31 July-4 August – Annecy Redux
Some of you may recall that on Bonny’s and my «Tour de France» in September 2021 we paid a brief visit to this city in the Alpes just a few miles from the Swiss border and close to Mont Blanc – and one of Bonny’s favorite places in France. We decided to come here again this summer for a few more days this time, and maybe a little nicer weather.
No question about it, the weather was perfect! Annecy as beautiful as ever – day or evening … from about any angle.
… this is one of those places that seems almost too good to be real; and yet Annecy is also one of those places you
want to come back to again, and again. But this weekend the big attraction was La Fête du Lac and –– FIREWORKS!
At a little after 10 p.m. and for almost an hour-and-a half, Bonny and I, along with an estimated two hundred thousand others (including fifty-two thousand who paid for reserved seats directly in front of the display) watched, mesmerized by this, the one hundredth edition of La Fête du Lac. There was musical accompaniment for the display that we could hear from where we watched most of it about a mile away across the lake. After almost an hour of watching there (standing in a crowd we couldn’t see because it was pitch dark) we decided to walk back to our hotel.
When we got to our room on the sixth floor (seventh in the U.S.) we could still see fireworks from our window. I took a series of videos of the display, and then made the screenshots you see above and below. The image in the middle above was taken from our hotel window. That’s the steeple of Église Notre-Dame-de-Liesse silhouetted in the center picture above. The images on either side of it and below were taken from where we watched standing by the lake.
But Annecy is more than fireworks. Lake Annecy itself offers boating and swimming. The mountains surrounding it are majestic, and while Annecy displays flowers year around, they are especially beautiful in the summer. Along the Le Thiou river flowing through Annecy and in beds. Plus there are plenty of places to visit and to see in Annecy and nearby. Cycling enthusiasts will find terrain of every kind around its shores. Of course there’s also fine dining and shopping, and – especially in the summer – just prepare to share your experience with many like-minded visitors.
Thumbnails of Lake Annecy (L-R) – from Château d’Annecy, jardins, mountains, shoreline, at dusk from Port d’Annecy
12 August – Montpellier TaM Ligne 5 Progress Report
A little history: before this century began the city of Montpellier decided to design and construct an infrastructure of tram lines throughout the metropolitan area to improve the quality of life for its citzens by providing low-cost, easily accessible public transportation, improving air quality, and reducing traffic congestion. Ligne 1 between Mosson to the northwest of the center to Odysseum across the Lez river to the southeast went into service in 2000. Part of the plan is to give each line its own unique graphic identity. The designers, Garouste and Boneƫ, chose as their theme the sky represented by blue with white swallows flying in it. Ligne 2 between Saint-Jean-de Vedas in the southwest and Jacu in the northeast went into service in 2006 with a theme of multi-colored flowers and birds. The designer Christian Lacroix (who was born in the nearby Camargue) chose a maritime theme of the sea represented by octopi, starfish and fish for Ligne 3 between Etang de l’Or and Lattes in the south and Juvignac in the west. Unlike its sister lines, Ligne 4 begins and ends in the Garcia Lorca neighborhood on the south and makes a loop around the center, connecting Gambetta, Peyrou, and L’Éccuson, with Antigone. Lacroix chose a theme of golden machinery to represent Montpellier’s golden heart. Lignes 3 and 4 entered service simultaneously in 2012. All four lines converge on Gare Saint-Roch; and Ligne 1 will begin serving Montpellier-Gare-du-Sud this October. Since 20 December 2023 all residents of Montpellier who can show eligibility and receive a pass may ride the TaM trams and buses without paying a fare. (Visitors and residents without passes must purchase their fare at the kiosks on all the quais [platforms] or risk paying a fine.)
Ligne 5 progress is on track for going into service on 20 December 2025. The three pictures on the top show the
conditions on Avenue Georges Clemenceau in late February 2024, the three on the bottom show where work is now in that area on this date.
Concurrent with Ligne 5’s construction are many adjacent infrastructure projects. Like its sister lines, Ligne 5 will have its own unique livery designed by Barthémy Toguo to represent nature, using images from the natural world of his African heritage. (He left Mbalmayo, Cameroun, in 1967 to study, first at l’École des beaux arts d’Abidjan, then in Grenoble and finally to Kunstakademie of Dusseldorf in Germany.) Ligne 5 will operate between Lavérune, west of Saint-Jean-de Vedas, and Clapiers, west of Jacou. Its route will connect twelve parks – green oases in Montpellier and reflecƟng Barthémy Toguo’s nature theme. Today, 12 August, marked a significant milestone in Ligne 5’s progress: the power in the overhead wires that power the trams was energized on the western side of the
route. This means that all of the rails between Lavérune, west of Saint-Jean-de-Vedas, and Saint-Denis have been completed. This will allow the crews who will be operating Ligne 5’s trams to become familiarized with operating on this part of the route. Siƫng up front in the cockpit making split-second decisions on speed and braking to ensure the safety of the passengers and the public in ever-changing conditions of light, weather, and traffic is an awesome
responsibility. The women and men who carry out this duty night and day are unsung heroes, although I doubt any of them would consider themselves so. Ligne 5 is a truly remarkable achievement in engineering and urban planning.
13 August – But Wait, There’s More!
Cité Creative is the redevelopment and renewal in Figuerolles west of where Ligne 5 on Avenue Lepic turns onto Rue du 56ÈME Régiment d’Artillerie. Vincent Callebaut Architectures, Paris –www.vincent.callebaut.org – have designed
Jardins Secrets (as shown in the top two images) that will be less than 500 feet from Ligne 5’s quais. When complete (anticipated later this year) its 113 two to five bedroom apartments will provide homes for low and middle income families. The façades of Jardins Secrets will be a vertical forest similar in concept to Higher Roch where I live, but with more plants. The two lower images show the level of completion as of 13 August. In 2010, aŌer EAI, the French Army’s infantry school (now Parc Montcalm) closed, this industrial area supporting it fell into disuse. Ligne 5 was the catalyst for this and other examples of creative and intelligent urban renewal along its almost 21 Km (13 mile) route.
15-16 August – Beat the Heat!
After eight days in a row with the high for the day climbing above 35° C. (95° F.) and being virtually marooned in air conditioned N°506, we took Ligne 2 to Hôtel Prime and the cooling waters of its pool that afternoon and Sunday a.m.
21-24 August – Strasbourg Reprise
This is NOT the Strasbourg we reprised! But on a hot August day this might make you feel cooler. The temperature was about 6° C. (10° F.) cooler than Montpellier. The day we arrived it was overcast, but the rest of our time it was sunny and very comfortable.
An absolute must is a cruise on the canals that make Grande Isle the heart of the city to see how its half-Ɵmbered architecture and cobblestone streets blend seamlessly with trams reminiscent of Montpellier’s connecting all the neighborhoods; and modern architecture like the General Assembly of Europe (R).
In 1428 Johannes Gutenberg (left image) moved from Mainz (about 130 miles [240 Km] to the north) to Strasbourg where he acquired the knowledge of metallurgy and other skills that made it possible for him to develop the printing press and movable type before returning to Mainz in the 1430s, where, in 1455 he printed the Gutenberg Bible, one of the first books printed with movable type. This led to the Reformation (center images) and eventually to 1789. So, when the revolution reached Strasbourg in 1794 the revolutionaries planned to demolish the cathedral’s spire – but the citizens of Strasbourg placed a huge red tin Phrygian cap (the symbolic headgear of the revolutionaries) atop the spire (right image) to signify that Notre Dame herself was sympathetic with the revolution.
This is what we will be remembering about Strasbourg until, with any luck, we return. This, and, of course, the food and the wine!
Just so you know, I always take pleasure in reading comments from you and enjoy attempting to answer any questions you might want to ask. And … nos « vacances » sont terminées avec l’arrivée de septembre, mais… not our travel plans ! So, until next month …
À bientôt !
John
La Vie de Montpellier 
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