This morning, my wife and younger son, Sebastian, left me and my older son, Nathan, and took the TGV from Lyon up to Charles de Gaulle airport outside of Paris. Sebastian will be starting school this week in Houston and they therefore needed to cut their trip a little bit short.
Nathan and I are soldiering on, as it were, and we are currently on a Frecciarossa train headed to Milan and then on to Lake Como. We will eventually make our way back to Lyon, where Nathan will be starting his semester abroad in about eight days.
As I mentioned in the last update, Nathan’s bag, the one that contains most of the wardrobe for his semester here, was lost by the seemingly incompetent combination of United Airlines and the fine folks that work at Charles de Gaulle. It was not until a full week after we reported it missing (and filed a financial claim for the missing contents) that they “found” the bag.
It was in Manila.
As in the Philippines.
Who knows how it ended up there since it arrived on a non-United flight. According to the extremely intelligent people at United, it was due to arrive back at CDG this morning. They will then deliver it to the hotel in Lyon, to which we return in about six days.
Yeah. I am not holding my breath.
At least my son is roughly my size now and I can leave him all my clothes, if need be.
Other than that, the trip has proceeded fairly smoothly. We left Paris for four days in Annecy and then three more in Lausanne, Switzerland, on the banks of Lake Geneva.
When we left off last week, we were still in Annecy, and it was raining, but the skies cleared on the second day, revealing even more of the beauty of the lakeside city.
I rented a bike for a few days and the first two rides, I flew solo, barely stopping. I did stop at this church, though, near the bottom of the lake.
That evening, after circumnavigating the lake, I had a typical Savoyarde meal of a thousand potatoes, a mound of meat, and a hunk of fried raclette cheese. Yes, all of that was just for me, and I did some damage.
Our good friend from Paris joined us for a couple of days and took this photo. When I get back to Houston, I need to ride more. A lot more.
On the last day in Annecy, the whole crew rented bikes and we made our way (slowly) around the lake.
The views of the lake were stunning and although they are not visible in this photo…
…the skies were littered with paragliders.
Although he doesn’t want to admit it and he certainly might not look the part, Sebastian is a strong cyclist.
A better photo?
Before we left Annecy, this little kid wanted to play me in foosball. He was good, but don’t worry, I came back and crushed him.
Our last night in Annecy, as I was perusing the local wines, my wife spotted this on the list and ordered it. Of course, it was incredible, so we ordered another. She still has not stopped taking credit for choosing the best wine of the trip (thus far).
Our next stop was Lausanne, on the banks of Lake Geneva. I had been through the town several times, but only ever stopped to get on the ferry to take me back to France. It is a charming albeit hilly town and the impressive cathedral sits upon one of the tallest and steepest hills.
The view itself is well worth the climb up, but it was tough convincing the boys.
We continued our little stroll through town past the Château de Maire…
…and down Les Escaliers du Marché…
…and back into the center of town where the boys were much happier.
The following day, we took the ferry across Lake Geneva and back into France to Evian-les-Bains, home to the eponymous water.
We made a b-line to the center of town where Evan flows free 24/7. Nathan took the opportunity to refill his water bottle…
…whereas my wife had a more, er, direct approach.
The ferry ride back at dusk is strongly recommended!
the drunken cyclist 