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Fancy in Annecy… Time to go home! part eight

Yesterday morning, I woke up bright and early.  Bill managed to sleep a little bit longer, although he wanted to get an early start.  We packed everything up to load up the car, not realizing that the lobby of the hotel is locked until approximately 8:00am.  Remember, I mentioned the times for breakfast?  Turns out they are rather strict about it at Hotel Les Grillons.  We came down the stairs to find this…

The doors were locked.  There is a night door that has a code.  We didn’t know the code, so I held the door while Bill loaded the car.  Then, we sat on the steps and waited for the doors to open.

 

Bill was perturbed about the closed lobby, since it meant we pretty much had to wait to check out.  There is no night clerk, which is probably not a problem for most people.  This is a very old fashioned hotel, though, right down to the weird room keys that look kind of like Phillips head screwdrivers.  So when you check out, you have to present your credit card.  I paid a 30 percent deposit when I booked, so I thought maybe they had my card on file.  Nope.

The doors opened at about 7:30am or so, giving us the chance to eat before we got on the road.  We were the only ones eating that early.  I’m glad they let us go ahead and take care of it before the prescribed official 8:00am opening time.  Bill was convinced breakfast started at 7:00.  I told him it was at 8:00am and he insisted it wasn’t… then he checked it and had to admit I was right for the second time in less than 24 hours.  Sometimes, he just won’t listen.  I love him anyway.

Bill and I enjoyed one last breakfast, then checked out.  We said goodbye to the adorable pregnant proprietor, who was so warm, gracious, and personable.  Her hospitality and the fantastic food made Hotel Les Grillons truly memorable.  The final bill, minus the deposit, plus the wines and drinks, came to about $800.  I’d say it was money well spent, even if I have stayed in fancier digs.

I should mention that Hotel Les Grillons is dog friendly.  If my two were better behaved in public, I might consider bringing them along.  As it was, I’m kind of glad we left them in Germany.  It gave us the chance to do some unhindered exploring as well as the ability to take my convertible.

This place was obviously for bikers and included some friendly looking goats.

On the subject of Mini Cooper convertibles, I have this to add.  We saw I don’t know how many people trying to hitch a ride.  Some were rather pointedly thumbing at us.  A Mini Cooper convertible is definitely NOT a car that handles more than two adults at a time.  It’s always funny when hitchhikers think they’re going to fit in the back seat.  Not unless they are super tiny people!  There’s a reason they call it a Mini.

Our drive back through Switzerland was uneventful.  This time, we were able to stay on the main highway and were mostly spared the ugly industrial areas we came through on the way to France.  We stopped in Winterthur for lunch and a potty break.  I was actually very pleased by the Italian restaurant where we found ourselves.  The place was called Santa Lucia and it boasted really nice homemade pastas and wines by the glass.

Bill gazes outside, where there was a terrace accommodating smokers.

I had an order of tagliatelle with salmon.  The pasta was excellent.  It tasted housemade.  Also, it wasn’t too much!

Bill had rigatoni with basil, garlic, and pinenut pesto.

 

And this restaurant was a bit less expensive than the one we stopped at in Bern.  Total bill for this was about 65 Swiss Francs– still not cheap, but not as pricey as it could have been.  Switzerland is expensive, I tell you!

Yeah, a corporate looking sign…

But good food and nice, friendly service.  This restaurant is located very close to the Bahnhof in Winterthur.  It’s also near a large shopping area and parking garage.  I’d eat there again.

 

We got back on the road again and before I knew it, we were back in good ol’ Germany.  Bill pulled off at Neckarburg (near Rottweil) to get some gas.  I happened to take note of the very tall structure in the distance.  Actually, you can’t miss it.  I had been wondering about it since I first spotted it on a trip down south via Switzerland.

Notice the “phallic” looking structure in this picture?

 

Well, I finally looked up that structure and found out what it is.  That, my friends, is the world’s tallest elevator testing shaft.  It was completed in 2017 and stands at a massive 807 feet.  While Bill was gassing up the car, I read up on why it was built and what made the developers choose Rottweil as the site to host it.  There is an observation deck at that tower that is higher than the one at the television tower in Berlin.  And yes, you can visit!  Tickets are 9 euros for adults.  You can also get a family ticket good for two adults and up to three children for 26 euros.  Pretty cool, huh?  Now, you know.

That about does it for my Annecy series.  I will finish up with my customary ten things I learned post, which is probably all most people care about anyway, if they care at all.  If you’ve been following along in this series, I thank you for reading.  I like to write detailed posts, not so much for readers, but for myself.  There will come a day when I no longer get to travel like this and I don’t want to forget anything.

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Fancy in Annecy… Olympic towns! part six

On Saturday morning, we woke up to painfully gorgeous weather…  I say “painfully” because when the sun chases away the clouds in Talloires, the area is practically dazzling with beauty.  Everywhere you look, you see people enjoying the gorgeous landscape, from sailing on the pristine lake to sailing through the skies parasailing.  Incidentally, if you like to parasail, Annecy is the place to be.  We saw so many people in the sky at at least two centers.  We also saw at least a couple of hang gliders.

Annecy is also very popular with bikers.  We saw many of them on the two lane road that ran past the hotel.  In fact, on at least one occasion, Bill almost ran over a biker.  The guy somehow decided it was a good idea for him to try to pass a car on the left.  He almost hit us head on.  Bill said he could see the guy realized his mistake; it was written all over his face.  Thankfully, it wasn’t also written on the hood of my car.  Hiking is also popular in the Annecy area, although I saw a lot more people enjoying the outdoors in boats, on bikes, or with parachutes than anything else.

We began our trip to Chamonix on this road, which offered absolutely stunning views of people parasailing and swans gliding on the peaceful lake.

When I was researching Annecy, I learned that it’s very close to two cities that hosted the Winter Olympics.  Chamonix Mont Blanc is the site of the very first Winter Olympics in 1924 and is now a very popular ski town near Switzerland and Italy.  Albertville is the site of the 1992 Winter Olympics.  We visited both places on Saturday, and I must say, I’m glad we had the convertible.  The drive to Chamonix from Talloires is absolutely stunning.  It takes you through a rugged mountain pass, bisected by a rushing river and waterfalls.  I managed to take a few photos as we passed through.  It was a little stressful driving through there because of all the bikers.  Some were on motorcycles and some, who must have incredibly strong hearts and muscles, were on bicycles.

Pretty meadows, often with grazing cows…


And huge snow capped mountains…

How to pronounce Chamonix.

This was where we made the turn to Chamonix.  I noticed the beautiful mountain road on our way through, but took pictures on the way back.  Most of the best shots were on the other side of the car.

Chamonix was very tourist friendly, with plenty of restaurants advertising menus in several languages.  I noticed there was some decent shopping there, and during the winter, I’m sure the place comes alive with skiers.  On Saturday, people were mostly just enjoying the sun and the large market going on.  Once again, we spotted Jehovah’s Witnesses set up in a choke point going into the town.  They left us alone.

Downtown Chamonix.

This church was so beautiful.

A couple of interior shots… I think this might have been my favorite of the church stops we made.

A view from the church steps.  A wedding party is in the distance.

The celebration continues.

This rushing river made a good reference point for finding our way around town, not that Chamonix is the type of place where it’s necessarily easy to get lost.

We walked through a church, and later observed a newly married couple as well as a girl who appeared ready for her first communion.  Bill was asked by a co-worker to pick up some mustard, so we stopped into a gourmet market after we had lunch at a charming local eatery called Restaurant La Moraine.  I think I was drawn to it because they had a cool looking outside bar area and were playing good music.  It turned out the service was friendly and the food was good, too.

Bill really wanted a salad, but I talked him into the ribs.  I wanted to see if they were really “Texas style”.

We were seated on a terrace on the other side of the restaurant, away from the bar with the cool music.  Strangely enough, the bench I sat on seemed too high for the table.  I was sitting on a cushion, but had to set it aside so I wasn’t hunching over the table.  The restaurant had a very enticing menu, with a wide range of choices.  I decided on Bolognese lasagne while Bill had “Texas style” pork ribs.

They weren’t really Texas style, but they were tender enough and the portion size wasn’t overly huge. Bill enjoyed the ribs.  I guess we’ll have to go back to Texas for actual Texas style ribs.

This lasagne was delicious!  It was perfectly cheesy, with plain meat sauce and a nice little side salad.  I was very happy with it!

For dessert, I had tangerine sorbet with orange liqueur topped with a meringue.  They also offered “colonels”, which is lemon sorbet with vodka.  And, of course, they had several other very tempting desserts with no booze in them.

I would definitely go back to La Moraine if I ever find myself in Chamonix again!

After lunch, we went to the gourmet store for the mustard.  I got a kick out of the stuff being sold in this store, including Genepi beer.  I tried that beer some time ago, when we first moved back to Germany.  It’s kind of an alpine specialty– very herbal and often green.

Sausages galore!

Plenty of mustard!

Another sax player.  That guy was very good, actually.  We probably should have seen if he had any CDs for sale.

Locks of love.

We decided not to stay in Chamonix much longer beyond lunch because, to be honest, if you aren’t hiking, biking, shopping, or skiing, there’s not much to do there as a day visitor.  We decided to head to Albertville, simply because I was curious about what that town looked like.  But first, we had to drive back through the beautiful mountains.  Below are some shots of our trip.

 

I really could have stopped to take photos or dip my feet in the cool water, had there only been a convenient place to do it.  But yes, this was great convertible scenery.

We did make one stop so Bill could fix the GPS, which fell off the windshield.  It happened to be a convenient place to pull over, since there was a remarkably clean public restroom there.  However, the toilets were of the squat hole variety.  I was a little surprised to see that in France, although I have seen them in Italy more than a few times.  Anyway, I was just glad it was clean.

Our first view of Albertville, which seemed pretty “sleepy” compared to Annecy and Chamonix.

I loved this church, but we didn’t venture inside because there was some sort of service going on.

We spotted an Armenian restaurant, that appeared to be closing for good.  Too bad for that.  I would have enjoyed trying it.

Albertville is kind of pretty, though sleepier than I expected.  It did appear that they were encouraging visitors, though.  There was plenty of free parking.  Bill mentioned a medieval city nearby, too, which we ran out of time to visit.  

City hall.

 

I made the unfortunate choice to wear brand new sandals on our trip.  Even though they are Danskos, which are supposed to be very comfortable, I managed to get a blister.  We decided it would be better to go back to the hotel, after first stopping at Carrefour for some provisions.

They collect corks at the store.  Too bad I left my big bag of them in Germany.

Above are pictures of the pool area at Hotel Les Grillons.  We should have taken a dip.  The pool was very inviting.  I think Bill may be traumatized, though, because many pools in France require the men to wear Speedos.  He’d rather go naked.

Look closely and you can see people parasailing.  I got more pictures on Sunday.

Cocktails before dinner.  An Americano for Bill and a Kir Royale for me.

Saturday night’s dinner was pretty busy.  A large British tour group came through.

Saturday night’s wine.

We had a smoked trout starter.  This was supposed to come with a crostini on top, but I think the waiter brought them out prematurely.  Bill used some of the bread at the table to enjoy this starter, which was like very high speed tuna salad, only made with trout.

The main course was exquisite and likely inspired by the large group of Brits.  It was very tender and perfectly cooked medium rare roast beef with a carrot puree, mashed potatoes, and a delightful mustard and horseradish sauce.  This was my favorite of the entrees.  It was delicious!

And dessert, a rosemary hinted tart with raspberries and starfruit.

Once again, we went to bed tired and a little sunburnt, despite the sunscreen I diligently applied early in the day.

An evening shot of the view from our window.

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Fancy in Annecy… Friday night’s dinner! part five

Friday night, we enjoyed our second of three dinners at Hotel Les Grillons, the main course being a dorade filet.  Bill ordered a dry white wine to accompany it.  I should have included this in part four, but perhaps some people will appreciate a brief post for once!

 

We started with a pork terrine accompanied by a small green salad and bread.  The terrine reminded me a little bit of Fleischkäse.  It included pistachio nuts and a prune center that worked surprisingly well.  Sweet and salty is often a good combination.

Next, we enjoyed the dorade (sea bream) filet with cabbage and rice.  As you can see, it’s artfully presented with a little balsamic vinegar.

And for dessert, orange scented chocolate mousse.  Naturally, this was my favorite course and probably my favorite of the desserts.  We both skipped the cheese course.

 

The same family with the two cute little kids sat behind us.  The little boy kept coming over to our table, so I made faces at him.  He responded in a very charming way that makes me think he’ll grow up to be a heartbreaker.  On the other side of us was a group of two friendly couples from Belgium.  I noticed one of the gentlemen made a point of saying good morning in English to us every day.  It’s hard not to be convivial when there’s really good food available.

We were tired (and drunk) enough to call it an early night.  In fact, I think I pretty much went right to sleep as soon as I hit the bed.

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Fancy in Annecy… Our first look at Hotel Les Grillons, a hotel where food is the star attraction! part three

A staffer at Hotel Les Grillons met us at the door as we approached with some of our luggage.  An adorably pregnant young woman sat behind the reception desk and greeted us in perfect British English.  Actually, at first, I thought she sounded more like an Aussie than a Brit.  However, I soon realized that her French was just as perfect as her English was.  I don’t know if she was a product of parents from two countries or just had unusually good language training.  In any case, I got the sense that this was her hotel.  She handed us the key to room 25, which was on the third floor and had a nice view of the mountains and the lake.

By the front door…

 

The lovely young woman, whom I am going to assume was Aurelie Blanchin, advised us that the pool was unheated but available, as was the heated outdoor jacuzzi.  We booked the “half-board” option, which meant dinner was included in our rate.  The chef, Sébastien, makes a four course meal each night.  If there’s something on it you don’t like or can’t eat, you can let them know before 5:00pm and they will make substitutions.  I was delighted with the three dinners we had at the hotel.  We opted to go a more casual route last night.  More on that in a future post.

This was our humongous bed.  I was glad I brought an extra pillow, as I usually do here in Europe.  Bill wished he’d brought his, too.  This bed had a light duvet, one regular sized pillow, and one throw pillow.  Naturally, there is no air conditioning, but the window can be opened for a nice lake breeze.  There are also bugs, but they didn’t bother us too much.  The mattress was a little firm for me, but I’m used to sleeping on a feather bed.  I got used to it the firmer mattress after the first night.

These were our first views from our window.  They got better the next day, when the sun came out.

The bathroom, with nice herbal scented, wall-mounted toiletries.  I’m not a fan of those divider thingies, because they never keep the water off the floor.  Such was the case here, too, although the shower got great pressure.

Separate WC.

Large wardrobe with a safe.

 

Hotel Les Grillons has rooms that face the back of the hotel, as well as a few rooms on the second floor that have small balconies.  I happened to get the last room available for Saturday night– I think a large British tour group came through– otherwise, the other nights, the hotel was reasonably full, but not packed.

Every morning, the menu is placed in a framed easel in the lobby.  The above was what we were offered on our first night.  Drinks are not included in the half board rate, but they will give you a pitcher of tap water.  Not that we stuck with tap water, mind you.

Actually, we had a couple of big, French beers…

Bill soaks in the atmosphere as I watched the fish in the big aquarium next to where I was sitting.  My husband has come to love France.  Dinner service begins at 7:30pm and guests are invited to sit where they’d like between 7:30 and 8:30.

Bill chose a nice local red to go with dinner.  The wines were very reasonably priced.  In fact, I think they were a better deal than the beers.

First course… A carrot mousse, with fresh salad greens.  Every dinner also included a basket of fresh bread.

I made sure to get this wine on film so I can look for it locally.  It was a very pleasant, dry red that tasted of currants.

Next came perfectly cooked duck breast with cabbage, pears, and polenta…

Bill had a cheese course, which included a couple of local cheeses.  One was from a fromagerie just down the road from the hotel.  We passed it on our unplanned alternate route to the lake.

I had dessert, which Bill skipped.  It was a very light vanilla mousse with pineapple, whipped cream, and a fresh strawberry.

Once dinner was over, we were more than ready to call it a day.  And both of us were raving about how good the food and the service were.  It seemed odd not to tip anyone, but there’s really no way we could have.

Incidentally, during our first two nights, there was a family with two young children sitting near us.  The kids were well accommodated.  They even had a menu for them.

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Fancy in Annecy… part one

Some time ago, when I was messing around on my computer, I read an article about beautiful European cities that often go unnoticed.  I don’t remember any of the cities on that list now, except for one…  Annecy, France.  This gorgeous city is in southeastern France, next to crystalline Lake Annecy, in the Haute-Savoie Department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.  Annecy is not far at all from either the Italian or Swiss borders; Geneva is only about 20 miles or so north.  And yet, until I read about Annecy in a random travel article, I had never heard of the place.

Just one of the romantic scenes in Annecy…

For months, I tried to finagle a visit down there.  I knew we’d need an extra long weekend.  I thought we might need to bring our dogs with us, since our pet sitter is routinely booked solid when the weather gets nice.  I kept searching for pet friendly accommodations that would be suitable for us, but came up empty-handed.  Finally, Bill suggested that we take a short trip from May 3rd until May 7th.  Okay… originally, he only wanted to do three nights.  Then I reminded him of how long it takes to drive through Switzerland, which we would have to do to get to Annecy.  And I showed him some pictures of the city, which is very beautiful.  He asked for four nights and got them.  Fortunately, Max, the dog sitter, was able to take Zane and Arran.

Next, I went searching for a hotel.  Initially, I was very excited about booking a hotel instead of a pet friendly apartment or vacation home.  Once again, as I searched for suitable lodging, I kept running into issues that were dealbreakers.  Finally, thanks to Booking.com’s helpful location suggestions, I found us an unforgettable hotel called Hotel Les Grillons in the small hamlet of Talloires, which is about a twenty minute drive from Annecy.  Having now been to Annecy, I have to say that I am very glad I didn’t book a hotel in the city itself.  I’ll explain more about that later.

Yes, you can go boating… or parasailing… or just simply dream by the lakeside.

Suffice to say that we had four great nights at Hotel Les Grillons, a three star property next to the lake and boasting a beautiful pool area.  What really makes this hotel awesome, though, is the FOOD!  If you’re in my food and wine Facebook group, you may have already seen some of the pictures.  I was able to book half board, which included dinner every night.  Although we opted not to eat dinner at the hotel on the fourth night, we did enjoy three delicious multi-course meals.  A buffet breakfast was also included.  More on that, too, in a later post.

As usual, I’ll be breaking up my stories about this journey into several parts, so if this first post intrigues you, please be sure to follow along.  I took a lot of absolutely gorgeous pictures on this trip, which wasn’t hard to do.  Annecy and the surrounding area is just plain beautiful.

First thing’s first, though.  I had to learn how to pronounce “Annecy”.  Don’t make the mistake I made by called it “Ann-eh-cee”.  It’s two syllables and rhymes with “fancy” or “Nancy” (which is also a beautiful French city!).

There are videos out there, mostly made by Americans, pronouncing Annecy as if it has three syllables; but every French pronunciation I’ve heard, including within the actual city, sounds like the guy in this video.

Now that the introductions are out of the way, I shall commence to blogging.  I took the whole weekend off just so I could enjoy France properly.  Now that I’m home again, I’m ready to dish!

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