Cornwall to Annecy to Paris

Wednesday 10th October (Cornwall, Bristol, Geneva Annecy)

This morning we travelled north by coach to Bristol for our flight to Geneva. Good flight and arrived in Geneva at 3pm and met the coach, loaded the bags and headed for the absolutely beautiful city of Annecy in France. Stayed at L’Imperial Palace on the banks of the lake which is supposed to be the cleanest lake in Europe. This hotel is absolutely amazing and well worth a look at on the internet. Stunning room and stunning views over the lake. Unpacked then off for an exploratory walk to find a hairdresser. Went with a friend from the tour, Dianne, to a lovely little salon where not one person spoke English and we both wanted our hair coloured! How game were we! What fun trying to explain what “streaks” were in French and choosing a colour! The hairdressers were delightful, offered us coffee (which is France is always black) and when Di and I asked if they had any milk they went to the shop next door to buy us some cream. Very kind. I was concerned that my hair would all fall out because of the language problem, but thankfully it didn’t! Walked into town along the side of the beautiful lake, had dinner (which was a hit and miss affair because of the language) but, again the food was delicious.

Thursday 11th October (Day trip to Chamonix-Mont Blanc)

Amazing buffet breakfast then off for a full day tour with a local guide to Chamonix. On arrival we took the cable car up to the top of Mont Blanc, which is the highest mountain in Europe (3,812metres high which is taller than Mount Cook in N.Z.) When we walked up the stairs to the platform on top we were both breathless and dizzy and the temperature outside was 0 degrees. Rang family in Sydney from here – reception great! It was amazing to be up above the clouds looking down. The area is known as Savoy and we had lunch at a lovely restaurant in the village called Atmosphere Restaurant. Back on the bus and back to Annecy where we walked into town again and had dinner with some of the people from the tour, then walked back along the lake to our hotel. Felt very safe here.

Friday 12th October (Annecy to Paris)

This morning we took the high speed TGV train from Annecy to Paris, leaving at 9:30 and arriving in Paris at 1:30pm, travelling at speeds in excess of 200kms at times! We were met by the coach and transferred to the Hotel Concorde Montparnasse where will stay for the next 3 nights. Had a late lunch at the pub across the road then Di and I went shopping at La Fayette in Montparnasse for a short while and at night we had a dreadful steak down the road. This was our first bad meal in France – the French seem to have a different idea entirely of what medium and well done means. Not to worry – we need an early night.