Annecy

Being determined not to fly anywhere in February (one could argue that the climate discourse is strengthening its grip on us but admittedly, we were just a little too much all over the place (i.e. Europe) in the months just prior to this one...) we decided to catch the bus to Annecy last Sunday.

So many people have spoken well of this French town just below the Mont-Blanc massive and it is indeed a beautiful place. Like most other important towns in this area, it is situated at one end of a lake, here Lac d'Annecy, and has a well-preserved medieval city centre, a castle (on a hill), numerous churches, and a lovely, busy - on Sunday morning, anyway - market. The Palais de l'Ile below is the best known image of Annecy but we guess that most people see it sans the snow flakes.

We spent a good deal of time walking in the snow along the lake, then made it up to the castle only to find the gate closed. We concluded it was time for lunch and had a spectacular meal at l'Atelier Gourmand de Jumeaux - which we stumbled on by chance, but we could hardly have made a better choice if we tried.

After being closed for lunch the gates of the castle were opened again, and we sneaked a peek in the courtyard (see below). Supposedly there is a great view from the tower of the castle, but considering the low visibility at that particular time, we declined on entering the castle.

It snowed quite a bit, and there was a fog for most of the day. Luckily we happened to be down by the lake, when some sort of hole in the clouds/fog passed by giving us a glimpse and an idea of the spectacular mountain views around the lake enjoyed from the city on clearer days.