What? Venice in the Alps.

Friday
We have been told by so many people that Annecy is beautiful and that we must see it for ourselves. So we have decided to do just that. It is an easy one and a quarter hour’s drive from Crolles as long as you don’t take the wrong turnoff and start heading for Lyon, but that’s another story. Upon arriving in the town and parking we started to realize what people are talking about. The town is centered around an enormous lake, with picture book surroundings. Upon further exploration we found that the old town also has a series of canals running through it, which undoubtedly are the reason for it being called the “Venice of the Alps”. After a short look around the old we sat down to enjoy a pizza or three for lunch, it was here that we met the most amazing waiter. This interesting young man had the uncanny ability to throw food and drinks at the table from a great distance while at all times looking as though he had a pineapple inserted where the sun doesn’t shine, probably fitting for him that in France a pineapple is known as an Ananas. Never to be thwarted, at the end of our meal Judy asked this young fellow if he was feeling well and if we had done something to offend him, his curt response was “No, I am just like this all the time, OK”. We feel a bit sorry for his Mum.
After lunch we hired a power boat from some very helpful and pleasant dealers on the shoreline, it was a 5 meter boat with a ten horsepower motor, no matter how much I tried to convince them that our Australian boat license would be OK they wouldn’t let us hire the boat with a 150 hanging off the back, it was fun trying though. We had a glorious cruise around the lake taking turns driving which Harrison enjoyed very much, feeling very grown up. After many photos and video opportunities it was time to take the boat back and enjoy the rest of the old town. For the rest of the afternoon we enjoyed walking up and down the cobbled streets and alleyways until the sun started to set and the town signaled it was time for us to go home with the closing of the shutters on the storefronts.