to Annecy on the motorway and were home in an hour. Much more relaxing!!

On Sunday morning we awoke to the chatter of people setting up their booths for the Sunday Market. It starts about 8 AM and runs until 1:00 PM. What a display of fruits, vegetables, meats, cheese, bread and desserts, pottery, clothes, shoes and almost everything you could think of. We were up and out by 9:15 and had a wonderful time using all our senses at the market. We spent the rest of the day until late afternoon exploring the beauty of Annecy. About 4 PM we came back to relax before going out for a delicious dinner at a nearby restaurant we had checked out in the afternoon.

Annecy is a beautiful place to visit!!

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Photos

What I imagine Switzerland to be like
As a young girl I read Hiedi and this is how I imagined the mountains, fields and houses to look.

Our lunch stop
This was a small town that would be buzzing in ski season but very quiet the day we were there.

Glacier in the background
The water was crystal clear and looked ccccold!

Chamonix- Mont Blanc Train Station
We could have taken a train but probably would have meant a longer day.