Another beautiful day - sunshine and blue skies. We have been incredibly lucky with the weather!We followed our morning routine - breakfast in the hotel restaurant with the "NY Times". We are enjoying the US newspaper so much more than those we found in Scotland. We preferred the old "International Herald", but it was bought by the "Times". We noticed that all of the cheeses served on the buffet are from this Savoie region - reblochon, abondance and tomme.
The rest of the morning was taken up with chores. Ron had the task of printing out credit card transactions. Had to use the hotel computer, and the French keyboard is dramatically different and hard to get used to. He also studied the car manual to figure out the speed control.
I had a lengthy conversation with the lovely young concierge. We had wanted to go to the ancient village of Yvoire on the lake for lunch, but remembered having to park quite a distance away and walk on cobblestones. Ron actually fell on them a few years ago. She confirmed that car access is not possible, and there was only one restaurant we could reach without walking - and it had no lake view. I asked what she would recommend in Thonon or nearby. The first one she suggested I had already researched, and was disappointed to find that it was closed for lunch on Wednesdays. She then mentioned a wonderful Michelin-starred restaurant I had also read about, but we did not want to spend hundreds of dollars for lunch. Several I mentioned she said were not that good. She called a place that was supposed to be open, but no answer. Finally she was able to make us a reservation at Le Leman at the port of Sechex in Margenel (near Sciez).
Ron had already retrieved the car and was waiting out front and wondering what could possibly be taking so long. It was good the concierge was willing to spend so much time on a simple request for a lunch recommendation. I found her to be one of the best concierges I've dealt with.
We drove to the restaurant, about 20-minutes, and had a tiny drama. Ron dropped me off while he went to park. I climbed the steep stairs to what appeared to be the entrance. Glancing in, I noticed the restaurant was empty, and I thought maybe we should forgo the reservation and go back to the nearby La Jolla (the first one she had tried to call with no answer), as it was packed to the gills and had a lovely setting. I waited quite awhile, and finally I saw Ron inside the restaurant. At that point I pulled on the door only to discover it locked. There was an employee nearby, so I knocked, but he motioned to go around. So, I had to climb back down the stairs, and walked around the building to find the terrace buzzing with people, and Ron bewildered as to where I could have disappeared to.
We were offered a table directly on the lake (or as they say, you can dangle your feet in the water), but it was a bit windy - so we chose a table on the open terrace, but behind a partially closed glass wall that served as a windbreak.
We had a great bottle of Pouilly Fume. For appetizer Ron ordered Fera Fume (a smoked "broad white fish") from Lake Geneva (Leman) which is reputed to have the BEST fera. I read there are only 48 licensed professional fishermen, and they primarily focus on fera because the other popular fish, lake perch, has been fished practically out of existence. Most of the lake perch served in the local restaurants is imported from Norway. I had noticed on some menus, that there were two different charges for lake perch and locally caught lake perch. I am thinking that may be why the lake perch I had a number of years ago seemed so much better than what I've ordered recently.
I ordered the lake perch meuniere and Ron had the Angus beef with maître butter. These were accompanied by a huge green salad and a big platter of pommes frites (French fries) which were wonderful.
I couldn't finish all of the fish, but couldn't resist the vanilla crème brulee. Ron commented that we should have been more diligent following our pre-trip diets!
We drove along the lake to the north of our hotel to see what was new. There doesn't appear to be any new development. It is so much different than to the southwest, as there is very little in the way of restaurants or commercial activity.
Returned to the hotel - the LONG walk to our room (it is about twice as far as the apartment we had in Fort Mill, which seemed like a mile). Had a little rest, looking out at the lake and absorbing its beauty. I read that the feeling of tranquility is called "molle du lac" (the "soft" of the lake). One author wrote that "there is something about the water and the view that makes you weak at the knees."
We went up to the rooftop executive lounge for our evening toddies on the terrace. The general manager, Richard Cuello, came over to introduce himself, and chatted for quite some time. It was very interesting. (We later learned he is Regional Manager for all Hilton properties in France.) When we told him our next stop is the Munich City Hilton, he said that we will be among the last guests before the hotel is closed for a massive renovation (US$50-60 million). There had been discussion of razing the hotel and starting from scratch. Management did not find the hotel to be up to the standards of the Park Hilton on the Englischer Garten, but everyone acknowledges that the location can't be beat.
He also mentioned that in season (July-August) the majority of tourists in Evian are from the Middle East. He said for years wealthy "Arabs" have owned property in this region, and said we will pass by a huge white home owned by a Sheik on our drive out of town Thursday.
He also said many Swiss people live in the area and commute to work in Geneva or Lausanne. He said they could buy a villa for the same cost of an apartment in Switzerland.
We then took the hotel car to the casino. I played the new games and didn't fare well. Ron played an old one, Leprauchan, and had great luck. We didn't stay long, and hotel car picked us up. Back to our room for the last night with a spectacular view over Lake Leman.
The rest of the morning was taken up with chores. Ron had the task of printing out credit card transactions. Had to use the hotel computer, and the French keyboard is dramatically different and hard to get used to. He also studied the car manual to figure out the speed control.
I had a lengthy conversation with the lovely young concierge. We had wanted to go to the ancient village of Yvoire on the lake for lunch, but remembered having to park quite a distance away and walk on cobblestones. Ron actually fell on them a few years ago. She confirmed that car access is not possible, and there was only one restaurant we could reach without walking - and it had no lake view. I asked what she would recommend in Thonon or nearby. The first one she suggested I had already researched, and was disappointed to find that it was closed for lunch on Wednesdays. She then mentioned a wonderful Michelin-starred restaurant I had also read about, but we did not want to spend hundreds of dollars for lunch. Several I mentioned she said were not that good. She called a place that was supposed to be open, but no answer. Finally she was able to make us a reservation at Le Leman at the port of Sechex in Margenel (near Sciez).
Ron had already retrieved the car and was waiting out front and wondering what could possibly be taking so long. It was good the concierge was willing to spend so much time on a simple request for a lunch recommendation. I found her to be one of the best concierges I've dealt with.
We drove to the restaurant, about 20-minutes, and had a tiny drama. Ron dropped me off while he went to park. I climbed the steep stairs to what appeared to be the entrance. Glancing in, I noticed the restaurant was empty, and I thought maybe we should forgo the reservation and go back to the nearby La Jolla (the first one she had tried to call with no answer), as it was packed to the gills and had a lovely setting. I waited quite awhile, and finally I saw Ron inside the restaurant. At that point I pulled on the door only to discover it locked. There was an employee nearby, so I knocked, but he motioned to go around. So, I had to climb back down the stairs, and walked around the building to find the terrace buzzing with people, and Ron bewildered as to where I could have disappeared to.
We were offered a table directly on the lake (or as they say, you can dangle your feet in the water), but it was a bit windy - so we chose a table on the open terrace, but behind a partially closed glass wall that served as a windbreak.
We had a great bottle of Pouilly Fume. For appetizer Ron ordered Fera Fume (a smoked "broad white fish") from Lake Geneva (Leman) which is reputed to have the BEST fera. I read there are only 48 licensed professional fishermen, and they primarily focus on fera because the other popular fish, lake perch, has been fished practically out of existence. Most of the lake perch served in the local restaurants is imported from Norway. I had noticed on some menus, that there were two different charges for lake perch and locally caught lake perch. I am thinking that may be why the lake perch I had a number of years ago seemed so much better than what I've ordered recently.
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Fera Fume
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| Lake Perch |
We drove along the lake to the north of our hotel to see what was new. There doesn't appear to be any new development. It is so much different than to the southwest, as there is very little in the way of restaurants or commercial activity.
Returned to the hotel - the LONG walk to our room (it is about twice as far as the apartment we had in Fort Mill, which seemed like a mile). Had a little rest, looking out at the lake and absorbing its beauty. I read that the feeling of tranquility is called "molle du lac" (the "soft" of the lake). One author wrote that "there is something about the water and the view that makes you weak at the knees."
We went up to the rooftop executive lounge for our evening toddies on the terrace. The general manager, Richard Cuello, came over to introduce himself, and chatted for quite some time. It was very interesting. (We later learned he is Regional Manager for all Hilton properties in France.) When we told him our next stop is the Munich City Hilton, he said that we will be among the last guests before the hotel is closed for a massive renovation (US$50-60 million). There had been discussion of razing the hotel and starting from scratch. Management did not find the hotel to be up to the standards of the Park Hilton on the Englischer Garten, but everyone acknowledges that the location can't be beat.
He also mentioned that in season (July-August) the majority of tourists in Evian are from the Middle East. He said for years wealthy "Arabs" have owned property in this region, and said we will pass by a huge white home owned by a Sheik on our drive out of town Thursday.
He also said many Swiss people live in the area and commute to work in Geneva or Lausanne. He said they could buy a villa for the same cost of an apartment in Switzerland.
We then took the hotel car to the casino. I played the new games and didn't fare well. Ron played an old one, Leprauchan, and had great luck. We didn't stay long, and hotel car picked us up. Back to our room for the last night with a spectacular view over Lake Leman.
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