Wednesday 17th September: Hazy sunny 15°C to 22°C
Thonon les Bains to Chateau de Coudree: 13.4k: 9.30am to 2.30pm: 5 leisurely hours
Accommodation: Chateau de Coudree
Misty morning view of Lake Geneva
I love a kitchenette in a hotel room
Finiculaire down to Port de Rives
After 600k, we're at Lake Geneva
Now they're BIG fish pots
Small fishing boats at Port de Rives
Chateau Montjoux
Studying map but anywhere is good
Coffee watching the boats go by
Beach track along Lake Geneva
Walk track on private land
Follow me
Lunch, beer, wine, washing, lake
Arriving at Chateau de Coudree
It's HUGE inside
Chateau de Coudree and gardens
View of Lake Geneva
Just us in bar Chateau de Coudree
A lazy hazy day ambling along the foreshore of Lake Geneva. No rush, no Alps, no ups and downs, just enjoying the views across Lake Geneva. A quick tourist's visit to the fishing Port of Rives just below Thonon-Les-Baines, coffee at Chateau Montjoux, picnic lunch with a beer and wine near the Port of Sciez and a restful afternoon at the Chateau de Coudree, a 12th Century chateau with beautiful gardens right on the edge of Lake Geneva.
Our room at La Rennovation last night was perfect - not luxurious but we like a self-contained room with a fridge and kitchenette. After a sleep in, it's meusli and yoghurt for breakfast with a hot cup of tea. The jug doesn't work but the induction cooktop is just as quick. We don't leave until 9.30am, and the first stop is the boulangerie around the corner for a fresh baguette for lunch. Just over the road is the Funiculaire, Thonon’s 19th Century hillside railway linking the elevated town to the fishing Port de Rives below. Constructed in 1888, ‘Le Funiculaire’ was moved by a counter-weighting system using 11 tons of water, but since 1990, it has been powered by electricity. It costs 1 Euro and we're playing tourists today. The harbour is choc-a-block with cruising boats but at one end are the small fishing boats moored to the bank, each fisherman having a small boat shed from which they operate. The fish pots are ginormous, the nets are like fine silk and the boats are tiny like a surf boat.
Wandering past the old 12th Century tower and along a narrow road near the foreshore, we arrive at the Chateau Montjoux, not an historical chateau, but constructed more recently. Jules-François-Louis Levé bought the land and demolished the farmhouse in 1926 before building his château in 1930. We've only been walking an hour, but why not stop for an early coffee in the grounds of Montjoux. Thirty minutes later, we’re dawdling along a cycle/pedestrain walk way, just gazing at all the old houses built along the lakeside. There's a park leading to a track with a sign that indicates we can walk on private land between the houses and the Lake, provided we don't stray more than 3.25 metres. Obviously, some government department has seconded an area along the foreshore for the public to walk and enjoy the lake.
This track is only a few metres from the lakeside, and at times is actually on the beach. It ends about 6k along at the Port of Sechex where there's a flat seat. It's only 1pm, but why not have lunch, our earliest for weeks. Ian has rescued a beer and has a water bottle full of red wine from last night, and together with our fresh bread and leftover meats and cheeses, we have a leisurely one hour picnic by the lake. Just us. It’s the low season and France is not on holidays now so there's very little activity along Lake Geneva (Lac le Man).
We can see Chateau de Coudree just around the corner and 30 minutes after lunch, we're there. It's even marked on the map as a place. Château De Coudrée is a 12th-century castle located in Sciez on the shores of Lake Geneva. The check in time is not supposed to be until 3pm, but we're seem to be the only ones here tonight. We're shown to our huge room, up two flights of stairs and around seven corners. Unfortunately, the restaurant isn't open tonight and we'd planned to have a relaxing meal at this place renowned for its fine dining. We'll either have to walk 5k there and back to a supermarket or scratch around for more left overs. After a restful afternoon, the decision is made - leftovers. Time to relax without adding any more k to the day.
At 5pm, we wend our way around the maze of corridors and find the steps to the downstairs bar. There's just us. Just us in this huge Chateau. We feel like we're in relax mode after our great adventure. The restaurant isn't open Tuesday or Wednesday so we've scratched the bottom of the food bag to find some cheese, Beaufort sausage, lettuce and a tomato. There's only two days left and lots of towns and villages between here and Geneva. One more Chateau to go and we've finished.