15/7 at Annecy

Not so much a blog today as a blob - two blobs actually.

We did the Tour de France time trial route around the lake, just to see what the boys will be up against. It's only about 45 kms. There are a few ups and downs, particularly when they climb Col de Bluffy. It's an easy climb as long your not trying to average 50 km/h, but the downhill from there into Talloires is pretty technical for a TT bike - expect to see aluminium, not carbon, rims on this TT. The rest is pretty flat and the crowds will be huge - there are lots of vantage points and this is mecca for holidaying French, Germans, and Dutch anyway.

We didn't even bother to stop at Marc Veyrat's restaurant to look at the menu. The Michelin guide (3 macarons) shows menus & a la carte about 270 euros! Marc Veyrat looks like the Michael Jackson of the culinary set, with black hat, black robe and sunglasses, but he's the celebrity chef of the moment over here, famous for cooking with weeds.

We ate sensibly at Les Oliviers in the nifty little nook that is Cour Pre-Carre, a tiny square with 6 restaurants, probably all owned or leased from the chef of Ciboulette, the one-star of the bunch. If so, he's got the market covered from Pizza to Haut Cuisine. Oliviers is the traditional restaurant of the bunch. Vee had aubergine crumble and fillet of red mullet and Norm had terrine of salmon two ways and figottini. Probably the best meal we've had since Val Flerui at Lans en Vercors and not expensive.

We've taken to ordering pichets of wine at dinner and buying the good wines for our afternoon aperitifs. Why pay 30 euros a bottle at a restaurant when similar wines are available at the supermarket for 6?

Street concerts going on around the old town tonight. Too loud to stand and listen to, but we get good reception in our little hotel room overlooking the canal!

Tomorrow we pack up again and head towards the valley of Ain river - no major hills (we think) but nice rolling country climbing back up to the Jura.