Lunch in Annecy

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Today we headed to Lake Annecy in France for lunch at a very nice lakeside restaurant. In addition to me and Emilie, the group included Emilie's mother, my parents and their friends Terry and Barbara.

We had been to the restaurant this past May for Emilie's birthday and really liked it given the beautiful surroundings and great food. Thus, we thought it would be the perfect place to bring my parents as part of their visit. Here are pictures of the restaurant and the view from the dock in front.

Here's a picture of the group after sitting down at the table. We all decided to go with the menu surprise, which simply consisted of the chef's selection of various items from the menu. Everything looked fantastic, so we figured who better than the chef to decide what we'd have.

The meal lived up to the high expectations that we had set, and kicked off with a "hay" flavored ice cream appetizer (to cleanse the palate, of course) before building through various vegetable, seafood, fish and meat courses that even on their own would have caused the meal to stand out.

As always, the main courses were followed by cheese and desert courses to ensure food comas for all. I think the cheese course was a definite highlight for my parents and their friends -- when the cheese cart was wheeled up to the table, they were a bit in awe.

Here's a picture of Barbara and my dad between courses that I thought turned out really well.

After finishing up we headed out to the front patio to digest a bit and enjoy the view. All and all, we couldn't have asked for a better day -- great company, great food, great weather and a great view.