15/6 Annecy Canal walk

 

     Yesterday was travel day , another fast train ride to Lyon 3hours away , before a 2 hour break till our next train to Annecy - still in France , but only just , it's only about 30klms from Geneva in Switzerland . We had some lunch at Lyon Part Dieu - fancy name for the train station - we enjoyed a risotto whilst waiting for the next train without having to go too far with a couple of suitcases and backpacks . Before we knew it , time had ticked over and we were boarding the slow train to Annecy . There were no booked seats on this one , but we ended up having a table with 4 seats to ourselves . That was quite nice as we went into our last stop before Annecy and the train went out the way we came in - we swapped seats , so we were facing forwards again . The train wound its way through valleys and beside rushing creeks / rivers , before coming out beside a lake . The water nice & clear , boats , canoes , kayaks , Sups were out there making the most of the beautiful weather on offer . We'd left the cool & damp of Lille and found some warmth & sunshine - guess the jackets & long pants will be staying in the suitcase - oh what a shame!!

   Arriving at Annecy station we didn't have to rush as the train terminated here , the reality of that was that we had an extra 100m of platform to walk to get to the main station and the exit which was another 100m away . The apartment we booked was another 500m away , so we continued on our walk past the buildings & apartments till we found ours . As another bonus , we had a small supermarket beside the entry to the apartment !! We got settled in and went back down and got some food to tide us over for a few days .

   Next day we headed out for a discovery walk around the canals to see what we might see . The streets made of cobblestones led us into a part of the old town , great views of buildings and mountains in the background - the mountains are part of the French /Swiss / Italian Alps .    

                                        

   Locals all use bikes to get around here - it's far easier than driving !!

One of the first canals we spotted has pretty flower boxes hanging on the railings .

All the restaurants are preparing for lunch , setting up chairs & tables in the alleyways & squares .

The bars are also getting ready for the lunch time rush , this one is part of the restaurant in the last shot.

Saw an interesting well also , it has a frog in it - look closely 🤔😆

 After about 400m , we'd found the parkland beside Lake Annecy , and one of the canals the locals use to moor their small boats . Plane trees lined the sides of the canal , which we followed down to the lake .

On the way down we stumbled across this original old carousel , currently being repainted for the season- tourist season that is .

   The water in the cana is crystal clear and large fish were swimming around happily , these 2 were about 400mm long ! - no I don't know what breed they are .

Always time for another photo .

  

   Oh damn , how did this slip in here 😂 in the background is the Pont des Amours - the bridge !!

And then we arrived at the lake . Those are electric boats that are for hire by anyone on the right . On the left and lining the foreshore are paddleboats , some include slippery dip - there are hundreds of them !!

Still some snow on the tops of the mountains near the lake .

 

These timber motor boats will take you out on the lake for a tour of the lake .

    Back toward town and we found the large canal , these restaurants and eateries / bars go berserk with people - there was always someone eating or drinking - avoid at lunchtime and evening meals it goes even crazier then .

    Continuing down the alleys we found Le Palais de I'lle ( the Island Palace ) in the canal , well separating them anyway .

As usual , there are plenty of cathedrals to see as well.

Here's one of the planter boxes that are everywhere there's a canal .

   That was our first day in Annecy and we're not disappointed one little bit , there's plenty to see & do here . Here's a map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1oAIUQ7CDM9tEwHs9hlO2WuTCX6uQLcw&usp=sharing