French Alps - Lac d'Annecy

Part two of our summer vacation was my most favorite part...a beautiful lake in the French Alps next to a beautiful little town.

We rented a small apartment in Annecy, France right across the street from Lac d'Annecy. It was the bluest blue I have ever seen outside of the Caribbean. And Lake Michigan. Not only was the lake itself beautiful, but it was surrounded by beautiful mountains. The Alps, in fact.

My kids made fun of me when we arrived, as I sat on the beach enjoying the scene with tears streaming down my face. I am a geek that way. At least I keep the family entertained with my pathetic-ness." How did you come upon such a place," you ask? It was simple, really. I love cheese. "Cheese?" Why yes, cheese. That, and my love for reading any magazine I can get a hold of, especially Travel and Leisure. When I read this article in 2012, I knew someday I would have to visit this alpine paradise. More about cheese later.

My favorite activity in Annecy was our hike in the alpine meadows atop Le Semnoz. For cycling aficionados, stage 20 of the 2013 Tour de France had its terminus where we started our hike...this was a serious uphill climb by car to get to the parking area; I can only imagine the trip on a velo (bike). It was a gorgeous walk-about in the pastures of the cows who produce the milk to make the delectable alpine cheeses, with an incomparable view of the French, Swiss and Italian Alps.

Every cow wears a cowbell, so the hills are alive with the sound of music. It was a most glorious sound while we ate our portable lunch of meats, cheese and baguettes. These are truly a few of my favorite things.

The small inn pictured above offers a welcome spot to enjoy a cold drink (and they had a WC, aka potty) while you are atop the plateau. You cannot access the inn via car, only on foot or skis (although the owners do drive supplies when the conditions permit). There are a few rooms and what appeared to be absolutely mouthwatering food available to overnight guests and restaurant patrons. What a getaway if you need to escape the real world for a while!

At the end of our hike we came upon a 'map' of the view - above is a picture of the map, and below is a picture of the view above the map. Yes, that is snow in the distance. In June.

It was a beautiful, but chilly hike in the pasture atop the plateau, and we were able to capture a glimpse of Lac d'Annecy as we started back down the road to the town. It was too difficult to capture on film, but there were dozens of paragliders visible from our perch. Maybe next time, Griffin!

We rented a boat one afternoon and took a trip around the lake, again with our French-style lunch and much swimming. It was another fabulous day when memories were made.

Annecy was a delightful resort town, a perfect mixture of permanent and temporary residents. The "Old Town" (Annecy-le-Vieux) was built around a series of canals, with a castle thrown in for good charm. Market days were my favorite, only because I could see, taste and smell all the cheese.

And taste, I did. On our last evening in Annecy, we ate in Annecy-le-Vieux, next to one of the canals, and I had a classic dish with the treasured Reblechon cheese. Reblechon is a very pungent cheese with the consistency of brie but a stronger, Camembert-like taste. It was difficult to place, actually, but it was delicious.

I purchased this lovely morsel at the market on our penultimate day in Annecy. This + a fresh baguette + cornichon = HEAVEN ON EARTH.

We truly enjoyed this adventure in the French Alps in our lovely little apartment and our adorable hosts (Mr and Mme Malaplate). They were so happy I could communicate in French (they knew virtually no English) and that we were clean, quiet and in love with their town. I cannot wait to go back to this gem again someday!

OK, So I Am A Little Behind...EUROPEAN VACATION ~ UnGriswold Style

Being a busy working mom sometimes means something gives...so far that means being a blogger. One of my resolutions is to keep this bad boy up, since writing tends to make me feel better. So here we go...again!

Journeys come in all sorts of packages, and we were lucky enough to have had the opportunity to visit family and friends in Europe this summer. While we don't typically do the crazy expensive vacation thing, we certainly enjoyed it while it lasted!

First Stop - Paris

Yeah, see, I told you it sounds like we think we are hot stuff. How amazing is it that we got to stay with cousins in a Parisian suburb?!?! Nana Pat is a second cousin of Tom Delduca, from Italy (Lama dei Peligni). He married Nicole, a Parisienne, and they have a daughter, Ann, who is my age. She is John's third cousin. Her kids, Alexandre and Romain, are fourth cousins to my kids. You will be tested later. We stayed with Tom and Nicole in their home and had a fabulous, fun-filled time.

The French homes are so welcoming and warm. Although the homes are close together, you would never know it by the privacy you feel. I think it is the flowers and trees and relaxing atmosphere, as well as the lack of sirens. The food was great and the company was greater; the Delducas sure know how to have fun!

We saw most of the "usual" sights of Paris: the Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, etc. The overall group favorite was DEFINITELY the Catacombs:

Deep underground we went, after more than 3 hours in line, to walk a winding path over a mile long looking at BONES. Yes, BONES. This ossuary is where bones were stored when Paris ran out of room to bury its dead. It was blessed in 1786, after which time the remains from the Cemetery of the Innocents were brought to be stored in these old limestone quarries. When all the remains had been transferred, other cemeteries' contents were also brought to the catacombs until 1814.

It was a pretty creepy place. In the early transfer of bones, the remains were just neatly stacked. As the time passed, the transfer dudes became a little more artsy and made crosses and other respectful displays. It is pretty dark this far underground, and the lighting is intentionally dim to preserve the remains of people who probably did not plan on being a tourist attraction.

This picture shows what happens when you get trapped underground with a lot of bones (estimated to be 6 million people) in an old limestone quarry. You carve pretty buildings into the walls while you pray that zombies are not actually real.

We all really enjoyed Paris, much more than we had even hoped. There is something about being with family and feeling connected that makes a trip special. I am hopeful that the friendships my kids forged with their cousins and friends will last a lifetime and spark other trans-Atlantic adventures.

Hopefully you have special people with whom to share your future vacations, too!