Monthly Archives: April 2025

Posts from the road

Annecy – the Venice of the Alps?

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(Annecy, France)

When I heard that Annecy was called “the Venice of the Alps”, I interpreted it to mean “the Venice of the Alps that only insiders know about.” And in the Canadian context, that is probably true.

One of many canals in Annecy, France, the “Venice of the Alps”

However, in Europe, Annecy seems to be quite well known indeed. And while I am glad that I’ve been to Venice, I also don’t think I will ever go again unless I need to fly into that airport for some other reason. The Venetian crowds, and the shrinking local population, can make it a daunting proposition except in the early morning and the late evening.

Busy times in the old town of Annecy, France

So, how does Annecy compare? Well, Annecy isn’t exclusively composed of canals, like much of Venice. And the smell of Annecy is much better. But, on the day I arrived, the crowds in Annecy were approaching Venetian levels. As were the number of souvenir shops, ice cream shops, and English-language menus. I love gelato as much as anyone, but still…

Lots of waterside dining in Annecy, France

Annecy *is* beautiful. And the mountains in the background make it even easier on the eyes. But after an hour or two downtown, I was tired. I wanted to go to a restaurant that only locals knew about, that didn’t have English menus, and were focused on serving (and retaining) their local clientele. My first impression was that I wasn’t going to find that in Annecy.

Château d’Annecy

It has a castle, of course. But it also has the Pont des Amours (“Lovers’ Bridge”, pictured below). This nicely located but fairly non-descript bridge reminded me of Juliet’s Balcony (as in Romeo & Juliet) in Verona, Italy. It seemed overtaken by what people wanted it to be. And just like Juliet’s Balcony (and house) may not even be the real thing, the name of the Lovers’ Bridge may in fact refer to paid love rather than romantic love.

The Pont des Amours near the lake in Annecy, France

So, as noted, my first impression of Annecy was not a particularly great one…at least, when compared to the “undiscovered gem” that I had envisioned. Such impressions can easily happen, especially when you arrive at a bad time. For example, there’s nothing worse than arriving the day before garbage day (especially when every business puts their garbage out early).

One of many ice cream/gelato places in the historic downtown of Annecy, France

And I guess it is important to remember that I formed this impression on the day I arrived from Canada. I was certainly jet-lagged. I also had some technological challenges. And then there was that substandard crêperie experience I wrote about in my previous post.

I was aware of these circumstances, and the biases such circumstances can create, but I still wondered how Annecy could triumph over my initial impression. Throngs of tourists really aren’t my thing (even though I may contribute to the problem).

I stayed in this hotel while in Annecy

Stay tuned to find out whether Annecy met the challenge!

Posts from the road

Arrival in Europe: Don’t overplan your initial destination!

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(Geneva, Switzerland, and Annecy, France)

Many months ago, I had it all planned out. I would arrive in Lyon, and then take a train directly from the Lyon airport to Annecy, my first destination on this (purportedly) France-only trip.

I knew that there was “dynamic pricing” for the train, meaning that a ticket bought far in advance is generally cheaper than one bought on the day of travel. But I didn’t quite trust the exact arrival time of my flight, especially as it had already been rescheduled (to 24 hours earlier!) a few months ago. So, I decided not to buy the Lyon-Annecy train ticket in advance.

A typical Swiss train station scene – at the Genève-Aéroport station

Sure enough, less than 10 hours before my flight left Montreal, I received what looked like another “we’re sorry…” e-mail from the airline. But this one was different. My flight will still leaving on time. Alas, the class of service I bought (usually, the three kinds are economy, premium economy, and business) had totally disappeared from the flight! So I had to travel in a lower class, but at the higher class price.

Migros supermarkets are commonly found near the train station in the big Swiss airports – this one is at Genève-Aéroport, and I bought a Ragusa Noir chocolate bar for old time’s sake

This certainly falls into the category of “first world problems.” But, nonetheless, I was unhappy that my careful planning and price-shopping was stymied mere hours before departure. And, for physical reasons, I cannot endure smaller seats for an overnight flight. It was going to be an extremely uncomfortable trip, right before an important sports competition. Not a good way to start!

The departure/destination board at Genève-Aéroport train station

I then called the airline to express my concern. I told them that, for physical reasons, I had to fly the same class that I had paid for. But I also gave them a way out: if they could get me to Geneva (Switzerland) instead of Lyon, on the same day, and non-stop, we could make a deal. Lo and behold: there was a non-stop flight to Geneva, that evening (one hour earlier), and it still had seats in my chosen class.

Typical interior of a Swiss train, 2nd class car.

They were happy to comply, and at no increased cost. The ironic thing is that I had wanted to travel to Geneva all along, but it was far more expensive than flying to nearby Lyon. In fact, Annecy is a little bit closer to Geneva than it is to Lyon. So it all worked out for the best, and I even got to spend a couple of hours in Switzerland (which I commemorated with the workaday train station photos you see here).

I wanted this “chèvre chaud” galette to be better than it was. The chèvre is hiding under the salad.

But I would have been less pleased if I had bought that (expensive and ultimately useless) Lyon Airport-Annecy train ticket in advance. My only travel error of the day was a relatively small one: I spontaneously went to a different Annecy crêperie than the one I had carefully researched. And the replacement crêperie did not live up to my expectations. I was deceived by an appealing sign and entrance.

There is more to come from Annecy. The photo at the very top of the post is an amuse-bouche!

Posts from Base Camp

Arrive without travelling

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

As much as I like to travel, it is not feasible to go everywhere I want to go. But I can still enjoy things from other countries in the comfort of my own home. Today’s post features food and music from countries that I have never visited.

The Ukrainian “Prague” cake, right before we started to eat it.

The vivid cover photo at the very top of this post is the packaging for a “Prague” chocolate cake. While Prague is of course in Czechia, the cake itself is from Ukraine. And the photo right above this paragraph is the cake you see when you take the lid off the packaging. The cake is now gone, but it definitely tasted like Europe! It’s always fun to try new products like this.

Ukrainian sour cherry jam

Speaking of new Ukrainian products, we’re trying the above cherry jam. We wanted to replace the cherry jam we previously used. This Ukrainian one tastes better, and sour cherries are actually the first ingredient! This is a big win because most jams have sugar as the first ingredient. As a bonus, this jam was also less expensive than the one we previously used.

Smoky salsa from Mexico

While I have visited a number of Latin American countries, I have never made it to Mexico. I love very spicy food, but it is sometimes a challenge to find a spicy salsa that has no garlic. This spicy Mexican salsa is packed with smoky flavour and isn’t runny. The regular price is “above average”, so I bought four jars the last time it went on sale.

I’m looking forward to trying this snack from India

Speaking of spicy food…that’s one of the reasons I like Indian cuisine. This snack from India is a little different, as it is a sweet and sour mix. I wasn’t sure that sour would work in a dry snack, but I tried some khatta meetha recently and was pleasantly surprised. India is a very long way to go, but I am sure that I will find plenty to like if I’m ever able to visit there.

Side 2 of Bob Marley’s classic “Exodus” album. One of my favourite sides of music.

To accompany all this tasty food, I turn to my (vinyl) record collection. When I’m in a more meditative mood, Bob Marley’s “Exodus” album hits the spot. While I have never made it to Jamaica, my luggage has! When I was returning from a business trip to San Antonio many year ago, the airline messed up my luggage and sent it to Kingston, Jamaica, rather than “my” Kingston.

Side 1 of Jorge Ben’s “África Brasil” album. Nice gold vinyl too.

A little more adventurous is Jorge Ben’s “África Brasil” album. This 1976 album is a fusion of various types of music, but still very Brazilian. I have a lot of Brazilian music in my collection, and this is one of the best. Even if you think you don’t know this music, you probably will recognize at least one song. Rod Stewart had a hit in the late 1970s that lifted the melody from “Taj Mahal”. Ben successfully sued Stewart, and the royalties went to Unicef instead.

“The Indestructible Beat of Soweto” – a 1985 compilation from South Africa

Long-time readers know that I really enjoy a lot of South African music. It’s another faraway place that I’ve never visited. The above compilation album (“The Indestructible Beat of Soweto”) features mostly mbaqanga music, which is what formed the basis of Paul Simon’s very successful 1986 “Graceland” album. But this album was released the year before Graceland. It was one of the first albums of contemporary South African music to be widely available outside the country.

The title of today’s post is from “The Inner Light”, by the Beatles. It is a George Harrison composition that uses Indian instrumentation, while the lyrics are based on the Tao Te Ching. Another good line from the song: “The farther one travels, the less one knows.” Maybe that will be the title of a blog post some day!