Welcome back to “When Wine Calls” as we commence the final leg of our adventure travelling through the spectacular countryside of France.
When we were planning this trip, we looked at several alternatives to get from Northern Italy to Annecy in France including via train and car but none of the options were viable, in the case of the train it meant many changes across different railways and a loss of a day while with the car the cost of the repositioning fee crossing the border into France was unrealistic. So, we had to settle for air travel but that had its own challenges with the best routing from Verona being to fly via Amsterdam to Geneva where we could pick up a hire car on the French side of the France/Switzerland border and then drive down to Annecy but then we could continue on through country France dropping it off at CDG (Charles De Gaulle Airport) in Paris. Interestingly, the cost of picking the hire car up on the Switzerland side of the airport was considerably more despite it being from the same terminal – go figure.
I was always concerned on the logistics associated with this leg of our trip as we had a reasonably tight interchange in Amsterdam and the flight from Verona was using the airlines low-cost carrier which meant there was no guarantee they would hold the onward flight to Geneva if that first flight was running late. As it turned out all the flight logistics went extremely smoothly with both flights on-time and the terminal changeover in Amsterdam not an issue despite the overwhelming size of Schiphol Amsterdam airport.
All was going well until we arrived in Geneva and walked to the baggage carousel to collect our luggage. I suddenly became very concerned as there in the baggage area were stacks of luggage trolleys with what appeared to be unclaimed bags with many other bags on the various carousels that had stopped operating. Just as I got my head around that unexpected site, we received a text message from the airline that our bags had not made our flight and were still in Amsterdam. I checked the air tag app and sure enough they were showing as being in a terminal at Amsterdam airport. Other passengers were also standing around the carousel and waiting for their bags which were not turning up, so we advised them on the text we had received – they had not received a similar text for some reason.
We all went over to Baggage Services to get an update and fortunately they advised us that the system was showing that our bags would be on the next flight from Amsterdam in a few hours – some of the other passengers were not so lucky being advised there was no view at that time on where their bags were.
Since we had to pick up the hire car at the terminal and drive down to Annecy that day we had no option but to wait at the airport for the next flight to arrive so we headed for the food court to wait out the time – it turned out to be an expensive wait as the aperol’s we had there were the most expensive of the whole trip, priced in Swiss currency (CHF) rather than Euros and not that good it must be said – you should be able to claim back on the airline for this expense I thought to myself.
Our bags ended up turning up on the next flight, we negotiated the tricky access in the airport to the French side to pick up the hire car and made it through several tunnels and airport back roads to reach the highway heading for Annecy after a long travel day – it could had been a lot worse I told myself as some of the other passengers still did not have their baggage and had given up and headed to their hotel to await word from the airline. Another tick for the air tags as we at least knew where our bags were throughout the day even if they had not been with us for a few hours.
We had added Annecy to the itinerary after our friend Monica had told us how beautiful Lake Annecy was with the Alps in the background.
Our hotel, Rivage Hotel & Spa, was on the lake although a good walk out of town, so our step count increased considerably while we were there walking into town each day along what I ended up calling “the Nullabor” – a very long, very straight section of path adjacent to the lake that seemed to go on for ages when you walked it.
Nevertheless, the lake is amazing, and we were blessed with blue skies while we were there which provided a magic backdrop with the Alps reaching right down to the lake. The hotel had turned the front section leading out to the lake into a beach with beach chairs, wine barrels and umbrellas which is something we had not seen before but a lovely setting for our happy hour drinks.
The research I had undertaken on Annecy prior to our trip stated that Annecy was the “Venice of the Alps”. Since we had only recently been to Venice on this trip, I think that description is certainly an exaggeration although the Old Town is very attractive to walk around with a river running through the centre.
For me, what was surprising was the low water level in the river which flows from the lake with a small weir at the entrance to control the lake level. The lack of rain in the Alps over summer had had a definite impact on the lakes water level and subsequently that of the river in the town with you clearly able to see the cement bottom of the river.
On the lake itself water sports dominate with all sorts of watercraft for hire for all ages including unique bicycle boats with slippery dips on board. All the locals as well as visitors flock to the lake and surrounding parklands to enjoy the crystal-clear water and fantastic views – it is a very enjoyable part of the world.
On the day after we arrived the famed Annecy markets were on in the Old Town, so we went for a look-see and while they were interesting, they were a bit underwhelming to be honest on what we had read although they were scattered throughout the tight laneways of the Old Town so provided a colourful backdrop to the old buildings.
That night we were late heading out for dinner which, from previous posts you will recall, is not a good idea during tourist season if you do not have a reservation. As expected, we encountered issues getting a table at a couple of restaurants we had sighted previously during the day but eventually we came across one right on the river in the Old Town called
L-Authentic that was very “french”. Although the duck that was on the menu was sold out, we still had a great meal starting with the most amazing “Foie gras” with a tremendous French white wine, so all was good by the end of the evening as we strolled back to our hotel, passed Le Palais de Annecy, over the romantic Puentede los Amores bridge looking across the Jardins de l’Europe and along the lake passed the magnificent Hotel Imperial and Casino, all sites we had also visited during the day on our sightseeing adventures but so different when viewed at night.
The next day we decided to go exploring and drive a circuit around the lake. Our first stop was the Castle of Menthon (dating back to the 13th century) which we had read was situated up on a hill with panoramic views over the lake. What we hadn’t read was that its opening hours reduced from the beginning of September so when we got there, after a bit of trouble finding the access road, we, along with several other groups found it closed which was a real disappointment.
If you are visiting Annecy, it would be worth making the effort to visit the castle, as it looks spectacular, at least from the outside, and the view over the lake would be amazing, just check the opening days prior and, if you do visit, send us some pictures please
After getting back into the car we came across this little village, Talloires, which turned out to be a real gem. It was located right on the foreshore of the lake with stunning views and gorgeous hotels and B&B’s and as we wandered around, we thought this would be where we would stay next time, we visited Annecy even though it is not within walking distance of the Old Town but certainly doable by pushbike which were prevalent around the lake for getting around and a ferry service.
We finished driving around the lake although if we had had more time, we would have liked to have driven up into the Alps but that is for another trip.
Our few days in Annecy had come to an end but prior to leaving we walked across to the lake for coffee and croissants in our little quirky coffee hut we had discovered and watch the daily boules challenges in the dirt courts set up in the park. However, we were keen to move onto our next stop, the wine growing district of Burgundy which was around 3 hours along the motorway to Paris via the outskirts of Lyon.
Join us as we enjoy some of the great wines that originate out of this fantastic region of France.
Bruce and Pauline
When Wine Calls 
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