Geneve
The morning was glorious and after we had our breakfast in a small room/ “la cave” in the restaurant we paid for the hotel and dinner, we said good bye to our little village, its vineyards and tree orchards and left for Geneva.
We planned a half a day visit with no exact plans for the afternoon, pone option was to drive to Gruyeres and latter Bern and another to cross the border in France to Annecy.
We found parking on the streets of Geneva right near its famous “Jet d’Eau”. The promenade around the lake and the Rhone is really beautiful and its worth some time spent on it. Especially in good weather the views are great. We spent some time walking around the water. Besides the many tourists you see all over Switzerland you cannot miss the locals who are taking their time enjoying a good weather or lunch with a friend. It is something you rarely see in New York where everybody runs to work, everybody rushes and feel the lack of time in the air.
Also, here like in Lausanne you cannot stop noticing so many veiled women walking the street, always chaperoned by a man. Sometimes you may see a completely veiled older woman and several others from the family wearing only a chador. The number of Arabs you notice on the streets is surprising in all Swiss cities.
From the promenade we started to walk up to the old city. Geneva’s old city is way more interesting and alive than the one in Lausanne. A large area in town is pedestrian and this gives an intimacy to this quarter. We returned to the promenade to feed the meter and also to have a walk on the pier of the Jeu d’eau. The wind changed its direction and I got almost soaked by the jet that is impressive to be seen close-by. It was first used to release the pressure in the city’s water system but now it became a symbol of the city.
We walked back in the old town and went to the cathedral where I was able to climb the steps of the two towers and enjoy a great panorama of the city from its top.
Looking for directions to return to the lake, we got them from a guy on a bike, who literally started a very fast chute on steps, stairs, pedestrian area and the traffic that you were surprised that he could make it without hurting somebody else or himself. Eventually it will happen. The squares were full of people sitting in the cafes and enjoying a nice day.
We got to the car where I was also to make a phone call to the parents, a thing that did not work till than.
When we left we took a decision on the spot to cross into France and drive on a local road to Annecy. I read a while ago about this city and everything that I read is true. It was an excellent choice and I would highly recommend this place any time. The drive to Annecy from Geneva is just less than one hour and we got into the center city, parked and got a hotel from the information office. We walked in the city trying to find something closer, that was not a good move, and we went back to what was recommended by the office. After another change because the hotel was not exactly what we wanted we ended up in Marina Bay, where we got an attic room for around E110.
One thing you notice right away when you come from Switzerland even in a touristy place like Annecy. The hotel offer is way better than in Switzerland and the price range is lower. It does not cost less but you have way more options for a E100-150 hotels than to the upper range. In Switzerland the feeling is that you may find something in this range of prices but the number of hotels at this level are way limited, hoevere when you move up you have a greater choice.
Annecy, France
The old city of Annecy is a jewel being crossed by canals connected by streets that cross buildings and connect in a charming maze. Lots of houses are old and renovated. Restaurants abound, the entire sides of the canals being filled with them.And they are full…We walked the streets of the old town, the promenade in front of the lake and we settled for a restaurant on the canal. The menu was way better and considerable less expensive than in Switzerland. In Switzerland you have boards in front of the restaurants advertising their ”specials”. I could not stop myself taking a picture of a board, that is typical pricewise, that was showing a Cesar Salad special for CH23!!! And this is the range in any restaurant for salads or starters. When you look into the main dishes the range is way in to CH 30-50/dish. The bottom line is that any relatively simple, basic dinner is around $100.
In Annecy the dinner was great, good wine and great atmosphere. We ended up the evening with more walks in the old town and elaborat ice creams eaten under the arches of a medieval building.
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