Annecy, France - what a view!

Friday, September 11, 2009

Hello! Or Bonjour! Or buon giorno – depending on the country you’re in!
Sorry about not posting last night, but we got in a bit late from dinner, and to be honest, we both crashed and burned! R says he had a pretty restless night, but if he did, I certainly didn’t notice it! Slept like a LOG, although R said I was snoring…he can bring no proof, however, so I have my doubts!

So…when we last met, we were overnighting in Lyon. Excellent dinner, slept well and out of the hotel after breakfast around 9:30 a.m. Emily, our GPS said that we would be at our next place – Chambons, near Fenestrelle – by 11:30, so figured we had no time constraints. Also got an email from our B&B hosts, saying that someone “should” be home after 5:30 p.m. So…headed to Annecy, one of our absolutely favorite French small cities! (Do we say that a lot?) After an absolutely stunning drive through the back roads, popped out close to town center of Annecy. Found parking easily, actually, in the underground garage. Did a lovely walked down one of the canals and through the park, before settling in for lunch at one of the canal-side restaurants. We weren’t terribly hungry after breakfast, but figured that at some time we had to get on a regular schedule. Ate outside, and R had a tomato salad with onions and olives in a mustard vinaigrette, and I had the Salade Nicoise sans anchois (without anchovies). Both were yummy!

Walked a bit more – found an ATM to stock up “just in case” and then headed back out of town, now heading toward Fenestrelle, where the plan is to see the fort and to spend the next two nights.

We passed from France into Italy somewhere in the Frejus tunnel (one-way tariff was 32 Euros!) and when we again surfaced, there we were, in the Alps! The day had clouded over a bit, although some blue sky in the area, and we made our way up the mountains into Sestriere, site of the skiing and ski jumping for the 2006 Olympics! Unfortunately, Sestriere looks like many ski resorts – pretty naked without snow! From there we wound around to Fenestrelle, and then into the tiny little village of Chambons, where the B&B is located. Arrived just after 5:30 p.m. but no one home! Decided to wait until 6:30 and if no one was there by then, we’d leave a note and head out somewhere else for the night. Not a bad wait, though, as I was able to practically finish “My Life in France.”

Kent, Michelle & their 9 year old son George arrived about 6:15 p.m. Visited for a few minutes, then up to our room (#2 on the first floor, with balcony!) Changed for dinner, and headed to the recommended pizzeria place in town – only to be told to come back in an hour, as they were full! (And while they may have been reserved, they were far from actually full at that moment! Oh well!) Back to the B&B for another recommendation, and decided on La Placette in Usseux, a few km down the road. Got there about 8 p.m. and were the first (and only!) folks there! Very odd! For dinner, we both had the antipasti assortment, followed by pasta. The antipasti (sorry, no pictures!) included three kinds of sausage, prosciutto and prosciutto crudo; large slices of “fresh” cheese with olive oil; still warm roasted red and yellow peppers, and a marinated zucchini – everything was WONDERFUL! My pasta was gnocchi with a lovely cheese sauce. R had angiolotti (which he calls ravioli) stuffed with beef in a butter sauce. Everything was GREAT! Finished it off with poached pears covered with cocoa and drizzled with amaretto – all washed down by a great bottle of Barbera d’Alba. Great way to end the day!

When we left the restaurant (which was now almost 10, and we were STILL the only folks there!) it was raining gently! And of course our jackets and umbrellas were safely tucked away in our suitcases! Oh well!

Back to the B&B and crashed into bed…until 7 this morning, when we had to get up to begin our adventure at the fort…so…more later; will get this one off first!

Much love,
m