Visiting France & Italy

I have wanted to see some of Europe since I was in my 20's, but time, money and other factors caused me to put my dream on hold until now. And so, I found myself in Geneva on September 11, the jumping off point for a two week introduction to France and Italy. And Switzerland, by extension.

My host for the first part of my journey is Alexandre Corn, who lives in Annecy, France, about 30 minutes from Geneva. Alex met me at the airport and we set off immediately on a road trip along the shores of Lake Geneva and up to Zermatt, which lies at the foot of the Matterhorn. Along the way, we saw miles and miles of grape arbors clinging to the southerly facing hillsides above the lake and a statue of Freddie Mercury in the town of Montreux. Did you know Freddie was born in Zanzibar? Neither did I. 

It turns out one cannot actually just drive to Zermatt. Instead, you have to take a bus or a train to get there, so we decided to content ourselves with a visit to Tasch, about 10 miles west. The area is rife with new construction of roadways and hotels and such, which means that the quaint charm of the area will surely be ruined by the quest for tourist dollars. How sad.

Tasch is about as quaint and charming as you can get. You almost expect to see Heidi walking by and a St. Bernard around every corner. The oldest building feature a unique style of construction. They are mounted on thick wooden stilts that have a large slab of flat rock inserted between the stilts and the foundation of the building. This apparently isolates the building from rot and rodents, but it makes the buildings look fragile. Still, they have withstood hundreds of years of Alpine weather, so the locals must know what they are doing.

Heading back to Annecy, we passed near Mont Blanc and the many aiguilles. or needles, that punctuate the skyline near that impressive peak with its snow capped crest shimmering in the late afternoon sun. It's interesting to think that Italy lies just on the other side.

I confess that jet lag caught up with me shortly after dinner. I was soon nestled in the arms of Morpheus and slept for a full 14 hours before waking to another gloriously sunny day in Annecy.

For pictures of the day's journey, please follow this link: Day One