Annecy

Today was our "down day" day so we decided to do a day of touring around the French countryside. We've developed a great rapport with our mountain ski guide, Nico. He took the day off as our mountain ski guide to take us to a wonderful town near Chamonix called Annecy. This town is actually a candidate for the 2018 Olympics. About a one hour drive from Chamonix it is situated on a large alpine lake in a very pristine setting in the Alps. We walked through the Vielle Ville (old town) which was so picturesque and quaint...so much of it reminded me of Venice...canals, winding ancient streets and very old world European. There is definitely a different "pulse" here in this part of the world. The first obvious difference is that it is a very pedestrian society...very few people are overweight as you see in America. Also, what is very obvious to me is so few people are "wired".... you don't see people staring down at their smart phones or hooked up to their iPods...there's definitely a different type of life style and pulse here. The town has large plazas, parks, running paths, and bike paths around the enormous alpine lake. So many people are walking, running, skulling on the lake in their skiffs, roller blading, biking, etc. We also walked to the more "moderne" part of the city and found a buzz with many of the local people...Wednesday is a big shopping day with the locals. They have a big mall like we have in the US with the Foot Locker, H & M, Sephora, etc...not as interesting as the old part of town. Lunch was at a nice, charming restaurant in the old part of town. Best creme caramel by far! Oink, oink!!
Back to Chamonix by 6:30...met our new best friend Margaret and caught up with her at the hotel brasserie on her plans to get Joe back to the States with his double knee injury. She's having difficulties with communications back Stateside. Tough situation. Tomorrow skiing where Nico thinks the conditions are the most favorable...ready to schuss.