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| Lake Iseo sunset through the haze |
Sheryl, my social & events convener, is in contact with all, which the hermit in me is a bit wary of. However, our next stop had been a recommendation and was to be Lake Annecy. A lake in France very close to Geneva, so a rendezvous was planned with the Petrillos, this being a mere 3 hour jaunt after work on the Friday for them.
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| Lake Idro looking across to the Fort high on the hill |
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| Hot at the top of the lookout over Lake Idro |
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| Just out of the hills to look out over Lake Iseo |
A bit more difficult for us as we haven't done much work for a bit thus an "after work" scenario is a bit awkward but we persevered.
This was a week away. And Italy still had some lakes on offer. Leaving Riva Del Garda, we went directly into a 4km tunnel that went straight into the mountain side and wound its way up inside the hill and around to a small lake in the hills above. This is very scenic country. We drove for 3 hours or so in hilly country, (not unlike Lewis Pass) arriving at Lake Idro, another small gem. What is interesting in the deep country side is you are never far from industry. We came across villages with huge industrial complexes, busy with lots of traffic, which some how disburses out to supply the world. I understand historically these industries required much energy thus were always near the rivers and swift mountain rivers are good to generate energy. Always a surprise when you round a corner and find these factories, supporting many people with all the related infrastructure.
Lake Idro had some mountain walks, with which we engaged one. It took us round the back of a hill on the lake bringing us up & out to views of the lake, leaving us hot and sweaty. The track had many options from there and we opted for the shortest route back.....big mistake...... it dropped us down the escarpment and down we went steeply for an hour, an activity our legs were not conditioned for. We arrived down on the lake front still 3kms from camp but thankfully a flat road to stride out, albeit very shakily. We were spent to be honest, and were plenty stiff the next day. The lake also had a great fortress on it which was of historic importance and luckily the last english tour of the summer season was the following day. Our camp host was not helpful to make a call and we were unable to find the tourism office by bike 3 villages away so were not able to schedule the tour. Felt a little let down by the efforts of the community to promote their areas. Never mind we were in a nice position for two days to marvel at the fortress and Google does a great job to access the history.
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| Along the shoreline of Isle Iseo, looking across to the mainland |
Another day, another lake! The next one called Lake Iseo, considerably larger than Idro with many villages, towns, an island plus the added advantage of a huge cement works on the shoreline. The lake again ringed with an amazing road tunnel network. We had no need to travel the lake sides as we came to the camp almost immediately with an old town, complete with old old rediscovered frescoes, what more does a town need to draw the tourists.
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| Autumn in the cemetry of Saulieu |
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| Bill chatting to his mate |
Lake Iseo has a island 9 kms around with a church,"surprise! surprise!" on its 600m peak. The ferry over with bikes was a day excursion not to be missed, our stiff legs were almost a distant memory so off we went.
The islands population are only allowed scooters for transport with services and contractors allowed only tuk tuks including the undertaker, which we didn't see ourselves, but were told was a hoot. The roading system is very limited but did allow a small bus and the only other "real" vehicles being the emergency services. We had a pleasant day with the most delicious sandwich up at the church, a fresh bun and prosciutto. Not even a beer to be had being close to the seat of power so to speak. What should have been a stunning view was sadly marred by a haze.
Since Lake Garda we have been engulfed in a bluish haze which often limited the views down to no more than a couple of k's depending on the position of the sun. It was very noticeable and kind of disturbing as it was so wide spread, and long lasted (like 7 days), We spoke to some travellers and they hadn't really noticed it, then asked a local lad with some good english and he looked confused, in total surprise denying it was normal and had only appeared that day as far as he was aware. They're in denial on air quality here i'm sure. We met an english couple at the camp whom we had a drink with that night as they are hoping to visit NZ in Feb, so answered some probing questions on how difficult it may be to travel in our far flung homeland, but were able to reassure them it would in most probability be a pleasant experience, albeit possibly lacking the endemic cafe culture found here. We look forward to meeting Richard & Sheila again in NZ or perhaps earlier in Bath, their home, should circumstances permit.
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Hotel Dieu - the multi coloured roof of the
Hospice de Beaune in the lovely town of Beaune |
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Some of the many rennovated half timbered
houses of Troyes from the 16th Century |
Coming out of the lakes district we raced across the top of Italy then back into the hills to cross into France. There is a tunnel naturally but Sheryl dislikes tunnel's almost as much as mountain passes, so we opted for the pass. We spent a night in the village of Susa, our last night in Italy.
Susu is a humble village with very authentic medieval streets & houses, still in need of serious renovation in places, also a roman amphitheatre, indeed the works. The amphitheatre very low key but renovated enough to allow regular community use. Amazing such historical depth. Being the last stop out of Italy, Susa had some visitors but not thriving tourism. Back in time this pass was historically important with many conquerors including Hannibal and his elephants passing this way. Sculptures of elephants appear along the route.
The other notable occurrence was this was the first rail link into a foreign country that was used to "train" in the troops IE Napoleons army to support Italy in it's fight against Austria. "All troops report for the 9:45 to Italy don't forget your guns and bring your bloody lunches this time"
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Driving through the pass from Italy to France
Terrifying for the poor elephants |
We wound our way into the mountains the next day, sadly cloudy and misty with little to see but did keep S's panic attacks under control, not a good time for my brake warning to start flashing but discerning a low fluid alarm, we cautiously straddled the pass between to great nations and graced France with our presence. We were well up in the alps as we passed numerous ski lifts reaching higher into the hills. Also a great series of French forts to keep out the hordes. So much history, so much to learn.
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Bill hanging around the streets of Annecy
looking cool in his new leather Jacket |
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| Looking through the streets of Annecy |
We arrived at the touted Annecy in cool rain, sad to leave the Med climate far behind us now, and found our camp after a tortuous route because of local road closures. Still, once parked up, it was a mere 20 min walk to the Petrillo's Air B&B in the old town. And indeed it was a stunning old town. Another catch up with welcome friends in a great location.
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Sunday Market in the streets of Annecy
Amazing amount of chickens cooked & sold |
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| Amanda & Rico, Luna & Caio on the cycle trail |
We took in the town that evening, later enjoying some nibbles back at their 400 yr old quarters. The next day biking with all six of us scouting the lake, nearly to the bottom on a scenic bike ride. The trip was had in fair weather and didn't involve the emergency services however the rescue chopper was put on standby after the third mishap but luckily not needed. A great day had by all. A visit to the chateau, amongst other visits, made for a pleasant stay. Sadly we said goodbye as we again headed our separate ways till next time. Always enjoy family and friends.
Now closing in on the UK, its cooler, we are in longs, jackets, shoes and socks. A shock.
But still time to fit in Paris on our way through. Unfortunately the day was a bit grey on our arrival. We struggled through the renovations of the multi level railway station where we got off near Notre Dame. Who knew there were so many rail lines so far underground!! What a rabbitt warren.Thankfully a lovely woman saw our confused faces and asked us if we needed help, then sent us off in the right direction to pop out not far from Notre-Dame which was a great place to start our tour of Paris. We tried to catch an English 3.5 hr walking tour of the city but arrived too late, so we bought the Paris Guide book to do it ourselves.
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| Recognise this? |
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| Can you see the queue for the Lou -vre? |
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| River Seine busy with plenty of boats but not many tourisits |
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| Constant traffic around the Arc de Triomphe |
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| Notre-Dame - pretty impressive |
After a lovely coffee & orange juice, (Bill telling the waiter what robbers they were with their prices just after the waiter had warned us of the Gypsies who he called "pick Pocketers". He had abused them as they passed his cafe.) We started our own tour. Sadly with an over cast day, and almost more street peddlers selling crappy trinkets than tourists, Paris struggled to impress. Although we were here 38 years ago, our memory isn't that great of it. We walked the tourist route along the Seine covering Notre-Dame, the Louvre, many historic bridges & gardens, Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower (with so much more security now of course, lots of temporary fencing all around it sadly adding a dejected atmosphere to this iconic monument). Paris has so many beautiful large parks, which was amazing the fore fathers of this great city planned it well.It may have been the weather, or all the street peddlers, but one day in Paris did not do it justice and looking at all the Museums & Gardens to visit, one would need at least a week to do this. So perhaps 3rd time lucky on our next return.Onward now for our last 2 days in France, autumn has definitely settled in. We woke to zero degrees the other morning, bit of a shock. Hopefully we will be on our way home before the frosts start.
