More France

We are still enjoying our zig zag through France. We spent Sunday in Lyon - a beautiful and historic city with two rivers running through it and wonderful to stroll through during the day as well as during the evening. We started the day at the old basillica, at the highest point of the city with a misty view of the Alps, even Mont Blanc.

Lyon has an interesting history including being the center of the French resistance during WWII. There are many hidden tunnels and passageways as in this picture through the city that were used to hide Jews as well as those active in the resistance movement
Here you can see that Jim found a pub in Lyon that he felt quite comfortable at.
I have to say that I don't think I've ever consumed as much wine (not all at once, I couldn't handle all these cobblestones/hills intoxicated; I mean on a nightly basis) as on this trip. It is just all so good! Two weeks of great Portuguese wine, now good French wine! Here I am with my cousin Janet, toasting our trip yet again!
And here is Jim and her husband Gilles - this is actually a pose related to our waiter the previous night which can only be explained in person. While we have had very stimulating discussions about history and politics, we have also had a lot lot of laughs Here we are eating again - this time in a gorgeous old non-tourist spot-

also in Lyon. It has helped to have Janet and Gilles translating menus for us and making sure Jim can get his veggies..

Today we arrived in Annecy, in the French Alps (about 1.5 hour drive from Lyon). We had an amusing time trying to find the hotel - poor "Juliette" (the GPS) got so confused with the one ways streets we finally gave up on her and called the hotel for directions. No wonder we couldn't find it - we had to enter a parking garage, and then exit the parking garage - the only way to reach the street that the hotel was on. Almost as hard as figuring out the light switches in the Barcelona Hotel. Let me also add that that this trip has provided so many varieties of ways to flush a toilet. But I digress...let me get back to just how beautiful Annecy is, because the pictures do not do it justice. We are quite close to Geneva, and city is on a lake, and then there are canals through the city as well. We did the tourist thing and took a one-hour boat trip on the lake which was well worth it - stunning cliffs, great views of the high peaks, gorgeous chateaus and estates, sailboats, hang gliders, etc.



We were lucky that the weather held up - we were able to get through all of our plans through the day, in addition to the boat trip, we walked through the city and visited a museum in the city's chateau -- because once we reached the hotel to freshen up for dinner, there was a downpour. I know that I brought an umbrella, but believe that it is stashed somewhere in Gilles trunk. I must search for it tomorrow - I know that we must expect rain as we head in to Paris tomorrow. We have been so lucky with the weather so far, so keep your fingers crossed for us!