Meant to add this to the previous post…..upon arrival of Uber ride to train station, the driver popped the trunk…and stared at an enormous red suitcase left behind by his previous rider!!! Yikes….that would put a damper on one’s trip. But hey, who doesn’t want to shop in Paris? (Besides me?)
Train station passenger was lighting it up in Gare de Lyon.
Next up…
I had heard about this lakeside town from many friends….they weren’t wrong.
Gorgeous setting.
First things first….a lovely pork and veggie dish.
Seriously?
Foodie tour….first stop was all things truffle….
The prices were as big as the nearby Alps.
This dish was crazy…tartiflette…..onions, bacon, creme fraiche, potatoes, reblochon cheese. But it DID come with a salad.
Cheese shop with their curing cellar.
Next up….jam shop. Reminded me of the peanut butter shop in Maastricht.
Chamonix is a pleasant bus ride away from Annecy, and the landscape is stunning.
Next up…a test of fortitude, the likes of wish I don’t normally do!!!
Not so much with the cable car ride to 12,500 feet…..actually, it’s stunning in a ‘jeezus, what am i doing’ kind of way. Fortunately, the car was packed and I was in the middle.
Not sure how to describe the ride. Actually, two rides…transfer to a second car halfway up….that final section has a cable weighing 50 tons and the last half mile or appeared to be a 70 degree slope….or steeper. To me, it felt straight up, just scraping along the sheer face of Mt Blanc.
This selfie was three or four drafts after my heart rate dropped below 100.
Stunning views. And railings that were WAY too low!
Construction began in 1949 with 6 poor schmucks hauling cable by foot!!! A mile of vertical rise on that second section, just an elevator shaft with views to tighten the loosest nervous system.
A comforting, 400m view on the way down. Let’s play track!!
A final look back (and up).
The rest of the town.
Lake Annecy is approximately 25 miles around. I can see a 3 week return trip with a bike rental!!
What a place.
