21/6/26 Lyon

 

   We hit the track again today travelling from Annecy to Lyon - about 2hrs by train - and arriving around 2pm . It was hot again , temps up round 34 degrees and not much breeze , so we headed over to Westfield to get a bit of cool before going to the apartment . We had an ice cream to cool us down a bit before the search mission to find the apartment - it worked well !! It took us about 20mins to walk to it , and then make our way in - one door code for the outside door , then another to get in ours . It was on the ground floor , so no stairs were involved . across the road from us , was a school - behind steel gates and a stone wall  .

   Another walk out to do some shopping at the local supermarket - about 400m away , and then we stayed for evening .

  Next day we got up early and headed down to the Metro , to get across town to the funicular train up to Notre Dame Cathedral . It's perched up on a hill overlooking Lyon . The 2 spires near the front are under renovation at the moment . We were greeted by boy scouts selling banana bread & various cakes & biscuits - think they need to be educated in food handling , as they were picking them up and showing us what they had for sale - using their bare hands !! We declined .

     The views from here over Lyon are quite good , the cathedral is a great spot to get a view of the city & surrounds . It overlooks the old city , which is positioned beside the river below .

     The Saone River is below , the Rhone River a few more kilometres away . This bridge connects pedestrians to the old city areas . 

   Wow look at all those chimneys , can't imagine what that would be like in the depths of winter - things may have changed these days .

The statue on top of the cathedral glowed gold in the sun.

    After a look around and some lunch , we headed back down the funicular , then across the bridge and down to the river side . There were some pools there for kids to cool down in , we picked one under a bridge where there was some shade and dipped the toes for a while . The cathedral does stand out a bit , alongside it is a mini Eiffel Tower , that is primarily for communications .

Here's the pools of water beside the river .

From there we headed back to the apartment to an air conditioner - the noisiest one I've ever heard before , the fan makes loud noise even on silent mode Hmmmm ! I shall include a map with tomorrow's post .

19/6/26 Lake Annecy & town by night

 

    Back to the bus terminal , tickets in hand and away we go again , this time the correct number bus and we were down to the eastern side of the lake , taking the bus all the way to the end again - well not quite the end of the lake , but opposite Duingt , where we went the other day . It was hot again , so we tried to minimise being out in blazing sunlight for too long . Not too bad a view across the lake . 

     The road follows the lakes edge where it can , cycle lanes provided all round the lake , and is extremely popular - people will catch the train here just to ride around the lake , it's about 38klms round trip .

    We didn't do a lot today as it was 34 again , so found a restaurant that was beside a campground and had some lunch there in the shade , before heading back into Annecy again . We hopped off the bus as there was a decked area beside the lake , so had a look . There were plenty of people there , mainly on the deck , but others in the water . Curiously , there were'nt any steps to get in & out , so you had to haul yourself in & out . We looked for a bit , then hopped back on the next bus .

There were some nice flowers beside the bus stop .

Back into town and came out again later to enjoy the night scenery.

   And that's the last of Annecy , we head off tomorrow . Stay tuned .

18/6/26 Annecy old town by day & night

 

   Plans for today were to go down the eastern side of the lake . Down to the bus stop and get on our bus , only to discover we had got on the number 10 instead of the no 20 ( or vice versa ) . Hmm , ah well , let's see where this one takes us to . We went upwards and in the opposite direction to where we had planned , but it's just another adventure , what could go wrong , we'll ride till it ends - which was still in the urban areas . We went past car dealerships , light industrial areas , shopping centres and everything in between , before stopping at the last stop . The driver told us to leave the bus as it wasn't going any further , so we explained , via google translate , and he said to wait for 10 mins and he'd pick us up again when it was time - and he did . Back to Annecy we went . These poppies and another ball type flower were beside the bus shelter - we wouldn't have seen them if we didn't come out here !!

    Back to town , and off to the canal again where we had some lunch while cooling our feet off in the small rapids . It was a popular spot today due to the temperature - 34 degrees today . 

    After cooling off and lunch consumed , we headed back a different street / alleyway and found one of the oldest buildings in Annecy . It was a production facility at one stage of its life and employed up to 120 people . The door was an interesting attraction .

More people were on the move around town , revitalised by lunch maybe .

    Today seemed to be about doors & alleyways , we are loving having these places to walk around , discovering new things to look at around every corner .

 This is the old building I was talking about , the canal is on the other side of the building .

     Cobblestones & hidden alleys through buildings adds to the intrigue .

Then you came out the other side to more alleyways and shops etc.

We headed back to the apartment and cooled down , before we headed out again into the cooler part of the evening , about 9pm .

    Sunset was interesting on the clouds above the mountains , obviously some winds up above causing the cloud formations that the sun was illuminating .

    The alleyways come alive at night and are lit up well , restaurants & bars either side .

    The main canal lights up with colourful reflections from the bars & restaurants - hard to believe it's just after 10pm and sun has only just set .

    Palais de I'lle lights up beautifully as well . The place is buzzing with people , but at a relaxed pace , those not sitting & eating are walking round calmly , enjoying the evening .

17/6/26 Duingt France

 

   Today we head out on the bus down the western side of the lake to Duingt , we cruised past here yesterday , and thought it would be good to check it out . There are several swimming areas , this was one of them , down the concrete steps and into the water . Temperatures were forecast to be 32-34 degrees today , so maybe a swim will be in order . Jets are constantly playing noughts & crosses in the sky .

    A different view of the castle and the mountains behind , oh and some of the many boats at anchor .

 Never get sick of views like these .

    I left Lyn in some shade and headed down toward the castle , some of the local buildings dwarfed by the mountains .

            The castle looks more impressive from here than it did on the cruise .

    The road hugs the waterline here and takes a sharp turn and heads south towards Albertville - which is the town at the end of the lake .

    Another view of the castle and outbuildings , unfortunately this is a close as I could get to it , the gates were closed and had a sign with something about defence forces on the gate .

   After walking down to the main swimming enclosure , and seeing people of varying ages out swimming - most were out relaxing in the sun or shade ( it was getting hot ) Lyn decided to get wet . Swimmers on and in she went , the gravel playing havoc with each step , then the waves from various boats also creating small waves to through her off guard . I felt the water temperature and made my decision rapidly , I will be staying dry !! 

   After a short cool down Lyn hopped back out ,  saying that it was indeed very cold . I marvelled at the people who were out swimming in the open water 100m or so away from the edge , must be immune to the cold or something . 

    A short walk to the bus stop and we headed back to Annecy , and headed back to the apartment for rest of the afternoon / evening . 

   On the walk back , we went past this old building , it's age caught my eye , as well as the name - Scotch & Soda - no doubt another busy establishment , come later tonight .

    Here's a map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1UUht12EOjzPZj6iNVBDbCB_ptQ3t1zI&usp=sharing

16/6/26 Lake Annecy cruise

 

   We booked a cruise for the lake , and here's our cruise boat parked in the main canal .

    They love their flowers in Annecy , with gardens in lots of places .

   Seems that the jets are playing noughts & crosses in the skies above - there are vapour trails all day here.

Couple of the locals .

    Synchronised yachting , I think not , they were actually being towed out into the lake to catch some wind , but it does look funny 😁

   The small yachts were struggling with the lack of breeze , but wasn't worrying us at all as we powered down the lake , villages appearing regularly . Nice to see some mountains again , not to mention the colour of the water . The lake is up to 82m deep - be nice and cold down there , it was cold enough on top!

There are some impressive properties with exclusive lake access that have been here for a long time .

Here's another .

    Around the next headland / cliff face is another village - more accomodation & restaurants , and some locals that actually live here .

   Up on the lower end of a ridge was a castle and it's vineyards can be seen below it .

Looking toward the end of the lake .

 A closer look at the castle .

Being a retired hang glider , I tend to see spots that are used for flying , this bare spot on the hill in between the trees is one of those , paragliders were taking off here all day .

Another castle , this one down beside the lake where we turned around to head back after 45 mins or so .

    We cruised back to the canal dock and escaped some of the crowd that were all eating and drinking - it was a bit chaotic in places around the canals and alleyways . On the way back to the apartment , we headed up the hill when we found an alley going that way . It went upwards steeply , this doesn't show the steepness as we had gone passed that section , just liked this 2 storey house and cobblestone lane leading back down to it . 

    Chateau Annecy was the object of the walk, it's also now a museum - which wasn't open today !!

   With that we headed back down some other skinny little alleyways leading us back down to the canals , the photo does show the steepness of the pathway .

Ending up back at the apartment , we vegetated for a few hours , had tea and ventured out again at 8pm . Back to the canal and Pont Albert Lebrun - the light was much better for photos now .

     The setting sun on the mountains beside the lake was cool now .

Another day down , more scenery overload , but happy campers . Here's a map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1AhL7iY2zNqa8RJ4_7uA_itw-TfQ2PEs&usp=sharing