Annecy

There is a French expression "faire le pont", which means "to make the bridge". It is used when there is a public holiday on a Thursday, and you can "make the bridge" to the weekend by taking Friday off. In English you have to say "to take off the intervening Friday or Monday between the weekend and a public holiday in order to have a longer break", which is somewhat less elegant. Then again, French doesn't have a word for "stubble" (as in an early beard), so I guess we're even.

Last week there was a public holiday so we made the bridge and went to Annecy for the weekend. I was last in Annecy in 1998, and that time it was just a stop on a long bus trip, for maybe an hour. But I was so taken with the little town with an old city and a clear blue river, and I've always thought I'd like to go back there.

Old city with a clear river.

Annecy is just as beautiful as I remember it. It has a gorgeous old city through which flows a river taking water from Lake Annecy to Le Fier. Around the lake's foreshore are green parklands with lounging families and picnicking groups. And across the lake, lovely mountains and climb-worthy limestone cliffs.

Although Saturday dawned cloudy it rapidly turned into a brilliant day of summer pleasantness. I can not get over how green Europe is in summer. It starts in spring, which I consider to be relatively normal, but then it just stays hyper-green, and that is the part I have trouble with. Last spring I asked some friends if the green would remain all summer and they looked at me as though I was a crazy Australian. I cemented this impression by explaining how in Australia you were lucky if the countryside had not been consumed by fire during the summer. I digress - the point I am making is that Annecy was beautiful and green.

Cloudy start to the day.

Summer weather.

Around the lake in Annecy there was a constant and chaotic melee of people all sharing a common path; walkers mixed with ultra-trail runners, people on bikes, people walking dogs, dogs just running, people using segways, families carrying kayaks and towels to and from the water's edge. We joined the throng, first by foot, but then by chance we discovered that the city was allowing people to take bikes for free for two hours, so we jumped at the chance for a cycle.

The next day, having been bitten by the idea of cycling around the lake, we hired bikes and cycled around the lake. It's 40 km from Annecy to Annecy, with the water on the same side the whole time. What was — at least in my mind — thought to be a flat ride turned out to have a significant hill in the middle, from the top of which there were magnificent views. The lake stretched out below and paragliders watched above. All the cycling provided good opportunities to jump in the lake. The water temperature was the kind of freezing for which your brain, quite sensibly, tells you it's a terrible idea to get in until you're in, and then is overtaken with bravado and high-fives and convinces you it was a good idea after all.

Intrepid cycle crew.

Paragliders.

This water is not warm.

The last thing that is left to mention from the weekend is the incredible French food. French pastries remain unrivalled, particularly when you get to eat them with a strong espresso in the middle of a thrumming market.

Patisserie goods.

I'll finish this post with a picture of Tanya leaving Annecy - she has hair wet from the lake, a fleece to stave off the associated chill, and a rose found on the street in her pack. It was a really good weekend.