From Annecy to the Vercors Park

After months of intense work on a difficult work project, my husband and I take a well-earned break and head with our car to nearby France. We set off in June, convinced we would find some lavender fields, and after passing Courmayeur and crossing the Mont Blanc tunnel, in almost three hours we reach Lake Annecy. On the opposite shore of the lake from Annecy, we sleep in the little apartment found on the website, and given the sunny day, we rest immersed in the whirlpool bath on the terrace. In the evening we have dinner, looking for a crêperie that inspires us as we wander through the alleys of enchanting Annecy, which immediately gives us a taste of the special care taken of all French places. Once darkness falls, the village lights up and the canals that cross it create a truly relaxing atmosphere.

The next morning we take the motorway towards Grenoble, and on the way there we come across a parade of vintage cars along the lake. In about an hour we reach the Vercors Park (just after Grenoble) and find a nice, inexpensive place to sleep in Villard-de-Lans. As always we have our golf bags in the boot of the car, so we don't miss the chance to play on this mountain course where the cows cross the holes as if nothing were happening. The next morning we continue towards the Gorges de la Bourne: it's so narrow that the mountains, if you want, you can touch them with your hand... I don't feel very safe, since we're in a convertible car... so my husband, to please me, changes route and, instead of continuing to the scarier Gorges de la Combe Laval, stops a little earlier and drags me to see the caves.

A spectacle of nature: so many very thin pinnacles that you feel like touching them and taking one home with you!! At Pont-en-Royans we stop, hungry, and after a sandwich that was worth two, we visit the village. Always pretty and immaculately kept, like all French villages. We return to the car park: the car won't start any more and we are forced to call a tow truck. After getting in touch with the insurance, we discover with joy that they will refund everything (including the journey back to collect the car). We reach Grenoble by train, look for a hotel to sleep in, and since the train doesn't leave until the following evening, we decide not to miss the last day of holiday.

We hire a car and, as good golfers, we try the Grenoble course; the weather isn't very good but our mood (despite the poor result in the game, the change of plan and the interrupted holiday) stays cheerful, and we have a good laugh right to the end, even at the station when they announce the train is two hours late!!! It doesn't matter, we're already planning the round we'll play when we come back to Grenoble to collect our car....