SuperDave's Adventures in Eastern France's Wine Country COMPLETE!! 6/13 - Page 22 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Sounds like a good end to the day! I'm looking forward to hearing about Provence.
It was a fun, but a bit tiring of a day! Really covered a lot that day! I'm sure you'll enjoy the Provence portion!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
The wine tasting sounded both enjoyable and relaxing. Your dinner at The Atmosphere sounded quite pleasant.
The wine tasting even though informal was a lot of fun and a nice get together with my group. Having some good wine and sharing our adventures of Chamonix that day!The restaurant, I really enjoyed and had such a great meal. I wasn't expecting it to be this good in this part of France!
It was an exciting and tiring day, but yet had no desire to go to bed early! You figure it out, because I can't.! Perhaps, I want to keep enjoying everything on this trip and not miss out on anything or just over tired. Probably, the former!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Sounds like a great relaxing night! Can't wait to hear about Provence!
It was very much so, after a long day! The first installment of Provence should be coming up later this afternoon!
Thanks for updating my thread title!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Got up at around 7 a.m. or a bit before. Today was another departure day and we would be heading for Provence at around 8:30 a.m. Had my standard breakfast downstairs, just off the lobby of coffee, orange juice, peach yogurt and two small croissants. Afterwards, I went up stairs to get my bags and place them in the lobby with the rest of my groups’ bags for our departure to Provence in a bit.
I walked outside for a while and couldn’t believe how blue the sky was today. I don’t think there was a single cloud! Just wish it had been like this yesterday up in the French Alps as it would have been a bit more enjoyable and have some even more amazing photos as a result of these skies! Still, yesterday was a great day up there and the weather for the most part was quite good. Decided, to take a few last photos of the alps, just outside my hotel with these clear skies.
It’s quite amazing that you can see the top of Aiguille du Midi this morning. I particularly like the last photo.
After taking in all of this mountain scenery on such a clear day, I returned to the hotel and just hung out in the lobby for a while with our group, while we waited to walk to the bus. It was a short walk to the bus and was actually parked pretty close to where I took those last photos from.
Just after 8:30 a.m. our bus left for Provence. Before arriving in Provence, we’d be making a stop in this region of the French Alps called Haute-Savoie in the southern portion of the region for a cruise on a lake. It will be in the town of Annecy and surprisingly on Lake Annecy. It’s a pretty popular European vacation spot and the British Royals have been known to vacation here on occasion.
Our bus arrived in Annecy at pretty close to 10 a.m. Our cruise is at 11 a.m., so before this, our guide Toni gave us a brief guided tour of this lovely town. To be noted is that the next town over from Annecy is Albertville, where the 1992 Winter Olympics were held. Annecy seems to have quite an influence of Swiss, Italian and of course French in it's architecture.
Annecy has been known as the Alpine Venice over the years, with the numerous canals that cross through the city center. Although, not to the extent of the Italian counterpart.
Nice little side street in town with its' markets
More of the canals in Annecy. Love the look of these buildings.
One of the outdoor markets in town sporting a variety of fish and accompaniments. All looks so good!
After our little tour, I did some more walking on my own in Annecy as our cruise wouldn’t be leaving for thirty minutes. Along the canals in town are many shops and cafes as you would expect. During this time I was looking to hunt down one of these cafes for lunch after the cruise. Many of these along the canals are quite expensive and I suppose you’re paying for the view. I found one or two on a side street just off one of the canals that seem pretty reasonable and have a good menu. That’s good that I had time to do this, instead of wasting a bit of my lunch time later and try to hunt one of these down. We are always given ample time for these lunch stops, but sometimes it’s a bit tight from place to place. It has depended on how fast the service is. The French aren’t exactly known for their quick service. They don’t want to rush you and have you enjoy your dining experience! To me, that is a good attitude!
I arrived at the dock, where we’d take our cruise from at around 10:45 a.m. The name of the cruise company is Compagnie des Bateaux du Lac D’Annecy. It translates to Lake Annecy Boat Company. We began boarding our vessel, five minutes later. It’s quite a nice boat.
The name on the boat, “Belle Etoile,” translates to Beautiful Star.
Our cruise departed about five minutes after the hour as there were a number of late shows. Only five minutes, so not that big of a deal. They also want to fill it up as much as possible. I was able to get a seat all the way on the left, which would be great for photos! Lake Annecy is about 9 miles long and the width varies. I think it’s almost a mile wide at certain spots and as deep as 150 feet.
There are quite a number of hotels, restaurants and expensive homes that line along Lake Annecy. Many are just summer getaways for those who can afford it!
There are still many snow capped peaks of the alps along here, but not quite to the extent there are back in Chamonix to the north.
I definitely, could get adjusted to living here, with such a beautiful view!
Like the backdrop of the tree lined mountain behind the church.
Buildings of Annecy’s city center and our arrival back to port!
This was quite a nice cruise and the scenery was so good. Great views of homes, hotels and cafes along the lake as well as many historic buildings and churches as well. We had some amazing views of the alps nearby and in the distance with more mountains than alps as this area becomes more like Provence to the south and less like Chamonix to the north. The weather was pretty much perfect for a cruise with a clear blue sky and temps in the mid 60's. Although, you did need a jacket with the forward boat speed, that causes it to be a little chilly from the wind.
It was just about noon time and after getting off the boat, I walked toward the city center and have some lunch. I chose one of the cafes I had looked at before. It seem to have sort of a Swiss name to it with O Savoyard. I guess meaning of the Savoie region here. The menu looked good and seemed pretty reasonably priced, so I thought this would be a good choice.
The view from my table at O Savoyard.
I was attended to rather quickly and the service seemed good from the start. It was throughout my whole meal, considering how busy they seemed. Most of the tables outside were taken and it was quite comfortable to dine outside!
I was first served bread along with some house water. I also ordered a half liter (not bottle) of Roussette de Savoie. It was a nice white wine and seemed similar to a Chardonnay. One thing I found out about this area and Provence as well is there didn’t seem to be any half bottles of wine on the wine list at any of these establishments. Perhaps, they encourage wine consumption here more! I never had a problem, finding half bottles on the wine lists earlier in my trip! Just kind of find that odd.
I looked over the menu and decided to go with the mixed grill. It’s a combination of pan fried Trout and Perch from Lake Annecy (Close to the source and that works well for me!) in a lemon, garlic and butter sauce. It was a pretty thin and flavorful sauce and not heavy at all. It was served with roasted green and yellow squash. This was very good and I really enjoyed the Perch as I had never had this before. Sort of off red in color like Arctic Char or Salmon. The Perch was a small filet, while the trout was in chunks that had been deboned. No problem with this as it makes it easier for me. I finished off the meal with a double espresso.
It was just about 1:10 and still had another twenty minutes to meet back at my bus, which was about a five minute walk. Walked the town a bit, through some of the narrow streets here and checking out some of the local shops.
Street nearby O Savoyard Restaurant.
I thought running into this was rather unusual! Didn’t expect to find this in Annecy!
I arrived back at my bus, just before 1:30 p.m. Next, it was on to Provence and the aptly named town of Vaison La Romaine (as you'll find out shortly) for the next three nights!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Last edited by SuperDave; 11-17-2013 at 06:23 PM..
We stopped off at Annecy on our first visit to Switzerland in 2010 and it is a beautiful town. I remember the photos we got of the lake. I don't think there were cruises running then, as it was late March and I don't think the season had started yet...
A lovely town, and what a perfect day for a cruise on the lake!
It was quite a nice little town, though quite active! More than a good day for a cruise!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
We stopped off at Annecy on our first visit to Switzerland in 2010 and it is a beautiful town. I remember the photos we got of the lake. I don't think there were cruises running then, as it was late March and I don't think the season had started yet...
Nice to know you've been to Annecy and glad you enjoyed it! March is probably a bit too cool for cruises. It was probably mid to upper 60's the day I took the cruise and being the middle of May, so quite different!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Annecy looks like a lovely place and the lake was beautiful. I love the picture of the church with the tree lined mountain behind it. So picturesque! Your lunch sounded very tasty as well.
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Annecy looks like a lovely place and the lake was beautiful. I love the picture of the church with the tree lined mountain behind it. So picturesque! Your lunch sounded very tasty as well.
Annecy is such a lovely and small town and quite active! The picture of the church is one of my faves and not easy to get a photo off like that, when the boat is moving! The lunch was certainly a good one! One thing I didn't realize until after, is that there is outdoor seating on the canal in this restaurant on the other side. Oh, well! Still enjoyed my view!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Great pictures from Annecy! Glad you had a great time on the cruise!
The photos came out so well on such a perfect day for weather! The cruise could not have been any better. A bit cool, with the wind from the forward progress of the boat, but had a jacket, so all was good!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
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I'm looking forward to hearing about Provence. 
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Really covered a lot that day! 
I'm sure you'll enjoy the Provence portion! 
Perhaps, I want to keep enjoying everything on this trip and not miss out on anything or just over tired. Probably, the former! 
It’s a pretty popular European vacation spot and the British Royals have been known to vacation here on occasion.
I found one or two on a side street just off one of the canals that seem pretty reasonable and have a good menu. That’s good that I had time to do this, instead of wasting a bit of my lunch time later and try to hunt one of these down. We are always given ample time for these lunch stops, but sometimes it’s a bit tight from place to place. It has depended on how fast the service is. 
Only five minutes, so not that big of a deal. They also want to fill it up as much as possible. I was able to get a seat all the way on the left, which would be great for photos! 
Oh, well! Still enjoyed my view! 
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