One of Pedro's favorite engineer jokes goes like this:
A doctor, lawyer and engineer are all sitting around talking about whether it's better to have a wife or a girlfriend.
The doctor says definitely a wife. A wife will stay by your side through thick and thin and you'll be happy!
The lawyer says, no, definitely a girlfriend. With a girlfriend, things are more exciting and you'll be happy!
The engineer says, you're both wrong. You need a wife and a girlfriend. That way, each one thinks you're with the other and you can finally get some work done!
So, we got a girlfriend! Our girlfriend Suzanne, AKA "Frenchie," flew over to spend a glorious week with us. We went sightseeing, Frenchie and MaryAnn got to go skiing in the French alps and Pedro got to get some work done. It was a completely perfect week.
First, we had to fly back to check on the boat, try to do a little work ourselves on her and swap out our mostly warm weather clothes for mostly cold weather ones. It took us a couple of days to get to Lagos as we had a flight from Miami - it was fun to see everything being set up for the upcoming Super Bowl - to London and then onto Faro, Portugal. We arrived in Faro too late to catch our train into Lagos so we spent the night and left out the next morning.
We found the boat and were very pleased with the progress made while we were gone. We'd had her hauled out of the water when we left and had a rather large list of repairs and maintenance items for the boatyard to complete. One item was new bottom paint. Traditionally - at least with the paint we had, the bottom needed to painted every couple of years and it was getting to be that time. We decided to try a new (to us) paint that has copper in the paint. It is touted as being better for the environment and lasting up to 10 years. So, they removed all of her old paint and applied the new copper coat bottom. Fingers crossed on both claims!
Another item was to have all of our rigging (the cables that hold up the mast) inspected. So, before we left, we took apart most of the interior cabinets (the mid-section of the boat anyway) to allow the workers access to the lower parts of the rigging. Putting these back together was equivalent to solving a huge and awkward puzzle but we did it!!
Of course, we were back in Lagos so our next point of business was to check on the Ferry Cats. They were all as wonderful as before and didn't hold any grudges against for being gone as long as we had. They all looked healthy and happy and we had fun playing with them too!
With the boat in good hands, we again packed our bags. Our best option for flights to Geneva (the closest airport to our final destination of Annecy, FR) was out of Lisbon. We contacted Lena - of Lena and Nicki, our German girls from Dominica/Guadalupe - who's living and studying in Lisbon. We arranged to meet her for dinner the night before we flew out. We got an early bus - yes, the bus ride was shorter than the train ride - to Lisbon with the idea that we would tour a little more before meeting Lena for dinner. Would have been a great idea if it hadn't been such a cold and rainy day. But we made the best of it. We walked around in the rain for a few hours and managed to find a place to drop into for a glass or two of wine.
However, dinner with Lena made up for any shortcomings in the weather. She's as adorable as always and we enjoyed seeing her so much. She even proudly showed us her wallet from www.sailmates.org . We are making plans (again) to try to meet with both she and Nicki for Oktoberfest. We also hope to meet up with Lena and her friends in Portimao, PT in a couple of months during their spring holiday as we pass through the area with the boat.
The next morning, we flew into Geneva. We drove around a little exploring the city and found a great little restaurant for some fondue. We really enjoyed Geneva. It's a vibrant - somewhat crowded but not too bad - city. We took in some of the sights from their annual lighted sculpture exhibit and strolled along the water. As we only had one day before Frenchie arrived, we packed in as much as we could in a short time. We hope to go back again on our way out of town.
The next morning, Frenchie arrived!!! Despite her jet lag and the on and off again rain, we hit the ground running. The drive from Geneva to Annecy was relatively short and we happened upon an adorable old bridge full of firefighters training for rescues.
We continued on into Annecy and immediately fell in love. The city is adorable with amazing old buildings, shops, a castle, a huge lake and wonderful little canals that give the city it's nickname "the Venice of France."
The next day, we decided to go see the famous ski resort of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc. The weather was not in our favor and the rain picked up even more after we got there (at least it wasn't snow and ice). We found an adorable little restaurant and walked around a bit but we couldn't even see the top of the mountains or any of the ski lifts. Still, they are pretty impressive mountains.
The weather forecast for the next day was again calling for rain at the ski slopes. So, we decided to take a day trip to Lyon. We'd heard nothing but great things about Lyon and we completely agree. It's such a pretty and friendly city with amazing food. We walked everywhere and stopped several times for various different food and drink. We loved everything about Lyon.
Neither of our French skills were very good, so we relied on Frenchie to translate just about everything for us. She's amazing. However, MaryAnn asked her to tell this guy, who was walking the cutest Samoyed puppy, about her Aunt Lynda and Uncle Willie who breed and show Samoyed's. So, without missing a beat, Frenchie, turns around and repeats the story in English (at least she has that adorable French accent)!!!! Thankfully, he also understood English. We all laughed!
Once again, we took so many pictures that we created a link. Here are the rest of the pictures from Lyon:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/j7HvaoiwkxSZz9mG8
The next day, we attempted to go night skiing but after we almost made it to the resort, we got an email from them that night skiing was cancelled due to heavy snow and high winds. We headed back home and imbibed in some great French wine and cheese.
Finally, we had perfect weather, fresh snow and open slopes, so we headed to Courcheval. This was a recommendation from our host Charlie and it was definitely worth the 1-1/2 hour drive. The slopes were fabulous and the skiing was great. Frenchie was able to ski some of the more exciting slopes while MaryAnn was very happy to enjoy the beginner slopes. Both of us had an amazing day and were blissfully worn out after our first day of skiing. We arrived back to a wonderful home-cooked dinner thanks to Pedro who was also blissful that he's been left alone to get some work done.
Again, here are more pictures from our ski trip to Courcheval:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/3LhbcAXPUhw6z3wY8
The next 2 days were absolutely perfect weather and we got to ski (well Frenchie skied both days and MaryAnn skied some of both days). We went to Le Grand Bornand, an adorable little town and gorgeous ski slope a little closer to home. Pedro went with us the first day and, while he didn't want to ski, he did enjoy walking around the town and lunch on the mountain!
Here are more pictures from Le Grand Bornand:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/R924ptqcMkd3rdvE8
Before we knew it, our week was finally up and we were saying goodbye to our amazing friend. We stopped at a bar/pizzeria called Coco Beach. We asked if they had any affiliation with Cocoa Beach, FL but they said no. They got their name because they are located near the beach and have a dog named Coco. Still, we had to stop for a picture.
For our last night out, we all decided that "when in Rome - or rather Haute Savior, France," one must have Raclette. We found a great restaurant and ate and drank too much but loved our last night in France together. We're already planning to meet Frenchie and Pery somewhere next year as they celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary and a big birthday for Frenchie (hint- it's more than 21). We can't wait.
We still have another week to enjoy this amazing area - thank you again Charlie and Deborah! Frenchie suggested we check out some nearby Rhone Valley wineries, there is more we want to see of Annecy and we plan to explore a few surrounding cities. But we'll fill you on that later.
Until next post!
