Amazing Annecy

I was trying to do some blogging on the go during this vacation, so you may remember our sheer delight in picking Annecy off the map as our lunch stop and happening onto an incredibly beautiful city. I wanted to share just a little more about Annecy (pronounced Ahn-see), on the shore of Lake Annecy and rimmed by Alps. We drove to the lake and parked there, right by the pedestrian zone of town, and then enjoyed a too short wander through town while seeking out our cheese, bread, and sausage for lunch picnic. The restaurants and streets were filled with tourists, as well they should have been. A favorite was, of course, the Palais de l'Isle, which is the building featured in my prior post (Travel Can Remain Surprising). The Palais de l'Isle was a residence built in the 1100s, and subsequently served as a courthouse, mint, jail, and now, a local museum.

I couldn't resist adding another photo of Palais de l'Isle.

Annecy's streets and alleys meandered through buildings and over the canal, winding about, and we had to tear ourselves away for picnic time. We found a lovely, small store that held everything we needed for our picnic and made our way to the lakeside park. Oh, how that park soothed our green space deficit eyes. Naples has a ton of great things about it. Parks are not one of them. There are very few green spaces, and what few there are can take quite a trip to reach. To sit by the huge lake, covered by shade trees, and staring up at the Alps while eating our lunch was heaven. But, we eventually had to tear ourselves away and finish out the drive...Swiss Alps or bust.

Annecy had a number of boat rental options. Canoes, kayaks, motorboats, paddle boats. The paddle boats had interesting options of colorful lounge chairs, and some even sported a small waterside - awesome!