Blogs from Annecy, Rhône-Alpes, France, Europe - page 4

No rain today. Still very chilly start which meant we layered up on clothing before venturing out but the temperature did rise slowly through the day and we have now stopped shivering. Managed to resist putting on socks with my sandals, which was fortunate as I was wearing my cut-offs, so socks would have looked ridiculous. Possibly not the best day to chose to visit such a deservedly popular town as Annecy, on a public holiday, Ascension day, but just the way it has happened and not a problem, just rather a lot of people everywhere, tourists, just like us. Scooter is running very well, since Bob attacked the sticking choke cable before we left (the one the garage has failed to fix !). 10 km from the campsite to Annecy and we were there in ... read more

60 miles or so to go, though not sure what to expect as still in the Juras Mountains with Alps ahead. The morning consisted of stunning views and very long descents as we left the Juras. One climb stuck in our memory which was a 7 Km forest climb followed by a similar descent, Paul measured the climb and it was 3310 ft up and 3304 down when we stopped for coke and pie break ( for the larger members of the party ). From here we made good progress and pressed on to Annecy arriving a full day ahead of schedule. Dropped down into the town on the motorway by mistake, had to pull off for safety reasons but not sure where we were, as we discussed options for the route Paul spotted the name ... read more

Leaving this quaint town we headed to Annecy to meet a friend of Pam’s for dinner fondue if you please. The one thing we have found with our trusty Tomtom is that it will take you usually through the center of a town making a bloody drama at times because some city streets we not made with camper vans in mind and meeting crazy French drivers coming the other way can be daunting. The distance we had to travel today was quite a lot so we did not waste too much time as we wanted to head down through the wine region of Burgundy and then over the mountains to Annecy through Geneva, Switzerland, about 250kms all up and some of it slow going through the mountains. Firstly across to Burgundy and a lovely drive through ... read more

Our second day in Annecy was spent doing much the same as the first. We did some shopping, some wandering and some playing. We started with hiring a shopping trolley shaped like a taxi. This kept the girls entertained for a few hours and we even considered taking it home overnight until a security guard wouldn’t even let us into a store with it, let alone outside! We then had another go on the merry-go-round and found another playground which entertained Mykenzie in the afternoon. I’ve said it before but I still find it fascinating how a trip can be deemed good, great or average based on how many playgrounds are found. I fondly remember a time when it was based on how cheaply a bottle of good French wine could be found! Tonight we had ... read more

I had a nice start to the morning. So the others could sleep in without Mykenzie’s loud voice penetrating their dreams, I took her and Edyn for a run in the playground. Then we went for a coffee and chocolat chaud (hot chocolate) and by the time we got home everyone was slowly stirring. James and Sonia joined us for a great breakfast cooked by the newly weds of croissants, scrambled eggs, baguettes and coffee. We bid a sad farewell to them and then we scrambled madly to get packed, hoping we hadn’t left anything. Before we knew it, it was our turn to say goodbye to Rors, Mel and Naryth. So with promises to see them soon, off we headed with the newly weds for Annecy, our next stop. It’s not a very inspiring drive ... read more