Annecy

Language school classes started today, our two week anniversary of arriving in France.  It promises to be a busy year in many ways.  But before classes started, we had a lot of time to get settled in and enjoy exploring the surrounding area.  So last week, we decided to take a bus day trip to Annecy, a scenic town about 1 1/2 hrs away by bus.

We were initially thinking that we could take trains around to the local villages but it seems that most people use the train system to get farther away (Lyon, Paris, Geneva) and the bus system, kind of like Grayhounds, to travel within an hour or two.  The kids were REALLY excited to get on the big bus (but not quite as excited as they'll be, I'm sure, when we take our first train trip since they are big Thomas fans).  The drive was rather winding but pretty, stopping in a lot of small towns before arriving at the lake on which Annecy sits.  It's a medieval style town with old buildings, cobblestone streets, canals, and tons of window boxes full of flowers!

First order of business was finding some lunch.  Our teammate Sarah came with us and it was great to get to know her better.  She ordered apparently the world's biggest hamburger.  Eric and I "adventurously" tried the menu du jour and plate du jour (can you guess what that means?  Menu and plate of the day...French lesson #1).  He got a salad nicoise, salmon tartare, and a yummy pear tart.  I got the roast beef, quite good.  French cuisine seems to be expensive, but we are determined to try a little bit this year!

Then we walked around the streets, full of shops and cafes.  There are two main canals running through the town, giving everything a very scenic look.

Then we walked to the lake.  There were boats to rent (motor or paddle), tours, etc, and a few areas outside of the main part of town where you can swim, but we just enjoyed the view (while Ben slept in his stroller) and Maggie played on the playground.

Her FAVORITE activity of the day was finding a carousel in the park.  Of COURSE she didn't need me to stand next to her, big girl. :)

There is also a castle up on the hill overlooking the city (most French towns seem to have castles, an awesome feature of France I must say). We walked up a very steep hill to take a look.  We didn't go in, since admission is charged, but enjoyed the view of the city from the hilltop.

 

In all, a very successful and fun day!  It started raining just as we got to the bus stop to head home, and I think it rained for the next 5 days or something, so we are glad we went when we did.  Just one of the many sites to see when you come visit us. :)