Leaving Annecy and driving towards our dinner we align with our friends to try to visit Château de Menthon-Saint-Bernard along the way. We are driving again because using the RV is a hassle and we make good time driving on the less popular side of the lake. Which is still busy but not crazy busy and after some misses we find the entrance to the parking lot for the castle. We are not sure if the castle will be still open when we arrive but luckily there is one hour left which is just enough to visit this beautiful castle. The outside and the gardens that is, the castle itself is closed already.
There is a nice viewpoint on the other side of the castle with views of the valley and the lake and we enjoy the views before continuing around the castle.
It is not a large castle so we take our time enjoying the details and observing the significant differences between the “defense” sections and “lived in” sections.
There are some small exhibits along the way and we stop to visit them, mostly some art installations and castle related items.
And then we arrive at the best view of the castle, an iconic one really, and probably the one that inspired Disney’s Sleepy Beauty Castle. It is quite beautiful here and we take a lot of photos especially as somehow most people do not make it here as they stop about halfway around the castle.
As we paid for the garden also we decide to visit it, it is relatively small but interesting to visit. It even has some peacocks and a single sheep, something unusual.
There is also an art installation and lots of lounge chairs that cannot be used due to the mosquitoes that threaten to overwhelm us here. So out we go and back to the car, it is time to drive to the restaurant.
On the way we stop to see some paragliders landing, this is a mecca for them and one of our friends is quite obsessed with paragliding so we spend some time watching them land before we continue to the restaurant.
The restaurant, Chez Ma Cousine, is one that we visited the day prior but could not get a table at. But our friends made a reservation for today so in we go at this nice restaurant near the lakeshore. There is a storm coming, that will rip branches from trees overnight, so we have to eat faster than expected before it starts to rain over our outdoor table.
The food is quite good and we enjoy both the steak and the fish we ordered and leave just in time before the rain starts. At home we pack and spend time with our friends as tomorrow it is time to leave towards Saint Tropez and the south of France.
