Retour des Alpages – A brief weekend in Annecy

We’ve officially crossed that half-way point, and I’m finally getting around to jotting a few ideas here and there about the experience thus far.  I’ll return to the Swiss adventures, of which there are many, but, for now, a quick recap of our quick weekend away.  It’s funny because Zermatt is so beautiful, and you’d think that one would never tire of the mountains and views and trails.  While I wouldn’t say that I had grown “tired” of these views, at that 5-6 week point, I was beginning to feel a bit antsy – that I wanted different views.  The timing of the trip, therefore, couldn’t have been better, and I suspect that I was not alone in feeling that I wanted to do or see more.  For the students, the trip connects to their English and Art History classes, and it’s an interesting weekend for them.  

Not a bad view from the castle!

I’m totally going to repeat what I said a few years ago about Annecy:  “Annecy is a small city in eastern France, close to the Swiss border, and it felt, in some ways, as though we were still in Switzerland – in terms of the cheese and bread, at least.  It is known as “the Venice of France” because there are a few canals that run through the old part of the city, but the lake is what really defines the city – and the Alps that are in the distance.  We spent our time in the old part of the city, but Annecy offers more than just good food (although that was a bonus for us).  Because it is so close to the mountains, apparently there are some wonderful trails worth exploring that aren’t too far from Annecy.  Before arriving in Annecy, we stopped to explore Chillon Castle which is a medieval fortress and became quite famous thanks to Byron who wrote a poem about a prisoner (titled “The Prisoner of Chillon” – I have yet to read it).”

Quite a few details still remain true – such as the fact that I have not read “The Prisoner of Chillon”!

 

While this trip was, in many ways, *just* a repeat of thle last, I think that I enjoyed the experience more, which surprised me.  Yes, we returned to the castle, then we stopped in Lausanne, and then to Annecy, arriving Friday night and leaving on Sunday at noon.  In Lausanne, I strategically planned what I would do with the 2.5 or 3 hours between seeing the cathedral and touring the Olympic Museum.  One of the other teachers and I hit up a Thai restaurant!   I know, it seems totally silly, but I was craving something that was not bread, cheese and/or meat, and I was also hankering for a bit more spice than Swiss food usually gives you.   While it probably wasn’t the best or most authentic Thai ever, I totally enjoyed every bit of the pumpkin curry.  Bliss!  I also ate a scoop of ginger gelato which was pretty darn good!

Views of Lausanne

Views of Lausanne

The Olympic Museum is quite interesting, especially if you are a fan of the Olympics.  Despite all of the issues that have plagued them in recent years, I still consider myself quite the fan.  So, the museum is a treat.  The exhibits are also well-planned and interesting.  So, yes, I would recommend a stop there!  Photos inside are prohibited, which is probably not a bad thing – it’s kind of dark and techy, so I’m sure that my photos wouldn’t have been very good.  And the outside has all of this bad but fun art.

 

From Lausanne, we then traveled to Annecy, arriving around 7:00 pm.  We quickly unpacked the bus, got a little bit settled in our rooms, and then the group, as a whole, dispersed into smaller groups, everyone heading out to a different restaurant and to explore the city.  We were staying in the old part of town, and there are plenty of restaurants there, but I had made reservations at Bistro du Rhone, which was a bit of a walk but worth the extra effort.  Going there with a small group of students was nice, but I’d really like to return when I can order what I want (and drink a glass of wine with a nice meal).  The students were good sports as I think that it pushed them a little bit out of their comfort zone.  It was VERY French!  We opted to return to to the old town and find gelato.  I think that I would have roamed around for quite a while, but we bumped into another group of students (it’s a small place), and somehow we ended up at this fantastic gelato stand.  I’m the worst blogger, however, because I don’t remember the name!  I do remember that I opted for caramelized fig gelato, recommended to me, and it was fantastic!  In fact, after eating it, I decided that I would be returning to the same place on Saturday night and would also ask for the caramelized fig gelato.

Saturday was *the* day – bright and early, people began setting up stalls – frying apple fritter-type things (amazing), animals in pens – cows, sheep, pigs, geese among others, all sorts of a variety of food stalls, from breads, to sweets, to jams, to spices, to cheese, to sausages, to more cheese and more sausages.  I, along with the students and other faculty members, spent the morning foraging – poking around the stalls and also purchasing.  It was definitely one of the sensory experiences, sights, sounds, smells and tastes.

The “main event” is the parade, which started right around 2:00 pm.  Last time, I caught pieces of it, but this year, I positioned myself where I could really see the groups as they came through the streets.  It meant arriving early and elbowing a bit, but not too much! I usually HATE crowds and try to avoid almost anything that brings throngs of people together, but I decided that seeing all of the different groups parading would reward my efforts.  And it did!  These photos aren’t great because I didn’t feel like fighting over that, but they give a sense of some of the groups that participated in the parade.

I definitely loved the animals – the group of geese were being herded by a dog, which was so fun to see!  And then, of course, the group of Berners and St. Bernards – I’ve never seen so many mountain dogs in one place in my life!

Sorry for the blurry dog photos – and these were just a very few of the dogs in the parade!

Afterwards, I continued to enjoy the market stalls before dinner, which was with, again, a group of students.  We ate at Restaurant L’Alpin, which was traditionally Savoire – the area of France where Annecy is located and is quite Swiss.  The restaurant was also super cozy.  As much as I enjoyed the group of students, I couldn’t help but think that I’d like to return on my own!  I continued to eat my way through Annecy, tucking into a dinner of raclette, which was the first time I’d had raclette on this particular Swiss trip.  It was excellent!  As much as I like fondue, I think that I might prefer raclette?  And then we ended the evening with yet another trip for gelato!

So, you can definitely say that I ate my way through Annecy.  It was funny – I looked forward to the trip but I don’t think that I was AS excited about Annecy as I had been last time, but, as I said, I think that it was a better trip or that I enjoyed the experience more.  There were no major surprises, but I appreciated everything – maybe because I knew what to expect?  I love new and surprising places and experiences, but I also wonder if going into something with awareness actually allows me to enjoy it more?  And perhaps that is the theme of this entire experience – to try to improve on the previous experience. Not to repeat it or replicate it, to enjoy the fact that it is different but also to enter with some knowledge and use that to my advantage as to HOW I can better take advantage of a place and/or culture.

Would I return to Annecy?  Absolutely!  And I would recommend it to someone traveling to that area – perhaps it’s not worth a trip by itself, and I’d be interested in returning at a different time of year and seeing/experiencing more of the area.  Maybe one day! But for now, Au revoir!