Frolics in France (Day 13)

"Ahoy matie, to France and beyond!"

Thus began our boat trip across Lac Leman from Vevey, Switzerland to Evian, France (via Lausanne). As far as we can tell, there's only one outfit that runs boat trips on the lake - similar to good ol' BC Ferries - but these boats are a little different. For one, they're for foot passengers only, and for two, they're all steam engine and paddle wheel driven. Previously, when I thought paddle wheel, I thought about floating casinos and massive paddle wheels at the stern of the boat. These boats are a bit different in that the paddle wheel is midship and paddles are pretty much concealed. I'm not sure how many of these boats the company owns, but we were on a different one for all 4 legs of our trip (we traveled on a conventional boat for one of the legs).
All of them are circa 1910, and the steam engine "drive-train" is left fully exposed in the center of the boat for all to see. The picture showing the engine at work doesn't do justice to the size of the engine parts - they were huge! Falling over the rail would sure mess you up. Being Swiss, the engine parts are all impossibly clean and shiny.

Evian's a nice place and the water is quite refreshing, but the real highlight of the day was the boat trip on the lake. It was a beautiful day - not too hot, not too cold - and getting a view of the shore from the water was a treat. Of course, we were looking at vineyards the whole time, but we never seem to tire of looking at them. It's so different from home.

Check out the vineyards to the left. It's incredible how the land has been developed over the centuries and how every last bit of land is cultivated. These are the same vineyards that we walked through a few days ago, and now I can see why I was so tired after that day. Those are steep hills.

I believe this is the village of Cully with a train in the foreground (it's hard to keep track of all of the little villages we come across). There's actually a "wine train" that runs a 15-minute stretch from Cully for all those lazy bums that don't want to hoof it on foot.

Looking out the eastern end of the lake. France on the right, Switzerland on the left.

When we got to Evian, we were famished and quickly found a spot to grab a bite. We found a little restaurant in a quaint old alley, with seating outdoors and ordered up some pasta for the Danielle, Lucia, and I. (Elias had nodded off pretty much right after we had arrived, and would sleep through our entire lunch break. This was pure gold.) You can't see it, but that's an Illy cup in my hand. Again, for the coffee drinkers out there, you'll understand you ain't had coffee until you've had a shot of Illy. Sweet Italian love.

Of course, Evian is all about the H2O. We did a little walking tour of the town and came across the original water source where it all began. Now, it's an actual "tap" on the side of a wall where there's an endless flow of "Evian" water. I thought this might just be a show for the tourists, but no, the locals kept coming and going with their empty water bottles to be filled up right at the source while we were waiting around trying to get a picture.

This guy let us sneak in and just fill up our one tiny water bottle. It was good water, indeed.

Evian waterfront, French mountains in background...

For 2 Euros, kids can ride on little bumper cars in a small enclosed area along the promenade. We bought Lucia one ride, which she loved, and then Danielle figured out that you can push the little cars just as fast as their engines make them go, so Elias and Lucia both got a few more Mommy-powered rides. (I know what you're thinking. But who was supposed to take the pictures?)

It was a long, but great day, and I think it's neat the kids will be able to say they've been to France. Not only that, France was where Lucia first learned to drive. (She made me proud.)