Day Trip to Annecy

Annecy – little Venice of France – had always been on my top list of destinations to visit when in Europe. Since Jessica, my traveling companion who has pretty much appeared in all of my blog posts, and I purchased rail passes for four trips, the last being undecided, we agreed to pay a visit here. Joined by two other friends, we set out for a one day adventure in Annecy!

Annecy was incredibly beautiful. It was everything I imagined it to be. There was a certain serenity to it and the canals created such a calm, relaxing feeling, I loved it!

Now thinking back, we were quite brave. There had been a rail strike hence a lot of trains were cancelled, stranding countless travellers waiting hopelessly across platforms. We were originally planning to take the train early in the morning, but two were cancelled so we waited 2-3 hours to finally board the next available train. For our way back, we decided to take the last train (approximately 6:00pm) because the earlier ones would not have allowed us enough time to explore the commune. That being said, we were extremely lucky that this train was not cancelled and we were able to head back to Lyon without trouble. If, unfortunately, this train was cancelled as well, we would’ve had to stay overnight. What can I say, as a traveller, you really gotta be courageous and just wing it sometimes.

And since we’d been waiting all morning for a train, we were starved (or at least I was for sure). As soon as we hopped off the train, we looked for a place to eat.

These were their menus, how cute!!

Le Bastringue. We chose this for its views overlooking the canals. Plus the atmosphere was just perfect for a laid-back lunch with the girlfriends!

I believe this was the “Escalope de saumon, crème citronnée”, salmon filet with citrous cream. I can never remember what I order. Even if I were to take pictures of the menu, I’d still forget, yup.

And of course, no French meal is complete without dessert!

After being fully recharged, we explored the commune.

And we decided to go pedal boating!!

It was €22 ($31-32 CAD) for an hour for four. I actually wanted to pedal, but the pedal seats were further up in the front. I was the first one to board and it was super wobbly so I chickened out and just chose a seat closer to me.

For the four-seat boats, you could also pay a little extra to have a slide. There were a few that passed by us, ughh so jealous!! Should’ve came with our swimsuits. And bikini bod? Pfttt no need, hah!

Pont des Amours was my main place of interest. The view here was stunning. We also happened to run into another wedding shoot (the first one was when we were eating). The weather was completely ideal for photography and I myself couldn’t help take a snap of this moment (hope they don’t mind me creeping and I saw others doing the same so technically I wasn’t the only one stalking hehehh).

Not sure what the occasion, but there were world flags strung up all around. Naturally we found Canada and this called for a photo. Canada represent!

We continued to just stroll around town and checked out little shops here and there.

We came across a wedding at a church nearby here!! June’s definitely a good time to get married eh?

I always feel so depressed at the end of every journey, but at the same time I’m super excited to go back home and share my experiences with friends and family and everyone on the Internet and to also perhaps look forward to another visit back at the same place again. So who knows, Annecy, we might meet once more.