Annecy

May 8, 2019

What a Difference a Day Makes

Today was a rare event. When Keith and I talk about bike touring we know over a couple of months there has to be some rain. The planet would be in a sorry state without it. But, as we often point out to each other, it rarely rains all day, and that is a wonderful thing. There have to be exceptional days though, and while there were brief periods where the rain stopped today, it was very, very wet. I just looked out our hotel room window, and yes, it is still raining.

So, here are all the details you need. It was that kind of a day.

It was a bit astonishing when you consider that yesterday was just so sunny and warm and gorgeous, but it didn’t mean we couldn’t make the best of it.

So instead of riding around and above Lac Annecy, we lingered long over breakfast, actually until they closed up the breakfast room. I sucked up as many cappuccinos as I could possibly hold while Keith worked on both cappuccinos and croissants. We just embraced the whole forced to relax ambience of the day.

We then had a text from our soon to be daughter in law Kelly and she told us she has a good friend who works in Annecy and so we set out in full rain gear to find her. First stop though was the train station to check on trains to Aix les Bains, just in case this weather settles in. That sorted we continued our quest. Right about the time we arrived at her place of work, Kelly texted to say they were closed today. That didn’t stop us from taking a picture.

We found it. There is some discussion of staying another night so we can ride around Lac Annecy and we are hoping to meet Kelly’s friend for dinner. That will be so much fun.

Then, an incredible stroke of good luck. We came across the Printemps Du Reblochon Fermier, which is a spring celebration of the traditional cheese making in the Haute Savoie. It was so local, so much fun and the dégustation of the cheeses was out of this world. We didn’t understand the speeches but clapped when everyone else did hehe. The whole thing was marvellous. We weren’t the only ones who weren’t letting a little rain dampen our day.

First up was the lovely Isabelle and her friends. Isn’t she just gorgeous? She had a lovely deep voice too, which she used often.

Oh the cheeses. The tastings were so generous we were wishing we hadn’t been quite so self indulgent at breakfast. The cheeses were so absolutely delicious.

Then came the speeches which were weirdly entertaining since we didn’t understand much, but everyone was so happy and enjoying themselves. It was a delight to watch.

The guy on the left. He had such a wonderful face.

The kids weren’t letting the rain slow them down. It just made it better to have to ride through the puddles.

And then this. Oh for goodness sake, why did we eat so much breakfast and taste so much cheese? We would have loved to indulge but we were stuffed. Absolutely stuffed.

People were so welcoming and friendly. We met a woman with a brother in Victoria. It is wonderful how much of a conversation it is possible to have when both parties are motivated and each have a smattering of the other language. It was so much fun.

Then we tiptoed out through the puddles and continued our walk. We have the gear, so why not? Annecy is beautiful, even in the rain.

That snow seems to be marching down the mountain.

Beautiful mahogany boats on one of the canals.

At this point it was time to head into a bar and have a hot chocolate. The French really know how to make hot chocolate and we appreciated both the warmth and the deliciousness. We decided the museum in the Château was the next order of business. It was part art gallery, part history and part natural history exhibition. The Château itself was the star though. What a setting for a museum.

No one in the outdoor chairs?? I can’t imagine why not.

The contemporary part of the art museum was more than a little beyond us. We walked through trying to look intelligent and engaged but probably failed at both. In the midst of this exhibit were the castle latrines, dating back to the mid 16th century. Early for that sort of thing the information said and I found the latrines far more interesting than the contemporary art. That really made me giggle.

An example of the contemporary art. An addition to our daughter in law Kiersten’s collection of ‘Is it garbage or is it art?’. I call this one ‘Broke the window and the leaves blew in’.

The views from the castle were fantastic and once we had had our fill of the museum we headed back to the hotel for a late nap. I hope Keith forgives me but I drifted off to sleep with this nursery rhyme in my head:

It’s raining it’s pouring, the old man is snoring. He went to bed with a cold in his head and didn’t get up until morning!

For the record he wasn’t snoring and we are both up again. This whole day has been unexpectedly great, and we have decided to spend another night. Hopefully we can ride around the lake and meet Kelly’s friend for dinner tomorrow. Either way, it is going to be fun. Keith has just made me laugh so hard - he said one less day we have to ride. We want to ride, we really do, but for now, we are staying put as we don’t mind rain, but we don’t like starting out in the rain. We may be wimps, but we aren’t stupid. Oh, how we laughed 😀. Scott Anderson we are thinking of you 😂🤣😂.

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