Annecy straddles the River Thiou, fed by beautiful Lake Annecy

Two and a half hours east of Lyon, by train, things begin to look very Alpine. Especially as we reach the lovely town of Annecy, on the northern tip of sparkling Lake Annecy. This strategic juncture was the home of the Counts of Geneva in the 13th century, followed by the Counts of Savoy from the 14th century.

The third largest lake in France, Lake Annecy boasts some of Europe’s cleanest water. The town began attracting tourists in the late 19th century, thanks to the pristine waters, pastel-colored buildings, and lush alpine scenery.

Fortunately for us, the heat spell broke while we were here. On the first day the town felt unbearably hot and crowded. The second day we got enough relief to enjoy a bike ride around the 26 mile circumference of the lake, including a lunch stop at a truly fantastic restaurant, followed by a late afternoon at our hotel pool. By day 3 we were wearing sweaters.

Jim celebrates the clean cool waters of Lake Annecy

That’s me biking along the beautiful lake

On our first day it was so hot we couldn’t stand to eat lunch at any of the ubiquitous outdoor restaurants. So we went into a well air-conditioned place, where I ordered some kind of steak known as “Café de Paris.” I had no idea that this steak, originating from a restaurant in Geneva, comes swimming in a massive pool of butter, intensely flavored by garlic, herbs, and anchovies. It was amazing!

The castle of the Counts of Savoy

Along the River Thiou

Me again, riding through the beautiful countryside around the lake

The view from our balcony

The same view, the next day when things cooled off and a brief storm rolled into town

At the fancy lakeside hotel where we stopped for a glorious lunch during our bike ride around the lake

That glorious lunch

Lunch on our pleasantly cool last day. We are seated just at the edge of the restaurant in a very atmospheric courtyard…

…where this is my view when I look up

There is a lot of boating and other lake activities going on here

One last look at the wonderful town

Plazas, fountains, and monumental buildings in Clermont-Ferrand are built from lava rock

The lively back streets

The lava rock public buildings are very distinctive

If you are trying the get across the middle of France you might just end up in the Auvergne, a region of France that doesn’t usually make the tourist circuit. Its biggest city is Clermont-Ferrand, which is surrounded by a chain of volcanoes, called the Chaîne Des Puys. And that’s just what makes the town’s Gothic architecture so distinctive. The cathedral and many other central buildings are built from dark volcanic rock.

The Auvergne is an industrious region, and Clermont-Ferrand is the birthplace of the Michelin tire company and its travel related offshoots. It’s also been a rebellious place, home of the Gallic leader Vercingetorix, who led the rebellion against Julius Caesar’s conquest of Gaul. He’s a ubiquitous hero here today, even though his rebellion didn’t turn out so well. He ended up in a Roman prison for six years until he was assassinated by garrote.

For us, this was a quiet stop in a nice place where you hear virtually no English. It’s also the place where our remarkable weather started to turn into the kind of heat wave that can turn European travel pretty tough in August. The next week or so looks like a scorcher!

After two days here in Clermont-Ferrand, we’ll stop in Lyon for what looks like a couple very hot days. And then we’ll continue all the way east to the French Alps, hoping to find some cooler climes.

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption looms above the central shopping street in its dark Gothic splendor

Vercingetorix presides over the Place Jaude at the center of town

Lots of red at a steamy lunch

One night we found a Mexican place for a post-dinner sip of mezcal

Jim takes in the Place Jaude

A relaxing cafe break

Does it seem like all we ever do is eat?

The Chateau de Pau, birthplace of King Henri IV

From Biarritz we left the Atlantic coast and headed east, making a three-night stop in Pau, the largest town in the Pyrenees. You’ve probably never heard of Pau, and I hadn’t either before planning this trip. But it was a logical stop to make as we head toward the center of France and eventually across the country to the French Alps.

Pau is a pretty town on a hill above the River Pau, at the edge of the Pyrenees. At the turn of the 20th century it was a favorite wintering spot for British and American expats, and the town today retains some of the grandeur of that time. The Boulevard des Pyrénées wraps around one edge of town, supposedly offering its strollers views of the mountains. But I didn’t see anything that looked like mountains. More like small hills at the very outer edge of what might become a mountain range.

We were originally scheduled to pick up a car in Biarritz, so that we could more easily explore the mountains here. In fact we were going to keep that car for the rest of this trip. But we canceled the car in favor of more train travel. That means we didn’t really see anything resembling a mountain at all, but it was perfectly nice to hang out in this pleasant town, get laundry and some other errands done, and enjoy some surprisingly good food.

Pau was once the capital of the Kingdom of Navarre, and it is the birthplace of king Henri III of Navarre, who would eventually become King Henri IV of France, the founder of the Bourbon dynasty. Henri would spend a lifetime navigating the wars between Catholics and Protestants. He survived numerous assassination attempts, until one Catholic zealot stabbed him to death in Paris in 1610. Henri has a strong presence here in Pau, including the castle where he was born, where you can also see the turtle shell that supposedly served as his crib.

This was a lovely stop, if not the mountain adventure we might have expected. But no worries, since we’re sure to see some REAL mountains in a couple weeks. But our next stop is Toulouse, where we look forward to meeting up some great friends from New York.

We loved the outdoor dining in this pleasant town with surprisingly good food

Walking along the River Pau

Did we mention the exceptional food we kept finding here?

Lots of this kind of thing

The elegant church of Saint Martin towers over the town

Inside Saint Martin

We couldn’t stop taking these food pics!

Ok, that’s the last restaurant pic