Things You Can Buy in Annecy

Candles from a candle store.

 

Marc Jacobs limited edition Coca-Cola bottles.

Taxidermied chickens?

Most likely part of something that cools the nasal passage.

Lovely old lady hats.

A Middle Eastern supermarket, whose shopkeeper was highly suspicious of me taking photos. I don't blame them, considering the political climate.

There are some giant pickled things in there.

The flowers and napkins are the same shape.

Pretty Shots of Plants

This fluff was absolutely everywhere, but perhaps by being so visible it could be less lethal than the invisible pollen that wafts around Tokyo in spring.

A plant coming out of the wall.

I won't pretend these photos are rather purposeless.

Parc Charles Bosson

Parc Charles Bosson in Annecy, which wraps around the Imperial building and overlooks Lake Annecy.

The chairs have been supplied by Canal+ for the festival, but these are obviously civilians.

I'd never noticed this chessboard before.

Boat docking area.

Shots of Vieille Ville, Annecy

Vieille Ville (Old Town), Annecy. This area is an absolute dream, with cobblestone streets and beautifully aged streets. It's the kind of historic, Medieval-influenced town that Japanese people can "experience" only by going to Tokyo Disneyland. 

The Palais de l'Isle at night. 

For some reason, the area is full of ice-cream shops. I like this shop in particular because they contain miniature versions of the flavors they are representing, such as a small tub of Nutella.

  

This is a different ice-cream shop.

Tourists having some ice cream.

This man has taken up residence in one area of the river, along with his two dogs. I remember them barking at me last year.

100 years ago, she would have been longingly looking out of the window.

Surveying the sudden rain...

...and then taking a quick break.

Baby Birds and Nests

One of my favorite things about Annecy (and the best part about being able to visit in June) is the baby birds that you can see in various parts of town.

Mama and baby ducks in the Thiou river.

I saw some baby ducks here two years ago.

This must be a safe spot for birds, because they're here again. (They're on the left side of the previous photo.)

This was by the lake.

I have to admit, I found the river Thiou more polluted than in previous years, and accordingly, I saw less fish and had to work hard to find a nest. On my last morning, I finally spotted a nest, located in a hard-to-reach spot near the Ibis hotel in the Old Town.

The spareness of the nest was also a vast difference than the bountiful ones I've seen in previous years.

There were about four swans swimming in the lake in the morning.

 As beautiful as they are, swans can be an absolute menace to dogs. Look how its mouth is open here!

Stop-motion Filming

An odd sight at a church at Jardin de l'Evêché in Annecy.

 

At first I thought this was some form of protest, but it was just a bunch of animators filming a stop-motion animation film. They didn't seem to be French, so perhaps they were merely visiting the Annecy International Animated Film Festival.

I wonder if they have permission to do this.