Weeks 23, 24, and 25 - More biking, Annecy, France, and swimming in the lake

Having not quite learned our lesson from being broken after biking to Yverdon, the next weekend we biked to Cudrefin. Although it doesn't look like it is very far from Neuchâtel around the lake and was in fact a primarily flat ride, it was really tough. The path took us relatively far away from the lake shore through fields. With the wind blowing strongly through the fields, it was tough to make progress. On our way back, we enjoyed lunch in La Tène, very close to the water. Despite better judgement, (this seems to be theme with her and cheese), M had fondue for lunch. The bike back was a bit uncomfortable.

Margaret had a relatively tough week at work with long nights, so she was really looking forward to last weekend. With Mike and Christina (friends from California also currently living in Europe), we had plans to go to Christina's favorite place in the world: Annecy, France. We have to admit that if you're going to pick a favorite place in the world this isn't a bad pick.

Annecy is a little less than two hours drive from Neuchâtel in the Haute-Savoie region of France, nestled in the French Alps. The town sits on Lake Annecy and is well known for its several canals that wind through town which has earned it the names of "Venice of the Alps" or "Venice of Savoy." The old town feels like it has been extracted from Disneyworld (although I suppose really it would be the other way around). The canals are clear to the bottom, buildings are painted in cheery colors, and the city is blooming with flowers. We entertained ourselves with eating lots of good food and walking around in the rain. Actually, one of the highlights was walking up to the cathedral on the acropolis, getting completely drenched. At the top of the hill, we had an impromptu party with a few of the local liqueurs we'd purchased in town while we got up enough courage to venture into the rain again for the trek back down. After a nice dinner, we rested up for the Sunday market. The market is full of not only foods, but also clothes, knives, and any other thing you might expect to find on a late-night informercial. We were so enamoured with the food choices (and lower prices), however, that we wound up doing some of our grocery shopping. Our visit to Annecy concluded with a picnic by the lake with some of the market goodies.

This past weekend we chilled in Neuchâtel and tried to take advantage of the good weather. (We've had a fair share of showers and storms recently, and the cool weather we've been having makes us afraid summer may be over very quickly.) Saturday, we walked down to the lake in the afternoon to read, and Ken decided that he would brave the cool waters of Lake Neuchâtel with a brief swim. He actually went in twice. It was quite chilly but pleasant when moving about. M might get up the courage to go swimming next year.

Lessons learned:

1. Biking several kilometers after a meal of fondue is not a good idea.

2. Straciatella is a delicious flavor of ice cream.

3. Drinking crème de violette (violet liqueur) is a lot like sucking on a smelly marker.

4. Flower rating in France: Le Concours des Villes et Villages Fleuris is a competition amongst French cities to attain a maximum four-flower rating based upon the beauty of the city (defined by cleanliness, amount of shrubbery and flowers, environmental friendliness, number of parks, etc.). With the four-flower rating, villages have a "touristic" advantage over neighbors.

5. To avoid offense, if you walk into an office of people, be sure to say hello to each person in the room even if they don't feel the need to raise their heads and make eye contact with you. Don't necessarily expect the same courtesy if you walk into a room. (Sigh...)