Talloires and Annecy September 16, 2017 Enjoy a tour of the exceptionally scenic, picturesque, and generally beautiful Annecy and Talloires, and environs. View fullsize All ready to set sail, in extra-comfortable seats thanks to Thai's free upgrade. View fullsize All comfy here! View fullsize Time travel tubes at CDG Terminal 1. View fullsize How futuristic. Google it: CDG Terminal 1. View fullsize And we've made it to beautiful Gare de Lyon. View fullsize Where travelers can have a free charge for their devices, but they have to work for it. View fullsize Just enough time in our 'layover' to sneak a peak of the Seine. View fullsize And grab some breakfast for the long ride ahead. View fullsize And we're off to Annecy, local nourishment in hand. View fullsize For those who are curious, here's the route the TGV takes. It actually bypasses Lyon. View fullsize Note the u-turn in Chambery. View fullsize Some nice scenery along the way. View fullsize The first of many cow sightings. View fullsize The next obstacle: the rental car. Our Opel Mokka. View fullsize We made it to our AirBnB. Our host's unit is the one on the corner, with all the plants on the facade. View fullsize We have a small entrance to our ground-level studio around the corner. View fullsize Our studio; and home for the next 4 nights. View fullsize The beautiful Lac d'Annecy, as seen from Annecy. View fullsize Blue skies, blue waters! View fullsize This is the third-largest lake in France (excluding the French part of Lake Geneva). View fullsize We were there, too! View fullsize Touring the lake is an attraction itself! View fullsize The kite surfers were out in force. View fullsize These athletes didn't seem to mind that it was 15 degrees out! View fullsize Flags of the region? View fullsize A small canal off the lake. View fullsize Annecy town hall. View fullsize The picturesque center of (old) town. View fullsize The Thiou river, the primary outflow of the lake. And its resident swans. View fullsize Classic Annecy picture: the Palais de l'Ile, former castle & prison. View fullsize This is the type of town they would replicate in China or Disneyland! View fullsize Heading up hill. View fullsize Cute graffiti. View fullsize Our destination: Basilique de la Visitation, on top of the hill. View fullsize It was built between 1922 and 1930 ... relatively modern by France's standards! View fullsize Interior of the basilica. View fullsize Also nearby: the Château d'Annecy, formerly a medieval castle, and now a museum. View fullsize Great view of roof tops from the hill. View fullsize Colorful homes, leaves, and sky. View fullsize No need to paint your house, when the foliage is this colorful! View fullsize Snack time! Vocab word of the day: "boulangerie". View fullsize Long shadows accompany the relatively long days. View fullsize More scenic canal shots. View fullsize Turns out Paul is actually a thing! Not just a brand created for Asian markets! View fullsize Farewell, Annecy. View fullsize Back in Talloires, the sun is [finally] setting over the local docks. View fullsize Early the next morning, we go out to explore -- and find breakfast. View fullsize The cute little town. View fullsize This is pretty much it for the town center. View fullsize The lake is still waking up. View fullsize All bundled up; it was only 4 degrees! View fullsize Even the boats are still asleep, trying to keep warm. View fullsize Pano of Lac d'Annecy, from the Talloires beach. Check out the slide on the LHS. View fullsize Mist rising up from the lake. View fullsize Boats all tucked in for the winter. View fullsize Finally time for breakfast! From our new best friend: the patissier. View fullsize View of the lake from even further south; we're heading to the southern tip. View fullsize Doing a short walk in the "Réserve Naturelle Marais du Bout du Lac d'Annecy". View fullsize It's a picturesque 3km loop through an area they have been rehabilitating over the last 40 years. View fullsize The mountains in this area are some of the most globally renowned for paragliding! View fullsize The Ire river, one of the two main rivers that feeds the lake. View fullsize Another picturesque pano, this time from the south side. View fullsize More scenic lake and marsh. Lots of ducks around here! View fullsize A paragliding pro. View fullsize Apparently many paragliding championships are held here. View fullsize Head in the clouds. View fullsize One of the ~6 villages and towns that border the lake. View fullsize Too bad it was just a bit too chilly for swimming! View fullsize Colorful portrait. View fullsize French duckies! View fullsize The nosy swans spotted people, and so had to come over to investigate. View fullsize Sorry swans, only limited French spoken here! View fullsize Bonjour, monsieur. Avez-vous du pain pour moi? View fullsize Finally, time for the big event! First stop is at the Mairie... View fullsize ... for the official marriage ceremony. Check out the medal around this guy's neck. View fullsize The couple and their witnesses, listening carefully to the man with the medal. View fullsize Newlyweds! View fullsize The groom, looking more-than-dapper, with former colleagues from Bangkok. View fullsize Solene & Adrien, making their first exit together as a married couple. View fullsize Loving how they decked out their car! View fullsize Walking back to the Abbaye for photos and the next ceremony. View fullsize The groom, his best man, and two of the three flower girls. View fullsize The lake looks much more alive than it did this morning! View fullsize What a scenic backdrop for wedding photos! View fullsize And what a stylish couple. View fullsize Off they go, sailing into the sunset. Or, to take more photos. View fullsize Oh hey, we were there, too! View fullsize Back on solid land, the ceremony laïque. View fullsize Entering with style, of course. View fullsize Another great backdrop for their exchange of vows, and speeches from the guests of honor. View fullsize After the sun set, it did get a bit chilly, though! View fullsize Finally, the dinner that lasted until midnight! View fullsize We were seated at the table for English speakers! View fullsize Now I know how a European wedding can last into the wee hours of the morning! View fullsize Capping off the night: an extravagant pouring of the campaign. View fullsize Late the next morning: after several observations, he's finally figured out how to carry bread like a local. View fullsize Our activity for the morning: a windy drive up Mt. Semnoz, overlooking the lake. The road makers took "follow the curves of the mountain" a little too literally. View fullsize At the top, we're at an altitude of 1670m. Note: that sign is for the crazy cyclists who make the ascent! View fullsize Feeling on top of the (foggy) world. View fullsize From the ground, we thought it was a clear day. Turns out there were clouds, after all! View fullsize It must be beautiful when the clouds aren't there! View fullsize Literally spending time above the clouds. View fullsize Some sun found a way to sneak into one of the villages below. View fullsize A spy a sliver of the lake down there. View fullsize It's the time of week when the cows get to come home! View fullsize They look awfully excited! Have you ever seen cows gallop like that? View fullsize The running of the dairy cows! View fullsize More of the lake down below. Looks so blue, even from up here. View fullsize Uh oh, more clouds rolling in! View fullsize A tree-mountain-cloud sandwich. View fullsize This rebel dog and his owners (who were indeed French)! View fullsize Fresh cheese, I believe. But I didn't see any goats up there. View fullsize The ladies just chillin' and enjoying the view. View fullsize What healthy cows! View fullsize Uh oh! Another cloud rolling in. View fullsize A horizon of cows. View fullsize Can you guess what they use this misty mountain for in the winter? View fullsize Making my dramatic disappearance. View fullsize Making a pit stop on the way back down the mountain, for some valley views. View fullsize Another cute little village, still at relatively high altitude. View fullsize The dairy barns? View fullsize More cows! View fullsize And a nosy horse, carefully monitoring the traffic. View fullsize "Okay, you may pass." View fullsize One final elevated view of the lake. View fullsize Looking nice and blue! View fullsize Penultimate item on the wedding program: Breton crepes for brunch at Adrien's family's house. View fullsize Such a quintessentially French way to spend the afternoon. View fullsize Looking good! View fullsize Some well-deserved crepes, after a long wait. View fullsize More style from the groom. (Colors are in!) View fullsize Last stop on the official program: a boat tour of the lake. View fullsize Looking back as we depart Talloires. View fullsize A man and his dog, spending some peaceful time together on Saturday afternoon. View fullsize The sailors are out, too. View fullsize The dramatic Château Ruphy, an 11th-century fortress. View fullsize What a view! View fullsize Looks like snow on the mountaintops - but alas, it's just stone. View fullsize More low clouds. View fullsize What a steep backyard! View fullsize Au revoir, Talloirs et Annecy!
![Back in Talloires, the sun is [finally] setting over the local docks.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57a5b670e6f2e1f140d28fbd/1506166523938-IZSMFL0K87VBCVIKI35D/46.jpg)
