Spring Break, Part VIII - Aix-les-Bain and Chambery

Howdy Kari:

Wednesday March 24, 2004

We took a short drive North to the town of Aix-les-Bain. It sits on the shore of Lac du Bourget. I bet in the Spring and Summer it is a popular place to be out and about. Alas, we were there in March and it was rather chilly.





We stopped by the Musee Faure. It is essentially a home converted into an art gallery. It is a charming little museum.



We went back to Chambery and had the opportunity to have lunch at the "lawn bowling" clubhouse. The sport has an official French name which I don't remember. But it looks kind of like lawn bowling. Please note the trophy with the "lawn bowler" figure at the top of the photo below. Anyway, the food was delicious and quantities plentiful. Our hosts Christin and Mike told us the French folks there were talking about politics and food. The couple in the photo cook and run the club house.



To work off the calories we picked up at the lunch, we walked around Chambery so you can get the daytime version of the photos I took from the previous night.



The above is the statute at the Chateau des Ducs de Savoie. The realm of their rule at one time covered quite a bit of France.



The arcades of Chambery.



And once again the Fountain of the Elephants.

Travel tip:
* We ate lots of cheese! It does take a little getting used to. But I have to say I do enjoy it and it is amazing how many variations there are.
* Traveling off season has pros and cons. It certainly was a bit colder than I had hoped for though not unexpected. Also, tourist destinations that are less traveled are often closed. For instance, the tour of the Castle of the Dukes of Savoy in Chambery was unavailable. But since most of the motivation of the trip was to travel with friends and to see friends, it is okay to forgo some of the touristy stuff.

Bon voyage,
Rene

Continue to part IX.