Awesome Annecy

Today is Monday, 17^th June and we have been in Annecy since Saturday after spending Wednesday and Thursday nights at a top camp in Chateauneuf-sur-Isere.  There we caught up with the washing which all dried in the sunshine in no time at all…almost like being at home…and managed a few little odd jobs in between swimming in the pool, enjoying the sunshine and just taking a rest from travelling. 

 We had wifi there, and although the connection was very slow and fell over several times, we did finally manage to skype some of our family in Sydney which made our day.

After leaving C-s-I on Friday morning, our next destination was Aix-les-Bains on Lac du Bourget via the motorway, through very busy Grenoble where there was heavy  traffic congestion, partly caused by the new tramway under construction.  We managed to take a couple of photos from Boris but didn’t attempt to find a parking spot, big cities are simply not motorhome friendly. 

An uneventful journey but very scenic with snow topped mountains to admire along the way.  Our plans were thwarted on arrival in Aix-les-Bains when, because of detours caused by roadworks in the area, we couldn’t find the camping park we had earmarked, another we looked at was too crowded so we headed for the hills where we found a camp site in Trevignin, on Mt Revard.  It was difficult to find firm ground on which to park Boris and we were in danger of being bogged because of all the rain that had fallen recently. 

On our departure on Saturday morning after a quiet and peaceful night, we were greeted by the sight of a few dozen hikers carrying enormous backpacks, all congregating in the camp café before heading off up the mountain.  We had to wait for several of the hikers to drive into the camp to park before we were able to get through the barrier and then we were on our way towards Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, planning to stop somewhere along Lac Annecy for a break but……

When we arrived, we were so taken by the lake and its surrounds, that we quickly decided that we should stay for a night.  Finding a camp at Sevrier, 5 kms out of Annecy, we booked in, had lunch and took the bikes off the rack for a ride along part of the 30km bike track.  We were passed by young children, teenagers, serious cyclists, older/greyer/fatter than us adults and roller bladers but did we care?  Nay,,,not a jot, we were just delighted to be here and able to ride at a gentle pace alongside the beautiful, turquoise blue waters with mountains on either side, some still with snow on their peaks.  On our return to camp, we booked in for another night and yesterday, Sunday 16^th, Mike threw himself off a mountain…i.e. he did a tandem parapente jump with a 20 year old, Teo, and absolutely loved every moment including doing very tight circles with huge G forces  Check out their web site http://www.volbiplace-annecy.com/

A swim afterwards at one of the ‘beaches’ along the lake was cooling…the beaches are not sand but grass, and there are pebbles underfoot which makes it a bit tricky getting in and out of the water but it was amazing, being there, surrounded by mountains…I really don’t know how we can stand much more of this! 

We spent another very pleasant evening having pre dinner drinks with our neighbours Les and Shirley from Bedfordshire, and are staying here again tonight, expecting to resume our travels tomorrow…but who knows??

For any of our fellow travellers who may be heading this way in the future, you could do worse than stay at Camping l’Aloua (in the ACSI book).  http://www.camping-aloua-lac-annecy.com/camping-lac-annecy-haute-savoie/ There are several other camp sites in the area, all we have seen have been chokkers but it is less than half full here at the moment which suits us, the owners are a young couple who are both very friendly and obliging and we would definitely stay here if we come this way again.

Although there is free wifi here, we have not been able to access it…a technician was here for a few hours yesterday morning but whatever the problem was, it has not been fixed…so, we will be riding to the nearest MacDonalds later (they don’t open until 10.30am here) to post this and to send emails.

To family and friends who are about to celebrate birthdays…Laurie on the 21^st, Judy on 23^rd, Stuart on the 26^th and Joan on the 29^th…we wish you all Many Happy Returns…if we are unable to send a message on your special day, you should know that we will be thinking of you and will drink a toast to your health.  Cheers!

As you can see we found Maccas!