We arrived into Annecy in the late afternoon and it was drizzling and the clouds were drifting through and it was just magical. I'd booked a pretty fancy hotel for the night that included dinner, so we were excited to get there and unpack and relax. But, with the epic scenery situation happening outside, I had to go for a walk to take it all in. So, Brian relaxed in the room and I ventured out via the bike path that completely encircles the lake. There was hardly anybody out so it was so quiet with the exception of the raindrops hitting the water.
I was soooo excited to finally get to this beautiful lake after many years. Our first trip to Europe was via Geneva and we were within about half and hour of Annecy but didn't go and I've regretted it ever since.
I also had lost my pick (comb) at some point along the way and was really struggling to find a store with any kind of comb that I could use on my wet hair. There are a few items that are nearly impossible to find in Europe and this was one of them. I stopped at several pharmacies - which all close at about 6:00 pm - and couldn't find anything. Luckily, I asked the front desk of our hotel and they hooked me up! I returned to our room, cleaned up, and then we headed downstairs for a traditional French meal, followed by a long and luxurious bubble bath in the only bathtub we had for the entire trip. It was heaven.
As soon as we woke up, we went straight to the window to check on the weather and the clouds were beginning to break up and the blues and greens were looking especially vibrant.
The forecast called for cloudy skies and temps in the 60s, but in the mountains, you just never know. However, it turned out to be absolutely beautiful and more stunning than I could have ever imaged. We ate breakfast at the hotel and then set out to find the windiest, steepest mountain passes we could find to explore.
It was warm and sunny and flowers were blooming and cows were out and it was just perfect in every way.
A few hours later, we made our way back to the lake, walked around for a bit and then headed into the historic center of Annecy for lunch.
It was Victory in Europe day so it was especially crowded with people enjoying the incredible weather and their 3 day weekend. By some miracle, we pulled into the tiny, main city parking lot just as a car was leaving and found the perfect spot! We couldn't believe our luck! The hanging baskets of flowers were looking a little haggard but the gardens along the walkway were spectacular and had the most stunning candy-cane striped tulips!
After a huge lunch of Doner Kebab, we ventured back up into the mountains and did a little hike.
Finally, we stopped at Chateau Menthon Saint Bernard and had time to check it out before it closed for the day. This is place that supposedly inspired the castle from Sleeping Beauty! There was a middle school theater production happening there that day so we weren't able to go inside, but the grounds were lovely anyway.
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After cramming as much as possible into our 24 ours in Annecy, it was finally time to head to our next destination. So, we drove west to a tiny little mediaeval village called Cremieu where I'd rented an Airbnb for the night.