Day 2: Saturday

Saturday, we had an easy morning and walked over the vieille ville around noon. We went to a brasserie for brunch where I had a banana-nutella waffle, and of course an espresso. It was really good!

After eating, we headed to the castle to go through it, but unfortunately it was closed for lunch (even tourist attractions operate on the French schedule). So we headed down to the Lake. It was for the best that we went to the lake when we did. The early afternoon sun made the stunning view of the water and the surrounding mountains that much more beautiful. It was so unbelievably amazing... it looked like I was standing in front of a painting or a green screen. We spent a lot of time walking around the lake and admiring the view.

After seeing the lake, we went to a perfumery and I bought some peony scented lotion that says "made in France" right on the bottle. (I'll have to keep the bottle!)

At 2:00 (after the French lunch break) we went to the castle. The chateau-musée is a castle that is now being used as an art museum in one part, and a natural history museum in another tower. It was cool to see all the exhibits while exploring the castle at the same time.

After exploring the castle, we stopped at a bake shop, where I had some much needed French macarons. I have been wanting to try them since arriving in France. They were worth the wait! I thought they would be crunchy, like a cookie, but they were so soft and full of flavour!

For supper, in the spirit of being economical, we picked up some groceries and made pasta at the hostel. It was nice because some of the other young people in the hostel were making dinner too. We chatted with two girls from Australia who were backpacking around Europe.

After dinner, we shared a couple bottles of wine and hit the town.