Day 11 - Cascade d’Angon - June 7

Another beautiful day - about 20*C sunshine.

A typical letterbox in Talloires. 

Walked up and up and up through woodland to Planfait high above Lake Annecy.

 Morning tea entertainment at Planfait.

 Ronnie walking.

Incredible views as we start to descend through pastures.

Lunch stop at a Medieval Bridge.

Glimpse of the Chateau we saw on the lake on the first day and on the boat.

The Cascade d’Angon. 

Ascent and descent  420m and 9km. Then to the village of Talloires on the lake for ice cream for me and beer for Ronnie.
Last night in Annecy after a lovely dinner with everyone at Le Saint Brasserie we went for a walk around Annecy with Linda and Noel.

Day 10 - Col de Plan Bois - June 6

Back to typical weather for this season in Annecy.
14*C max and cloudy.

We were taken up 1000m by bus then walked 459 and down about the same amount.
We were in thick mizzle at the start of the walk (much lighter than what we call drizzle in Australia) but this abated after 5 minutes to mist for the whole walk, Highlights were a rare lady's slipper orchid spotted along the way, many other alpine flowers including globe flowers along the path, some cows jangling their bells in the mist and we heard the call of a marmot..

Spectacular view, as promised.

 A marmot.

 A patch of snow.

A short break in the mist.

The finish. 

Day 9 - Annecy - June 5

Much needed rest day.
Laundry then a boat ride on Lake Annecy.

 Chateau Duingt - that is we ridge we climbed on the first day to the right of the chateau.

Chateau of Duingt built in 1103 as a fortress and became a residence in the 18th century.  It is privately owned but the gardens are opened to the public.  One can also rent it for a weekend for 15,000 Euro - not sure if that includes food.

Annecy from the lake.

Day 8 - Massif des Bauges - June 4

Parc naturel régional du massif des Bauges the easy walk (which we are going on) 11.6km and 472m ascent and 640m descent.

Another beautiful, sunny 29*C cloudless day. It is a tiny bit cooler at higher altitudes. 

None of the photos show an accurate steepness of the paths. 

 Lake Annecy in the distance. 

 A glacier!

This was the view at our lunch stop. If you zero in on the flat section to the right of the vertical cliff you can see 11 little stick figures - they are the other group.  They went a little bit higher than us. 

Day 7 - Montmin - June 3

Today we started at Col de la Forclaz and did a loop through Le Vilard to the 7 fountains to Montmin and back to Col de la Forclaz mostly on paths through the fields.  9 km as the crow flies 13km for walkers. 500m climb up and descent and up again and descent again.

View from Col de la Forclaz

French alps charolaise cows with the traditional swiss bells around their necks.

One of the many streams of snow melt

7 Fountains shrine purported to cure eczema and all other inflammations. No need to drink it.

One of the many superb "Hills are alive..." moments. Stunning scenery everywhere you look.

The Col de la Forclaz de Montmin is a famous bike ride (and race) so there are a lot of bikes on the road. Some gliding effortlessly up the steep hills and others grinding away but you are never to old for it, it seems, as there were young and very old on their bikes. The people we are with are super fit. two ladies are 77 and doing the hard walks. The majority do the hard walks but we will stick to the easy ones (450-750m ascents and descents per day- they are the easy walks!). A large group are part of the Andalusian Walking Group. A lot of these people seem to travel the world walking. Only one has done the Camino but he is going back again to do the French route again and the other routes.

These is still snow on today’s planned walk so we are doing another one. Parker could have come! 29*C again today but 0% chance of rain. Annecy not so crowded now that the long weekend break is over.

The water in the lake is crystal clear and a lovely glacial green bit is is maybe 18-20* so nice for swimming. Everyone is out on it or walking or biking around. Very friendly French here (not like the Parisians) who encourage you to speak French and don’t laugh when you get it wrong.

The volunteer leaders have to have IML - International Mountaineer Leader qualification and they have to be bi-lingual but they prefer them to have three languages.  One of our guides - Pete - has climbed the highest peaks in 7 continents (including everest) and is one of their most experienced guides.  He is a soil scientist who retired at 39 to walk and explore full time. Very modest, nice guy.

Day 6 - Le Taillefer - June 2

Our group is huge - 28 people. It is usually a maximum of 20.  We were really worried it was going to be a nightmare walking with so many but only 12 of us went on the easier walk and 4 of those dropped off after lunch. So it worked out really well.  30*C today sunny day. 

The walkers come from Canada, the US, Ireland and the UK and they are pretty fit. They are an amazing group of people.  One british woman lectures on Russian Politics around the world. She speaks fluent Russian and some French.  Another teaches French in the UK and in France and is learning German.  One American was a banker in the midst of the GFC but didn’t know what that meant - insular.  He is Sicilian and on his way to see family after this. Amazing jobs. No one mentions Trump! 

We were driven to St Jorioz and from there walked around Lake Annecy to Duingt where we had lunch. 

Chateau Duingt to the left and Le Taillefer ridge on the right that we climbed.

 Morning Tea on the lake. The Tournette mountain (2351m) The tallest one. 

Typical house.

Then we walked up to the Belvedere for a great view over the lake. 

Then up to Le Taillefer (Le Marolais) alt 638m then Le Taillefer (Les Terres Noires) alt 650m.  So a 240m climb.  

There were masses of paragliders all over the sky.  Amazing that they didn't get entangled. 

Cooled our feet in the lake at the end of the walk. Not an ice cream shop to be found!  We were supposed to catch the boat back to Annecy but the public holiday for Ascension day meant the boats were too full to take us so we got picked up by the bus instead.  

Dinner at The Saint Brassierie every night this week.  Wine included.  Cater to GF. Tartiflette made with  local reblochon cheese made from raw milk with bacon or mushroom - potato bake! Quite a few vegetarians in our group. 

Day 5 - Annecy - June 1

Exploring Annecy (pronounced Ann-c) - the Venice of the Alps.  Our 34th wedding anniversary today. Beautiful sunny day 8*-29*C I don’t really think the French 29*C is the same as ours because it is still pretty cold. 

Our hotel catered for GF so after scrambled eggs I had GF muffins and rice cakes. 

Walked around the lake on the "itineraire obligatoire" via Les jardins de l’Europe and Le Palais de I’lle the picturesque medieval castle & prison in the middle of the Thiou Canal. 

 The water is the most superb colour and no pollution anywhere.  It is swiftly flowing.

This was the metropol Hotel at one time but is now the council building. "Liberté, égalité and fraternité" - the French motto - is written on the windows. Beautiful.

Then did some washing. had some ice cream. 

Meeting our walking group this afternoon.

We are a little daunted by the crazy, phenomenally high cliffs and mountains surrounding Annecy and all the speciality rock climbing and clothing stores. There is a Vans store so we know we are in a trendy village.