Geneva

We left Chambery early on Saturday, 27th July, and took the train to Geneva. We stored our suitcases and then had a nice day seeing the sights of Geneva. We saw the statues of the reformers, the old town, St Pierre Cathedral and the Lake. 

 We caught a ferry across the lake and found this cute teahouse where we had lunch.

A highlight was finding this beautiful embroidery shop, Catherine B. It was a delight.

We then boarded a train to Olten, then Basel and lastly arrived at Colmar. What a gorgeous place. We have a nice apartment in the old town and we just wandered out in the evening for dinner. We tried the local delicacy of Tarte Flambe. It is like a pizza but with white cheese (I think that is cream cheese) as the base. Yum.

Chambery and Le Revard

On Friday we took the car to an amazing lookout called Le Revard. What wonderful view from here after the very windy road that took us up there.

We enjoyed a lovely lunch while enjoying the view. In the afternoon we headed into Chambery again to visit Le Chateau des ducs de Savoie. It was very interesting.We also took a tour inside which was all in french! Couldn't understand much but it was nice to see inside. Aren't these coins amazing?

We had to return our car in the evening. Getting fuel was a hassle as the first station wouldn't take my card or cash! Finally we returned the car and went into Chambery for a dinner of gallettes (french savoury pancakes) and cidre. That was good until we tried to get a taxi back to the hotel! Obviously there aren't many in Chambery! We did eventually get home to pack and get organised for an early taxi and train to Geneva.

Chambery and the Alps

On Tuesday, 23rd July, we packed up and just had another wander in Milan for a few hours. We visited a small Botanical Garden but as it was hot again we returned to the hotel to be cool till it was time for our train. The train ride was good to Chambery. We wandered around the old town and had dinner. Sadly our room was so hot and noisy so we decided to book elsewhere with air conditioning and hired a car. We set out for the lake to have a look around. Had a delicious lunch in a shady restaurant.I then foolishly decided to feel the water and slipped in! Must have looked funny.....it was so slimy and the worst thing was my bag got wet including my phone! It seems OK now. I am OK too!

The next day we left before 8am and headed to the Alps, the Haute Savoie, about 2 hours away. First we went to the Mont Blanc Tramway but it wasn't running due to technical problems. So we drove to Argentiere, had lunch and then found the cable car, the Telecabine de Plan Joran. It went up to 2143m and was a fun ride with lovely views.

 On our way back we checked the tramway and it was running. So we headed up the mountain at 5pm. It was amazing! The scenery was wonderful especially when a storm rolled in while we were at the highest point!

We didn't get back to our car till about 7,30. The drive home was pretty tough with the rain, dark and the fact that some of the motorways were closed! We got back at 10.30pm!

Verona

On Sunday, we took the train to Verona. It was a delightful place but it was very hot! We have been a little unlucky to have struck a heatwave! We saw the Roman arena and then wandered to the Piazza delle Erbe.

 We went up the Torre dei Lamberti for wonderful views. Thankfully there was a lift!

 After viewing the tower we visited the nearby art gallery which was interesting. I especially liked these two pictures. The first one is of the piazza we had just visited.

We then walked across the Ponte Pietra to visit the Castel San Pietro. Luckily there was a funicular to the top for the great views.

I went into the Duomo which was very beautiful. 

I missed out seeing Juliet's balcony which was a shame! On Monday we visited the business district by tram which was interesting. In the evening we decided to catch a tram to dinner but it was stopped by another broken tram. This was a bonus as we stumbled on a fabulous restaurant. We were greeted with complimentary champagne and bruschetta. We then enjoyed pizza, pasta and wine. We even shared dessert and were given limoncello to try. The service was amazing and the food was delicious.