Summer Styling at Lakeside Retreats

Last December, when we were planning this trip, I stumbled upon this fabulous lakeside town. Having seen countless pictures, I somehow convinced myself I was headed to Switzerland, but to my surprise Annecy was still in France. Lake Annecy and the town of Annecy are on the border between France and Switzerland abutting the foothills of the Alps. The weather in this part of Europe has been uncharacteristically cool with an atypical amount of rain over the past few weeks. Driving from Lyon, we were hit with a few drops of rain and a temperature that didn’t want to quite burst through that 60 degree marker. Knowing that my friends were suffering through over 100 degree temperatures with horrendous humidity, I savored the cool air and donned my pants and sweater. Ok, so maybe I ventured out in shorts and platform sandals, but I clandestinely changed at the petrol station while we pumped gas. But who is counting?

Vielle Annecy

Another feat of directional savvy somehow got us to the Vielle Ville (old village) of Annecy where we parked at the Chateaux atop the hill and took in the picturesque view of Lake Annecy and the colorful town below. We explored the Chateaux – an old castle – and then trudged down the hill to the winding streets of the old town lined by canals from the lake. The water is crystal blue and has that quality only glacier water can give to a lake. I was afraid to get my toe near it as I was certain it would be freezing but I later discovered it was closer to the temperature of the Pacific than I’d expected. If the sun had been beating down, it would have been wonderfully refreshing. We lunched in town while it down poured around us and then walked through the Sunday market with its ever-present fresh chevre cheese, dried and cured meats, fresh fruits and vegetables, and tantalizing pastries before wandering to the lake shore to admire our surroundings. Now, in day two of being on a fabulous lake in this region, I am struck by how unbelievable this setting is. I am waiting for the moment when the backdrop falls down like in a movie set and a blank wall stares back at me. It is that surreal.

View from my room at the Abbey Talloires

Our destination for the evening was on the eastern shore of Lake Annecy, the most picturesque part of this 40km route around the lake. The Abbaye of Talloires, another former abbey turned hotel, was our sleeping quarters for the evening. Post Lyon, we were sadly used to ample rooms so the former monks quarters turned hotel rooms were a bit austere in comparison. However, the view out our windows was compensation enough. I kept sticking my head out the window to verify what I was seeing was real. And later in the evening when the clouds parted, it was beyond fabulous. I sat in my room reading my book and enjoying the backdrop, beyond appreciative for the experience and the company, and the opportunity to be sitting where I was. Priceless.

Vevey with Mont Blanc in the background - and a modern art installation

This morning I awoke to that same scenery, the sun hitting the water just right and reminding me of years of waking up on the lake at summer camps and being up in Northern Minnesota….the only difference the Alpine presence in the background! It was time to get up and at ‘em and move on to our next stop – Switzerland (or back to Switzerland.) Winding through the mountains, we jumped onto the lakeside route along Lake Geneva, driving through Nyon, a roman town founded by Julius Ceasar, passing the Olympic park in Laussane, driving along the terraced vineyards of Lavaux painstakingly planted by monks centuries ago and preserved by UNESCO, and stopping for lunch in scenic Vevey.

A commentary must be made on the costs in Switzerland (and France as well) - it's INSANE how expensive this country is. A coke at lunch was $9 while a beer was $6 - and the beer wasn't even good. It makes you cringe trying to order even the most mundane starter because nothing is less than $15 and the caliber isn't even worthy of the cost. We filled up half of our diesel gas tank and it was $100 (this was in Euros in France too.) Imagine if we'd had an unleaded tank! When you have a Eurozone that is sitting in a wildly precarious position, the costs of items and the FX rate should have some rational expression in the market. But apparently that memo hasn't reached the French. It must be stuck with that Sanskrit memo about hospitality.

Gruyere

Driving on our expensive diesel, we plugged along the freeway, appreciating the panorama surrounding us. From Lake Geneva, we were headed to Lake Murten. Before arriving, we elected to visit Gruyere, the medieval hilltop town that proffered the name for the wildly famous fondue cheese. That and the hometown of H.R. Giger, the visual artist behind the "Alien" movie series. Totally random yet fascinating especially in the context of a tiny town in the middle of Switzerland. His cafe was like the recreation of the inside of one of the Alien's bodies with spines and insane chairs and floor designs everywhere. Kind of creepy, but I liked it. Love those movies.

Town of Murten

Our final stop for the day, and by far one of the most picturesque, was the town of Murten-Meyriez on Lake Murten. Our accommodations last night were in a 100-year old country house overlooking the enchanting lake and surrounding hills covered in typical Swiss homes. People were out sunbathing, swimming in the lake, boating, sailing, fishing, and just enjoying the outdoors. Our rooms had private balconies overlooking this grand view so we decided to go into town and purchase a picnic to enjoy together. Fresh bread from the bakery, cheese, meats, swiss chocolate and two bottles of wine, and we were a happy crowd. Well, that was until we decided we need a bucket of ice for our wine and some oil and vinegar. The hotel was happy to send it up and then charge us 30 Swiss Francs ($37) for the order! Again, INSANE! We argued, they didn't care, we yelled, they didn't care, we had another sip of our wine and tried to go back to enjoying our view. Really, really enjoying it. At the end of the day, we had a wonderful and relaxing evening and are heading to breakfast this morning where we may leave with some souvenirs in our pockets as revenge. Ha!

View from my room overlooking Lake Murten

Today is my last full day of this adventure in Europe. It has been one of the best trips I have been on in a while with a constant barrage of wonderful sights to see, people to meet, and educational opportunities. And the weather, despite a few rain showers, has been a refreshing reprieve to the heat and humidity of New York. That being said, I gravely miss my friends and loved ones and look forward to being home and back in my routine. I started off the morning here with a nice run along the lake and will go for breakfast before departing for Zurich where we'll spend the night and then fly back home tomorrow morning. See some of you really soon! xoxo

La Vie en Lyon

Considered by many to be the gastronomic center of France, Lyon did not fail to impress with the Halles of Lyon food market, the authentic Lyonaisse Bouchon restaurants, the fragrant and eye-watering patisseries filled with “coussins” and pink pralines, and of course the indelible imprint of a Chef of the Century winner, Paul Bocuse. Second in size to Paris, Lyon’s lure stretches beyond the culinary to entice with, among other things, beautiful architecture, an old town that evokes memories of some far-off Italian village, and a striking Basilica overlooking the expansive city.

From Beaune to Lyon on the country road

Departing Beaune, we chose the scenic route to Lyon, which wound through the countryside and along the canals of the Burgundy region and then into the Beaujolais before eventually winding up to the autoroute and into Vieux Lyon (old Lyon.) But before we got there, we made a pit stop for lunch in Cluny, a town about 30 miles outside of Lyon. The town is legendary for its medieval abbey, once the center of the Christian empire, built between the 10^th and 12^th centuries. Now, only a fraction of the original vast abbey is still standing, but you can tour the footprint of the site and there are fascinating video recreations you can see as well as tour the still standing transept and bell tower area of the abbey. These remnants impressively represent only ten percent of the overall size of the original abbey, which was the largest church of Christendom until the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Quite a fascinating visit if you are in the area.

En route to Cluny

Arriving into any city in Europe with only a travel guide and your sense of a direction is always an adventure. Searching out signs for “Vieux Lyon”, as I maneuvered the perpetual rotaries, was my only direction aside from somehow winding through the old streets up to the top of the hill to our hotel overlooking the vast city. Somehow I steered our huge van (so much for hopes of a sleek SUV) up the steep streets and arrived at Villa Florentine. The few moments of stress and close corners was rewarded with the most spectacular hotel I’ve been to in a long time. And that IS saying something. I basically had my own floor in this hotel and it obviously surmounted the size of my New York apartment by leaps and bounds (both in size, features, and windows,) and it afforded a 180-degree view of Lyon. Absolutely stunning! What wasn’t so stunning were the prices of the beverages – heading down for a pre-dinner glass of wine, our mouths were agape when they quoted an eighteen euro burgundy. We passed.

View of vieux Lyon (below) and new Lyon (in the distance)

Our tour around Lyon led us to the top of the hill to visit the Basilica Notre-Dame de Fourviere, which housed stunning frescoes on the walls and ceilings, then descending down on the funicular to vieux Lyon where we walked along the famed Rue du Boeuf and then crossing the river Saone to the newer part of Lyon. Our destination was the Halles of Lyon, an indoor market with hundreds of stalls selling much of the ingredients used by Lyonnaise chefs. From oysters to cheese, frog legs to macarons, it was unending….and mouthwatering. The prices weren’t quite so palatable but it’s worth the visit for the visual enjoyment alone.

Lyon is also well known for its shopping and several pedestrian only stores in the newer part of Lyon offer everything from LVMH brands to Facconable, H&M to BCBG, and everything in between. Including several Goth stores. I was struck by a wide variety of youngsters donning goth apparel, hair styles, and make up. I’d thought that fad had run its course, but I guess not. These youngsters (am I aging myself?) surely haven’t visited Lyon’s Textile Museum, Musee de Tissus, where the history of silk and evolution of garments from the Far East to the French’s lavish silk garments are displayed in all their corseted glory (i.e. torture) and stunningly colorful and intricate patterns.

Le Sud - this was half of an appetizer we shared

On our last evening in Lyon we dined at one of the Paul Bocuse Brasseries, Le Sud. Accustomed to the smaller plates of typical French restaurants, the American style portions a bit under whelmed us and, while the food was good, it wasn’t worth writing home about. The piece de resistance of the meal was actually our wine selection, a Gigondas – Pierre Aiguille by Paul Jaboulet Aine. One of their other wines, Parallel 45, is a regular selection for us back in NYC - and quite affordable at $15.

View from my room on Lake Annecy

We found it hard to leave Lyon, but we still had three more days of countryside and lake villages to explore. Our next stop was Lake Annecy in the foothills of the Alps in France (see my view above) followed by two days in Switzerland. But those anecdotes will have to wait as my picnic dinner on my deck overlooking Lake Murten awaits.   

An aside on Berlin

A comment was made suggesting my effusive endorsement of Berlin could be seen as overlooking the historical significance of this city to many people. Aware that some readers might not know me well enough to know that was a significant consideration during my entire trip there, I wanted to specifically address that thought.

A city as beautiful as Berlin became the heart of one of the most inherently evil empires in history. People of all shapes, beliefs, proclivities, political leanings, and educational pursuits – all simply gunned down, arrested, tortured, or imprisoned and retained in subhuman conditions. World War II was a subject we studied at length in school and one whose message I have always been sensitive to and horrified at its root impetus.

Our book club is currently reading, “In the Garden of Beasts,” a non-fiction book that explores the experience of the American ambassador, William E. Dodd, and his family, in the years of Hitler’s chancellorship and as they watched in slight disbelief and eventual horror as he sequestered power of Germany. Walking along Unter den Linden and through the Tiergarden and past the American Embassy, the experiences that happened in this city were present in my mind and close to my heart.

To visit present day Berlin is to see a city full of life and a very multi-cultural life at that. It is well known as a popular gay destination with a whole culture, bars, and clubs dedicated to the gay population, a population that was terribly persecuted by the Nazis. As mentioned in previous posts, the Turkish population is second only to Turkey. Restaurants run the gamut (with their particular proprietors) of cuisine from all over the world. And people in the streets look like a melting pot of cultures, religions, appearances, and sizes. So, being cognizant of the history is absolutely important when appreciating Berlin, but I think it’s bounced back with fervor. 

Cote de Beaune....Oui Oui!

My first foray into France was at age nine...just a wee pup traveling to Europe for my first time. On that trip, we went directly to Monaco for a week and then drove north through the Loire Valley, Dijon, and ultimately Paris where we flew home to Minnesota. Let me do math...so, TWENTY-THREE years ago (that's gross - how did I get so old I'm speaking in multiple decades?!), I was in Dijon for the first time. Yesterday was the second time. I drove us in our fabulous Peugeot from Switzerland into France (Bienvenue a France!) for a lunch at Dijon and further travels to Beaune. Dijon could have stayed as a checked box in my first adventure there - a repeat visit unnecessary - but Beaune and the surrounding Burgundy area was phenomenal!

Cloisters of Beaune

After a quick hiatus in Dijon, we traveled south to our hotel in Beaune, staying at Hotel Le Cep ("The wine stick") in the historic area of Beaune. Our route to Beaune was along the Cote de Nuits road from Dijon, a route surrounded by beautiful scenery where every inch of landscape is utilized for vineyards, charming towns, sunflower patches, and bike trails. Picturesque doesn't do it justice. There are the canals as well where you can charter boats to take you through the valleys and vineyards, jumping off to bike part of the way or enjoy exquisite culinary experiences, or visit historical sites. It is a plethora of eye candy, worthwhile for any traveler appreciative of nature at its finest. 

Escargot en Beaune

In contrast to my visit in Berlin, I was on a much more relaxed itinerary for the Bourgogne area of France. This entailed discovering Beaune, a surprisingly delightful medieval town surrounded by a protective wall and moat. The pinnacle of our visit was touring the Hospices of Beaune, which was fantastically preserved and fascinating to see in person. The tiled roof can be spotted from afar in town and is characteristic of many roofs in the region. The museum tour has a magnitude of history and artifacts that are invaluable and so interesting from the architecture and painted beams of the "Room of the Poors" to the quite articulate polyptych of The Last Judgement by Rogier van der Weyden. 

Vineyards at Clos de Vougeot

From Beaune, we retraced our steps north and stopped for lunch in what seemed to be the local's diner (which obviously deemed it reputable in my book) just east of Nuits-Saints-Georges, called Au Bois de Charmois. While I wouldn't recommend attempting a glass of wine here (seems that is something relatively nouveau to order wine by the glass here and bottles are either 'house' or exorbitant - not much middle ground), I would suggest a Kir (classical in this region) or a beer, I would absolutely underscore the relevance and fabulousness of their Moulles e Frites. I would have scraped the barrel if that wasn't so uncouth. Fantastique, I say!

Lunch segued to a traipse up to the Clos de Vougeot, which according to a NY Times article was a favorite of Thomas Jefferson in his travails through France. Jefferson was a huge fan of this area and is renowned to have sent many a case of Gran Cru back to the United States for his personal collection. We toured the Clos de Vougeot, which is an incredible museum inundated by fields and fields of vineyards. Original structures, wine presses, impressive wine collections, amazing infrastructure, all avail a visit to this impressive site.

Dinner on the patio

We continued our traipse up and down the Cotes de Nuits stopping in many of the charming medieval towns and exploring the degustacion (tasting) shops to enjoy the products of the region. Returning to Beaune, we decided the preferred plan was a picnic on our patio outside our room with some recently purchased Burgundy wines, sandwiches, and nougat...and our travel books to plan our upcoming trip towards Lyon. The plan proved to be fantastique and scrumptious and our day this morning included an unexpected surprised in the town of Cluny, which has the remnants of the predecessor of St. Peter's Basilica in size and import in this tiny French town. It was a magnificent surprise and definitely worth the trip (it's only about 45km from Lyon) for those in the region. The exhibition is quite high-tech in nature with impressive recreations and visual aides to re-create the mostly destroyed edifice.

A small town outside Cluny