The Cleanest Lake in Europe

pensavamo fosse un bel posto....

What a struggle to manage to book the train tickets, the strike that was planned and then cancelled forced us to have confirmation only two days before, but finally on the 18th at 06:43 in the morning the train departed for Chambery. Two hours of break waiting for the train to Annecy, just enough time to eat a baguette and sit on a bench in the park and return to the station. After 40 minutes we arrived in Annecy, by taxi we reached Annecy le Vieux, three km from the center, at the Hotel Abbaye, spartan but full of atmosphere, converted from an old abbey, all stone and wood, very evocative. Time to put down the suitcases, take a bath and leave armed with a video camera and camera heading to Annecy. Superb town set between the lake and the mountain, a lake whose bottom you can see and of an intense blue color.

Annecy is a succession of little alleys full of little shops, bars, small restaurants with tables on the sidewalks that line the canals. You find all the best-known brands also in Italy, from Zara to Fnac, to Monoprix (like the old-style Upim), from the LaFayette galleries to the magnificent food shops of cheeses, cured meats and fast-food and gastronomy.Porticoes and covered alleys lead you to particular corners where the canals accompany you with their crystal-clear water. A little French-style dinner and return to the Hotel passing by the beautiful lakeside promenade lined with an English lawn where people lounge around, play ball. Very many pedal boats and boats for rent. After about an hour we arrive at the Hotel and exhausted we collapse into a deep sleep disturbed only by the singing of the birds.

Invece era molto meglio

Breakfast galore and departure for Annecy, this time we take bus no. 5 and for one euro we are in the city in ten minutes. We cross the center and the "Giardin d'Europe" a beautiful park and we board the boat that in two hours takes us around the lake (12 km long by 3 wide). What you glimpse of the lake seems the best representation of the ideal lifestyle. Little villas with English lawns plunging into the lake with a small dock for little boats in an environment on a human scale. Looking behind the mountains, you glimpse the snow-capped peaks of the Alps and in contrast dozens of paragliders fluttering with their bright colors. At every stop you would want to get off and move there to live. We cross many little boats with old couples fishing, proof that love triumphs and lasts with simple things and that life can truly be beautiful.

We return hungry at lunchtime to Annecy, we had spotted a stunning little place, in wood and straw in front of the main church, I think I remember it was called "La maison de mamà Lisa" and with the fixed menu at 28€ we ate divinely, entrée, main course, plate of mixed cheeses, dessert and coffee. With a full belly and blank eyes from bliss we climbed the uphill road that leads to the castle. Inside there is a museum about the fauna and life of the lake, and alas there was also an exhibition of Japanese technological art, you were the mouse and various paintings or rooms interacted with your movement. A new idea but banal in its realization which seemed a bit tacky and out of place in a medieval castle. Anyway the view from the castle is superb. We took bus no. 5 again and returned to the Hotel.

It doesn't have a restaurant so we went to the Casino (it's a supermarket, what did you think...) and with a baguette, a packet of mortadella, two pears and four ice creams we bought dinner and ate it watching the last day of the French championship on Canal+ in the room.

E la valigia

We're early risers and, wanting to spend a bit more time in Annecy before setting off again, we look for the bus but on Sundays they don't run. We have a taxi called and get taken to the station to leave the suitcase at the luggage storage but it doesn't exist. Luckily it's a trolley but every time we go into a place they ask us if we want a room, we actually want a coffee, we actually want to eat. we walk through the very crowded Sunday market where, besides fruit and food, clothing and crafts, we also find a music stall offering the great Italian artist Toto Cotugno....... We continue to export old stuff, wines, cheeses, pizza, spaghetti and Toto Cutugno. And we import novelties, even ones we could do without.

But the train is waiting for us and as we approach the station, from a window a song by our friend Toto blasts out at full volume....., has the lady gone to the market? We set off again with a nice feeling, three days are too few but a week renting a car would be fantastic. I strongly recommend this place, you'll make your partners happy and for us connoisseurs, what makes us happier than a happy partner...........................