Day 26: Beautiful Annecy, terrifying Gorges, friends in Lausanne

Yay, a lazy day today before leaving Annecy, boo and driving to catch up with Henric and Cory, yay!
We had arranged with Pascal to checkout at midday, so after sleeping in we walked around town one last time to soak up the last of the beauty that is Annecy.

We had breakfast again at the same little cafè as yesterday, going for the pain au chocalat. Tragically they didn't have any of those delectable almond croissants today.  Then just one final last walk around town, and lunch by the lake with the ducks, before leaving for Switzerland.

Just out of Annecy, we visited the Gorges Du Fier.  They sounded really exciting and scenic, and a great idea at the time.

And they were scenic, and beautiful, and for somebody with a healthy fear of heights, pretty damn terrifying.

You see the gorge is this narrow and very deep gorge cut through limestone, which you walk along on a timber walkway suspended some 20 or more metres above the raging torrent of the river, held onto the cliff face by metal pins struck into the walls by guys hanging from barrels some time back in the 1800's.  Um, crazy stuff.  And then when you get to the end, the only way out is the way you came, so I had to face it all again.  Apparently I was as white as a ghost afterwards.  And who wouldn't be?  The planks were wet, and you could see through the gaps between them t5o the river far below.  I swear they looked like they were really worn, and had just been turned over to get a bit more use out of them.
I took some pictures, but I was too chicken to look over the edge, so here is the web sites virtual tour so you can be virtually as terrified as I was: Virtual Gorge

Here are some more pictures I took whilst holding onto the rails for dear life.  Because that would have really helped, if the whole thing separated from the cliff edge and plunged into the icy waters below....

The place is so terrifying, it will even have you seeing faces in the rocks, just to make sure you have nightmares for weeks afterwards.

After all that, I needed an ice cream; and a G&T.  And something a little more serene... Like a drive through peak hour roadworks around Geneva.
We did a detour and visited a medieval town called Yvoire on the southern shore of Lake Lausanne, and just as we arrived this storm came in across the lake.

We only had to wait it out about ten minutes or so before it passed, then we had a quick look around the town.  It was a good place to stop and explore, though a bit weird for a medieval town to have asphalt roads through it ;-).  We'd have stayed longer except the traffic getting around Geneva was monstrous, and we still had a way to go to get to Lausanne.

We arrive about an hour later than planned at Henric's and Cory's, and it was really great to see some smiling familiar faces after travelling so long. :-) Cory and Henric had Corys brother and partner staying as well, and they'd organised this fantastic traditional Swiss meal for dinner; a raclette.  Oh, very very delish.  I'd seen it on the menus when we were in Annecy, and I'm glad I didn't order it as 1) it would have spoiled the surprise tonight, and 2) I'd have had no idea how to cook and eat it!

We had a great night eating, chatting, drinking beer and wine and being entertained by Marianna as well as listening to some classic French music, Air and a bit of MJ as well.  An awesome evening.

More photos are awaiting you right here...