The streets of Annecy

As we stepped out of the hotel for our stroll it was so refreshing to not feel like we were instantly baking in the sun. It was so nice to be able to walk around and take the beauty of this little town. We had no real destination, and didn’t really know where anything was so we just wandered a bit. We were immediately aware that this was nothing like home.

It was somewhat fun exploring the streets for a short while. There were tons of shops along the way. We passed by a small grocery store, and when I say small it was probably smaller than your local gas station convenience store. As we continued on our way we saw a Laundromat that I took note of because I would be needing to do laundry sometime during our stay. We were hungry, and we needed to eat.

We happened to come along a quaint little road that was full of different cafes, ice cream stands, restaurants and all sorts of little shops. We later found out that it is what they call the "St. Claire Gate". We had happened upon what is referred to as the "old town". This is part of the city that has no vehicle access. The 'gate' that we passed through is famous for it's old clock and bell that has been regulating the life of the area for centuries. The history of this town was remarkable! We walked up and down the cobblestone road, stopping to look at menus. It was then that I realized how much I wished that I spoke French. I had NO idea what half of these things were. We finally decided to go back to this Gyro shop that was next to the Laundromat. They had pictures on their menu so at least we had some idea of what we were going to be served.

After we ate, we headed back out and decided to go back to the grocery store that we had seen earlier. We stepped in and grabbed some fruit, and other kinds of snacks that would be good to have around for the kids. We needed to find a place to purchase diapers because I only packed enough to last a few days. They didn’t have ones that were Sydney’s size so we would have to find another place to purchase them.

We asked the cashier if she knew of any parks nearby. Again we hit a communication barrier. She had no idea what we were asking. I whipped out a French translation book that I had checked out from the library and pointed to the word “parc” …she then knew what I meant, but had no idea where one was. We figured we would just ask the front desk when we returned back to the hotel.

As we walked back to the hotel, I was still so amazed at the beauty of this town. They had potted flowers everywhere. Their streets were lined with canals...which leads them to be known as the Venice of France. Everything so far was just so beautiful, and so much different from the desert of Arizona. I couldn’t wait to explore and see more of what it held for us. We got back and surrendered to our beds, only to wake up around 2 or 3 in the morning because we still weren't on the right time. We finally got everyone settled again, and slept for a few more hours before the next day.

The following morning we woke up and got ready to see the sights. Annecy is located at the bottom of the French Alps, and one of the main focal parts of the town is the lake. Apparently, it is one of the cleanest lakes in all of France. So we decided to pack our swimsuits and head to Lake Annecy.

To be continued….
Part One Here