Annecy

From Bern, we headed south back into France, to Annecy. This town is called the Venice of the Alps, but for the life of us we can't figure out why. We stayed in a lovely hotel called the Palais de l'Isle, which is just across the canal from a former prison, which juts out into the river and is the most often photographed part of Annecy. Our room's windows faced this site directly on one side, and on the other side they faced the main square and the Alps. We were perfectly situated, and we hope to get the same room if the Winter Olympics are held here and we go to those (which we plan to do if they're in France or Germany).

We strolled around on the beautiful sunny day, took a delicious nap, and then went out for drinks at a local bar. Ria was fascinated by the scene behind the bar, but didn't quite get the notion of nursing her drink (it was only O.J. -- not to worry) and instead powered it down right away.

For dinner, we went to a nearby auberge, surrounded by canals, so perhaps this was our anniversary dinner on an island. Hard to tell. Our anniversary isn't until April 24th, when Thom will be in Amsterdam, so we're sort of improvising here. I had scallops for a first course, and risotto with octopus for the main course. Thom had fois gras and chocolate for the first course (no, I'm not kidding. The chocolate was kind of a surprise) and scallops prepared quite differently for the main course. We shared a trio of chocolate desserts. Ria ate the cheese plate that came with Thom's prix fixe meal, which gave him some room to finish off my very rich risotto. After dinner, we walked home, passing the door to the kitchen, where two young cooks were standing having a smoke break. I told them how much we enjoyed our meal, and they were delighted, and we chatted for a while about the dishes. One of the two was the pattisier, so wanted to know what we thought of the dessert. I taught him the phrase "death by chocolate," which he liked.