Blogs from Annecy, Rhône-Alpes, France, Europe - page 3

Welcome to Annecy...NOT!! A long long train ride over 6.5 hrs in total time! We are tired, we are dizzy with the sway of the train, we arrive....I ask nicely for directions...I get a map shoved in my face and a slammed window in my face!! Oh so not a good start! Next..we think, we shall go outside the train station....Pardon Monsieur, excusez -moi se il vous plait..got a resounding shake of the head, well merry damn christmas to you too! So not a good start Annecy....rudeness does not go down to well, but is it total rudeness or total indifference. I really haven't struck any arrogant or rude French until now, but in Dijon, we were warned by the staff at the hotel to be aware. It seems that Annecy, with all its beauty & ... read more

France certainly wins out with the choice of mountainous areas compared to many other European countries, there are nine in total including Corsica. So where to start? Well, having done my research, and always liking variety in life, I plumped for the Haute-Savoie region, the capital being the delightful lakeside town of Annecy. In this area you get three for the price of one as it also borders Italy and Switzerland so as well as the fabulous dramatic scenery you get a wonderful variety of different cuisines and wines - a very important consideration after an energetic day scaling the numerous mountain paths. This region is also extremely well organised for the visitor and has an excellent tourist infrastructure. There are connections between the main towns by train and bus. Searching for information on the montain ... read more

I'm having trouble getting this entry going here, somewhat like this morning: when you start the day with a 6km climb directly from the hotel, there's little opportunity to warm up. Fortunately the grade wasn't outrageous - an average of 5.1% and a maximum of 6.5% - but I still felt stupid after realizing at km 4 that I should have removed my helmet for the ascent and been that much cooler, since the sun was out and it was already quite warm. I felt cheated not being able to get a photo at the top (there was no sign, and the area was wooded), so I had to settle for something on the other side. Today's route choices were a rather pedestrian jaunt direct to Annecy, the path I will describe here, and a more ... read more

So for those of you who have no interest in cycling I'm afraid this entry (and the next couple) are going to be a bit boring for you. I am just over one week into my travels and into the Le Tour de France and let me tell you it has been an awesome week. In following the TDF I am driving for the first ten days by myself and then join a group after that to finish it off. I think I my have under estimated how difficult the driving would be. Funnily enough it's not driving on the right side of the road or the left side of the car (it only took me 3 days to stop reaching for the gear stick on my left!!) it's having no idea where I am going ... read more

Hi All We decided to stay at Beaune, the winery capital of the Burgundy region. Our hotel was a 15 minute walk from the centre of town - always the most interesting part of any town we have visited so far. Sean visited a medieval hospital that is currently being used as an old people’s home. I was shopping for clothes, and didn’t realise that was where he was - apparently they have some interesting surgical instruments on display from the 16th century. We stayed in Beaune for 3 days and decided to visit some Chateaux on the Route des Ducs de Bourgogne, not realising the ones we wanted to see involved a 360km round trip. Luckily we checked on the internet and found the good ones were closed on Monday and Tuesday (not mentioned in ... read more