Lac Annecy

Haute - Savoie –France

Annecy, the Venice of the Alps, or so the guide book says. With its old town charm enchanted by the (currently) fast flowing canals and the arcade houses with many coloured facades (which Jess took a liking to with the camera).

It was well worth the wait. Two days of nonstop rain put a bit of a dampener of our first days in Annecy. Though the kids managed a 10km bike ride in the drizzle and an introduction to the old town dodging puddles…thankfully not hordes of tourists.

On day three the sun burst through and we have had 28+ deg days and wall to wall sunshine since. Which worked in well with the track endurance team starting their four day Pays de Savoie Tour. The kids and I took a side road trip to Chambery to watch to prologue. A tight 3.8km Time Trial around a large car park through the foyer of the Expo centre and around the back of some buildings before hitting the only straight stretch of road for 500 mt. The kids and I each got a turn in the team car following a rider, driven by none other than Tim Carswell. In a nut shell it was a hold on and shut up, 5 minute tyre screeching rally race just to try and stick behind the rider. Tim did a fantastic job at the wheel and the look of shock on the kid’s faces were priceless.

Jessie after her hot lap

Jack in the hot seat.

Stage winner and very happy man, Wes Gough..or Gouch as the French were calling him.
Winning no less than 6 different catagories in one stage.

We hit the tri weekly market in the old town on Friday morning where we were treated to loads of fresh produce. The stall holders are all characters vying for the sale and we splashed out on sweet  apricots, juicy watermelon and sun warmed strawberries. Oh how we love summer fruit!!!

 
As an extra treat we thought we would take a boat excursion around Le Lac. Jacks theory was a good one. Since it was not yet the weekend and the boat and port was rather empty better to go on it now than when all the tourists were in town. It was a stunning hour cruise around the inner bays where we got to discover the lake and mountains from a different angle.

Saturday rolled around and our plan was to head into the hills on the east side of the Lake and watch the mountainous stage of the tour spin past. Tim very thoughtfully text directions through to a good vantage point. So we packed up a picnic and headed for a town called Bluffy (the kids had a good laugh at that one). From our great vantage point the kids scored tones of free stuff from the pre race caravan and were eagerly awaiting the convoy that followed the riders to wave out to Tim and Chris as they drove by. Much to our surprise a bag of goodies was passed out the window from Tim as we threw in some of the freebees we had collected. We felt for the riders though. The sun was out in full force and the temperature was hitting 30 deg.

After the excitement of the race we headed for the lake and a spin on our bikes. I think just about every other person in Annecy had the same idea. The kids had a blast whipping along on the bike paths and we stayed well into the night listening to a brass band and eating gelato by the water’s edge. The temperature as we were heading back to the camp ground was even hotter than earlier in the afternoon.

The camp ground here is extremely well organised, situated in a stunning terraced setting overlooking the West side of the Lake. The showers are super hot, even at the busiest time of day (and with a hens night and separate stags do preparing to hit the town) and kids play ground is new and has loads of different activities to do (table tennis, mini golf petanque). The restaurant/bar/shop is well equipped along with friendly staff. They also have plenty of cabins for those looking for those not tenting or in camper vans.      

                                                 

Just in case anyone is heading this way, it is well worth the stop.

Snug!

The multi use bike rack.

Sunday brought another trip to the old town market, this time it seemed to be catering more for the tourists than the locals. We found ourselves by one of the many fresh water fountains and savoured the sweet juicy cherries and strawberries the kids had purchased, while dangling our feet in the cool water. The water quality of the lake is thanks to the protection efforts made for over 50 years, making it the cleanest in all of Europe. In summer the water temperature sits between 20 and 24 deg. The total length is 14km long with the widest point hitting 3.5km and at its narrowest it  reaches 800m across. To ride around the perimeter you would clock up an easy 32km. Hopefully we will come back with Tim and do that as a family. Its average depth is 42 metres and maxes out at 80.

There you go. My Lake education lesson is now complete. Watch out for the pop quiz next time!

Come Monday morning our plan is to pack up the mighty green tent and head an hour east to Chamonix to spend the day with Tim before heading back to Switzerland for 3 weeks. The kids will start intensive French lessons at school before the school year ends in early July. After that the kids and I will head to Bordeaux for a week or so to spend our (mine and Jessie’s) birthday with Tim. But more about those adventures later.

Au revoir Annecy, till next time.

Take care

Fee x