GORGES DU FIER

When I research our holidays I use Google Earth a lot. I just pan out a bit from our proposed destination to see what I can find for us to see in the area.
This is how I found the Gorges Du Fier.
I'm so glad I did.

Today dawned dull and rainy. Not cold, just damp.
Fine drizzle that you get wet in, because you walk around in it thinking it's not raining enough to use an umbrella. A bit different to Aussie rain which likes to come down in a big downpour, get it over and done with and out comes the sun.

Not enough to stop us heading ten kilometres out of Annecy to the Gorges du Fier.

The Fier river cuts its way through a large outcrop of rock making a deep narrow gorge where the water rushes through.
A cleverly engineered walkway snakes its way through the gorge for 250metres, pinned to the walls and cantilevered over the river rushing below. It's quite narrow - one person wide- often with large bits of rock jutting out at difficult heights.

It's both beautiful and awe inspiring to see what nature can do but also to see what Man can do. Constructing this walkway must have been really something and there has been a walkway of sorts through this gorge since 1869 !
I'm pleased to say that the modern day version is strong and sturdy, supported by orange steel girders and steel handrails fixed into the rock walls.

We enjoyed it immensely and once again had it almost to ourselves.

Last day in Annecy tomorrow before we move on to Switzerland and more big mountains.

Cheers

Apologies and a news item

Firstly apologies for spelling mistakes etc in my posts. As my daughter will tell you I'm a notoriously bad speller at the best of times but at the moment I'm using a phone ap on Tony's iPad which doesn't allow the easy access to editing once I've posted. In my haste to post when time allows and it's my turn on the iPad, lots of mis-spelt words and important names get through...... Like Mont Blanc or L'Aiguille du Midi.

Secondly, a snippet from the Chamonix News.

"Plus de 200 personnes évacuées hier a Chamonix. En cause une panne de moteur survenue en fin de matinée sur le 1er tronçon du téléphérique de l’Aiguille du midi. La compagnie du Mont blanc a donc du procéder a l’évacuation de plus de 200 personnes du Plan de l’Aiguille par hélicoptère jusque dans la raquette d’arrivée du tremplin à Chamonix. Pas moins de 45 rotations d'hélicoptères ont été rendus nécessaires. Les réparations auront duré plusieurs heures. Tout est revenu a la normale a présent. Le téléphérique est rouvert."

» 15 Mai - Chamonix

HANG ONTO YOUR HATS, IT'S TIME FOR ADVENTURE

Sunshine was the forecast so we set off early to make the 70 minute drive to Chamonix.
Yes, today we were visiting Mt Blanc, the highest mountain in France.

All the advice on the Internet said "Go early, the weather can deteriorate later in the day ", so we arrived in Chamonix around 9:30, spotted the sign for Agueille de Midi, parked and were almost first in the queue for the first trip of the day.
About 25 people squashed into the cable car for the first stage of the journey which takes you to 2000metres.
You then transfer to another cable car and travel to the next stage at 3000 metres.( By now your ears have popped and you are beginning to feel a little light headed because of the altitude. )
But that's not all folks!
Now you get into a lift with about 8 other people and you travel the last metres through the middle of the mountain and come out on the top level at 3800+ metres!!
( I felt a bit off. Slightly dizzy and a little nauseous but it soon passed.)

AB - SO- LUTE- LY SPECTACULAR. !!!

We hit the jackpot! The sky was blue, blue, blue.
The snow on the mountains was dazzling.
It was COLD !

You could see huge mountains in all directions
Even the Matterhorn, a sight only few are lucky enough to chance.

We were among the first people there today. No crowds elbowing for the spot on the railings to see the view.
We took hundreds of fantastic photos.
We phoned the kids to say hello from the top of Mt Blanc !
We oohed and aahed and took another hundred photos.
I heard a couple of Aussie accents and found a fellow Brisbane-ite !!

After a while we descended to the second level for a hot chocolate -still feeling slightly woozy when faced with climbing stairs.......

And then the excitement began !

For the first time in 20 years the cable car had broken down!!

The one taking you down the last 1000 metres ! So we were all stranded on the mountain.

Naturally, no more people were able to go up the mountain. Such a shame as the weather was perfect.

We all had to be evacuated by helicopter !!!

Needless to say it was a slow process. Six people at a time jammed into a tiny helicopter then plunging the last 1000metres to the ground, then back up for the next six.

The helicopter landed on about a three metre square piece of level snow where the waiting passengers were crouched low and grimly holding onto each other. The wind buffeting you as the helicopter came in to land was incredible and strong enough to send you flying back into the wet snow without the support of your fellow travellers.
Next you crouched and ran to the copter, then came the scramble to get in.
A big step up from crunchy snow that gave way as soon as you put your weight on it. So instead of getting some purchase to make the big step you ended up at an even lower level and faced a bigger step !
But time was of the essence, helicopters cost a lot to run and there were lots of people still waiting in the line. Not very elegant, we all tumbled in the helicopter.
The lady in front of me lost her hat in the wind from the helicopter.
I planted my big wet boot on the seat as I struggled to get in, then sat on the snowy seat.
Tony was last in and they had trouble fitting his long legs in and he only had about 6 inches for his bottom ( which is luckily smaller than his shoulders !) .
A lot of pushing and he was jammed in, the door was slammed shut and we were away.
Straight up about 15 feet then plunging backwards and sideways down the mountain !
We had the ride of our lives as the pilot dodged down the mountain between cable car wires going in several different directions till he deposited us at the bottom.
Out we tumbled doing that stooped run from the helicopter you see in the movies and then he was away up the mountain for the next group !
A very apologetic representative from the company met us and then issued us with vouchers for a drink ... Hot chocolate, soft drink, beer, wine ... To calm our nerves.

Calm our nerves ?
We had the ride of our lives !
FANTASTIC !

What a way to end our visit to this spectacular mountain.

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS ANNECY

Have you ever heard of Annecy?
Most Aussies I mention it to have never heard of it
and I have to admit I found it while cruising north towards Geneva from Cannes using Google Earth. Until then I'd never heard of it either.
Just zoomed in and found this amazing place on the shores of Lake Annecy.
(I find a lot of amazing places using Google Earth when I'm researching a holiday)

When I started looking into staying here I found it was a favourite holiday destination for French people. The beautiful lake is said to have the cleanest water in Europe and it has a lovely sandy bottom which you can see clearly through the sparkling blue-green water.

Water activities are high on the list of things to do.
Sailing, kayaking, paddle boat riding, boating and swimming are all popular activities though I can not imagine that this water is ever warm enough to swim in.

It is enormously picturesque with the towering mountains all around, an ancient Old Town at its centre and is immaculately kept. There's a huge green space all along the water front and lovely walkways and gardens for all to enjoy.

Annecy is also the gateway to the French Alps with Chamonix and Mt Blanc about a 70 minute drive away so plenty to do both in Summer and Winter in that direction and Geneva is only 30 minutes to the north.

The weather is much cooler here than it was in Fayence and we're back in our Winter woollies again. About 12 degrees top today which we love.

There's lots for us to see and do here for the next week.

I'll keep you posted.

COTE D'AZUR ANYONE ?

You know you're on the Cote D'Azur long before you see the sea by the increase in traffic.

This is holiday central on steroids and here in May the season has only just beginning !
Sparkling water stretches as far as you can see and green hillsides tumble, sometimes steeply, to the sea below with houses of all shapes and sizes clinging where ever they can gain foothold.
The road winds along the coastline from one beautiful bay to the next and every vista is delightful as it unfolds before you. Slim stretches of sand provide the beaches where people can sunbathe and swim and these must become terribly crowded when the full Summer season is in full swing.

BUT !

Traffic.... People....... Boats........

Busy, busy, busy !

Huge, expensive boats worth millions of euros each line the waterfront of Cannes and stretch as far as the eye can see. The money on display here is amazing. Crowded cafes line the quay and holiday makers stroll along wide boulevards in sandals and summer clothes soaking up the sun. The streets further back from the water front are busy and packed with shops and shoppers..... and it's all a bit tired and grubby. The building are very mixed and to my eye the tired, old and scruffy predominated.
Along the coast to the west of Cannes the coastline provided more of the same. Some quieter stretches then a larger town, all with pretty little beaches and lovely scenery but all busy.

We traveled towards Nice and on and always beautiful coastal vistas and busy, crowded, grubby towns until we entered Monaco... !

What a miraculous transformation !
Sparkling clean.
Neat as a pin.
And oh so opulent !

More million dollar - I mean euro - boats lining the harbour.
Beautiful buildings, sparking in their clean perfect lines, folded one onto the other as they fit into any available space in this, the second smallest country in the world.
No ugliness to be seen here, everything beautifully manicured and clean, clean , clean.
From the harbour you walk uphill to the famous casino and here you come upon the cars.
Ferraris, Ducattis, Rolls Royce, Bentley...... Red ones and black ones mainly. There seems to be only parking space in front of the casino for them alone. It's certainly the place to come to be seen !
We came thinking we would like to see inside the casino. Tony was even prepared with a jacket and a tie in his bag ! But when we saw the fashion police stationed outside our desire to go inside evaporated !!! These colonials felt totally intimidated !

We lunched with the beautiful people in the Cafe de Paris opposite the casino then toured this extraordinary place on the Hop-On-Hop -Off bus where the commentary pointed out the sights while the bus did all the hard work going up and down, through tunnels under the buildings and finally after completing the circuit once we alighted at the pink palace on the hill on the second time around, explored there, then wound our way down the hill and back to the train station for the trip back to Cannes where we had parked the car.
I loved Monet Carlo. Wouldn't have missed it for the world!

FAYENCE..... PUT IT ON YOUR LIST

Fayence is a little village is in the Var region of France - down in the south-east corner in the hills above Cannes. It is one of many villages in the area called "villages perches" because they are perched on top of hills. (Other such villages are Mons, Tourettes, Callian, Seillans, Montauroux and Tanneron -all close by ).
In all these villages houses cling to the hillside and very narrow lanes wind their way steeply to the top of the village where you usually find a huge church or sometimes a castle/chateau. These fortifications formed the basis of the defence of the village in times long ago and their hilltop situation gave them maximum protection from attack in those dangerous medieval times.The villages have changed very little over hundreds of years and are very picturesque.

Exploring their winding streets is a wonderful way to spend the day and the size of the free car parks that can be found in every village attests to their popularity with tourists, so timing your visit is obviously important. Our visit in early May allowed us to wander the winding lane ways virtually alone with only the company of the village residents and a few other tourists. Around every corner there was a photo opportunity as the impossibly narrow lanes snaked their way in all directions and pretty painted doorways decorated with pots of flowering plants broke the monotony of the mainly cream or butter coloured walls that towered all around you, sometimes four storeys high, only broken here and there by small shutter-bordered windows in blues, greens and aqua colours.

When you've had your fill of climbing round these lane ways and the memory card in your digital camera is full, there are the cafes to visit. Plenty of them ! Arrive at lunchtime and you'll find the cafes rapidly filling as the French do what they do best .....FOOD ! Often perched under a shady tree or occupying a tiny section of flattish space these cafes serve up delicious food usually at economical prices and a plat du jour offering of two courses can often be had for under 20euros. Lingering there, savouring the food and then soaking up the atmosphere is one of the great joys of holidaying in France.
If all you want is a baguette, then there is usually a boulangerie nearby to cater for your needs and it will be a taste sensation too!
But the lovely hilltop villages are not all the area has to offer. Cannes and the Cote D'Azur is but a 40 minute drive away. Magnificent stretches of coastline stretch in both directions with even more to fill your memory bank as well as your memory card. Take a train to Nice or Monaco for the day to minimise the traffic and parking hassles but return to your quiet haven on a beautiful hilltop for a delightful late dinner on the balcony of a wonderful restaurant cafe where the pace is slow and calm.

Truly a holiday destination not to be missed !