France on Fridays: Été sur Le Lac
LES DEUX AMIS EN FRANCE
Summer on the Lake • Monday, June 12
It is warmer than expected here, as the spring weather we have enjoyed so far gives way to an incoming heat wave. There will be no snowballs in the Alps. Thankfully, the Made in India cotton tops we bought for 5€ at the market yesterday serve us well.
It is a perfect day for a cruise on Lac d’Annecy, so late in the morning we board Le Cygne for a cruise across this pristine and sparkling lake. The water is a surreal color of blue-green. Boats criss-cross in front of us, chalets and castles dot the shoreline. The Alps cradle us, Mont Blanc standing guard in the distance, as we enjoy this hour-long cruise around the lake. A Swiss flag flying at the boat’s stern notes our border location in crisp red and white.
After our boat ride, we wander around Old Annecy some more, stopping for chocolat chaud and sweets at a café next to the canal. Served in brightly colored mugs, we enjoy the festive atmosphere of this stop and the people-watching it affords us.
A few blocks away, we discover La Poterie du Vieil Annecy, the potter who created the whimsical hot chocolate mugs, and make our own selections. The decision now, as we prepare to go home, do we ship them or find space in our luggage?
More souvenirs in a busier part of town — Le Monoprix, delightfully here in Annecy, and a salon of glass-beaded jewelry called Saoya. At early dinner, we toast my Dad’s birthday with sugar-rimmed Kirs at a bustling bistro near the lake, then head back to the hotel to pack up for the final leg of our adventure.
• • •
Les Deux Amis En France, ©2011 Jen Payne. All rights reserved.
See also:
• L’introduction
• C’est La Vie
• La Plus Longue Journée
• À Travers La Ville
• Petits Oeuvres D’art
• Escalier au Ciel
• Plus Escaliers et Alors Nous Arrêtons
• Le Voyage de la Route!
• Les Américains
• Saints et Soldats
• Tapisserie et Tripe
• Sur La Route Encore
• Visions de Monet et des Montagnes
• Choix d’un Pas Plus Lent
Photos ©2011, Jen Payne, DeLinda Fox.
yummmmmmmm – hot chocolate AND kir AND lovely surroundings – i can’t wait for the coffee table book version to come out! or at the very least, a set of postcards that i can pop into a frame so i can perhaps pretend that i have been to france???
Like a fantasy, right?
Love your windows photos…great detail, especially the little cat looking out at you!
Thanks! (I think, by this point in the trip, we were both missing out pets. I must have a dozen cat photos from just this one day!)
very nice.
It’s so fun to remember it all again – glad you enjoyed!
what beautifully gorgeous photos you’ve shared … thank you!
Well, thank you for coming along for the trip!