Annecy, or How Not to Find a Beach

So when we left off, we'd arrived in Annecy and checked into our apartment, rented via VRBO.com. You can see pictures of it here, because naturally I forgot to take any, and after three days here with the kids, it's a wreck. But it's a great little apartment; very lived-in with toys in the kids' bedrooms and a beautiful view of downtown. We headed out to find dinner in La Vielle Ville; the old village. 

Weirdos be weirdin'. She specifically asked me to take this shot. 

 Well, to be precise, the kids and I left Daddy to rest for a little while and explored the flower-lined streets, canals, and other gorgeous features of "Venice of the Alps." Then we met for dinner.

 Happily, dinner was fantastic! Josh had Googled around and found a place well-known for its raclette, which is a cousin of fondue. I had seen pictures and videos but never tasted the stuff, so we headed to Le Freti to try it ourselves.

 By some miracle, we were seated for dinner a few minutes before 7:00. Most of Europe despises our American meal schedule, so feeding two American kids who have a 7:30-8:00 bedtime is a perpetual struggle. But here we were!

 The kids ordered an adult portion of fondue with bacon lardons to share, and it was delicious. Despite what the look on Lincoln's face tells you. The kid is focused.

 Josh and I shared the raclette. That's a portion of a wheel of raclette cheese with a hot burner positioned over it. One waits for the top layer of the cheese to melt, then uses a special knife to scrape the melted bits onto bread, sausage, or potatoes.

One also steals fondue from one's children. 

 It was heavenly. The raclette cheese is sharper and less nutty than the typical Swiss fondue cheeses, and Josh and I agreed that we would go for fondue next time. But the experience was a hoot, and a really fun start to our first trip to the Alps. We finished up around eight and headed back to the apartment.

This is when I should mention that I never sleep well when I travel. I suffer from insomnia pretty regularly anyway, but new environments, new beds, and the stress that always accompanies travel makes it a lot worse. Of course, being a grown-ass woman, I come prepared for this with sleeping pills, a sleep mask, and a white noise app.

None of which worked on our first night in Annecy. Between insomnia and sharing a full-sized bed with my very sweet, very snore-y husband, I was lost. Around midnight I took a quarter of a sleeping pill. At 1:30, still restless and miserable, I took another quarter. Finally at 3:00 in the morning I took the final half of the pill and managed to sleep for about four hours before the kids woke me up for the day. Here is the result of four hours' sleep and a sleeping pill hangover:

 Not good. And unfortunately, compounding my fatigue and frustration was the fact that what we thought would be a quiet hamlet is actually, well, Venice of the Alps - a slogan I wish I had learned before arriving here. It's packed with tourists doing exactly what we are doing, namely, trying to beat the heat and avoid the crowds. So when I sleepily looked at a map and some tourist websites, then convinced Josh that we could avoid the crowded Annecy beaches and drive a half hour to emptier ones, I was setting us all up for failure.

I drove us, through heavy traffic and half a dozen villages, for nearly two hours looking for a place to park near a beach. Every single lot was full, every beach promised to be beautiful but calm was completely full of tourists by 10:30 a.m. on this particular Thursday. I wound up hungry, exhausted, and behind the wheel at noon, ready to finally acquiesce to Josh's good judgment and head back to our apartment. Never let the exhausted adult make the key decisions. Or drive, come to think of it.

On our way back into town though, I decided to try just one more municipal beach - and it worked! There was a parking spot with our name on it, room at the beach, and a table at the beachside restaurant. The food was forgettable but fresh, and the beach was absolutely breathtaking.

She was a big hit with our dining neighbors. 

There is little in the world that makes this kid as happy as "multi fruits" juice!

It wasn't so much a beach as a series of docks and ladders, and the water was freezing of course. But we all made our way in and paddled around, enjoying the wakes from passing motorboats and the welcome break from travel woes. After she'd swum around and watched bigger kids leap off of the diving board, Sylvia led me to the playground and cut loose, towel in tow.

 I wore a bikini in public for the first time in many years, and covered my shoulders on shore with a caftan that my friend Becca made for me. The photobombing kid who was playing doorman to the playground had thoughtfully worn a Speedo to match!

Josh and Lincoln stayed in the lake nearly the whole time, loving every minute. They are the little dots in front of the dock, as Lincoln was more comfortable closer to shore.

 We finally left after several hours' fun, and drove back to Annecy with no trouble at all. The day was saved thanks to the sheer luck of finding that parking spot! Josh ran out for takeout while the kids played with our hosts' toys and I rested. Thursday night's sleep was much better - and Friday meant a road trip with an actual destination planned. More on that soon.