Euro Day 6 - From St Etienne to Annecy

Firstly Jon and I went for a lovely run from our campground as the kids slept. We were adjacent to a nature park so we could have run even longer but we needed to get on with the day so we kept it to 5ks or so. 

Then we packed up and drove to one of the destinations Zali had researched and planned 12 months or so ago  Le Cite Du Chocolate. It was a version of Cadburys only much much fancier. We did a tour through the chocolate museum where we were prompted to taste and savour lots of different types of chocolates while we learnt about the chocolate making process.

Then we headed to the shop where the samples were free. Luckily for us we couldn't purchase anything as it was already over 30 degrees outside when we left and it is hard enough keeping our other stuff cool, let alone chocolate!  In any case we were all feeling slightly sick when we left having worked hard to get our 31 euros worth of samples!

Next stop was our daily supermarket trip to get lunch and that night's dinner, together with some cool drinks and ice to get us through the afternoon.  We've been loving the extensive cheese, filled pasta and other French supermarket specialties!

Then we headed towards Annecy. As we drove the rolling hills gave way to high cliff lined ridges and then towering mountains with snow on top - hard to imagine there being snow in this heat.  Most of our driving today was on the tollways which included some long tunnels which were fun. 

The campsite we picked in Annecy was a 20 minute drive from the town centre and right beside the lake with a private beach and a jetty. 

It was still in the high 30s so we popped up our tents then gave way to Zali's demands to immediately rent a watercraft of some sort. A short walk along the lakefront led to a peddle boat hiring shed so we hired one with the minimum of formalities (none actually - we didn't sign anything, the guy didn't know our names, we left nothing with him, and we didn't pay until we returned it 90 minutes later). 

The only thing we had established was that we were allowed to go anywhere - so we immediately set off across the lake towards a lovely looking chateaux sticking out on the other side. 

We had a fantastic time paddling along then leaping off the boat into cool waters at regular intervals. Needless to say the scenery was absolutely spectacular - I had no idea there were mountains like that around the lake.  It was amazing.  

Fully cooled down we returned the boat and went back to our campsite for dinner.  I must say that the photos I've posted really don't do the lake and the mountains justice - they are spectacular!

Now we're watching France play the US in the world cup although Zali is demanding another swim so it's time to stop.