Our last days in Europe felt like a dream. Tucked beside the glassy waters of Lake Annecy, our good friends’ family (pretty much the entire village of Talloires) welcomed us. We spent our time swimming, fishing, hiking, and relaxing, all against a backdrop of Dr. Seuss-style alpine peaks and lush green flower-dotted hillsides.

With some of our best Maui friends showing us the ropes, every shared meal and adventure was that much better. After 3 1/2 incredible months exploring Europe with our kids, this tranquil corner of France gave us a memorable sendoff.

Here’s a day to day breakdown of our adventures in Talloires and surrounding areas.

Day 1

Swimming Lake Annecy & Col de la Forclaz

Today we left our family in the Ardèche to be with friends at Talloires on Lake Annecy, France!

A small lakeside village with a big heart, Talloires is known for its stunning views, historic Hotel Du Lac, and access to some of the clearest waters in Europe. It’s a favorite for swimming, paragliding, and lakeside dining, with hiking and mountain fun just a short drive away.

We met up with our good Maui friends the Ribets, and met Vetea’s family, which visit this town every summer. There’s gotta be 100 of them! We went down to their family’s dock and swam in the beautiful, clean lake. Kaheki is sick, so we swam and played with Alani and all the other family members.

Later we went up the mountain to eat at the Hotel Restaurant L’Edelweiss with an amazing view! We spent more time with Vetea’s family and had a great meal. Col de la Forclaz is just 20 minutes from town and blew our minds. This scenic mountain pass offers one of the best panoramic views over Lake Annecy.

It’s also a top launch point for paragliders, who take off from the cliffs and float high above the lake. Natalie wanted to do a tandem really badly, but a day or 2 later, 2 paragliders died within an hour of eachother in the same spot. Scary.

Day 2

La Clusaz

We slept in then went to watch Leia play tennis. We got to play a little too. We walked around our little town and the open-air market. These lake-side towns are tiny, so we could walk everywhere within our own town.

We then drove up to the mountains and had lunch in the cute little town of La Clusaz. A charming alpine village and ski resort in the Aravis range, La Clusaz is a year-round destination. In winter it’s all about the slopes; in summer, hiking and mountain biking take center stage. There were all kinds of things to do from bike tracks to practicing skiing without snow. We took a gondola up to slide down the louge course! WEEEE!!!

After that we went ice skating! That was fun. We also went on a some super bouncy trampolines. We didn’t participate, but we saw bumper boats, zipline, go carts and more.  We also saw a bunch of toddlers do a bike race too. It was funny. We finished our mountain adventure with ice cream.

Later, we ate a picnic by the lake at Plage Municipale de Talloires. There were diving boards and a slide, but we didn’t swim this time. Then there we were lucky enough to see fireworks! We ended the night crab hunting (Vetea always gets a permit when visiting.) Catch and release.

Day 3

Lake Annecy Pedal Boats

After an amazing buffet breakfast at our Hotel Du Lac, we went to Plage Municipale de Talloires. We went diving and swimming.

Considered “Europe’s cleanest lake,” Lake Annecy is fed by mountain springs and remains protected by strict environmental regulations. Its turquoise waters are ideal for swimming, boating, and paddleboarding, especially in summer. We literally had to tone down the bright color of the water in the video and photos because it looks so unreal.

Later, we hopped into these charming little white pedal boats, like riding a bike on water. Cruising across the lake was incredible! We discovered a cave spot where a rocky cliff jutted out into the water, creating a shallow stone platform just beneath the surface. It was unbelievably beautiful, Truly breathtaking.

We found some small caves to explore and even did a bit of cliff jumping, with the dads leaping from way up high. We ended the ride relaxing in front of Chateau de Duingt, complete with its own boat garage.

We went back to town and ate crepes and meringue, then spent some time by our pool playing a new game Sky-Jo.

We finished the night with our friends at Le Café de la Place.

Day 4 

Thônes & Annecy

Today we went to Thônes, which has a cool marketplace. Nestled in a quiet valley, Thônes is known as the birthplace of Reblochon cheese. It’s a peaceful mountain town that feels authentically French, with weekly markets and cozy cafés.

We bought some cheese and meats, and the kids looked at jewelry and crafts, then we drove to Annecy.

Nicknamed the “Venice of the Alps,” Annecy is beautiful with its canals, old town charm, and lively markets. It’s also home to a 12th-century château and an active food scene. It was rainy but beautiful, and we enjoyed a delicious fondue with a view. We also saw this guy make beautiful music on a metal drum. The kids had a sleepover, and we went on a date night.

We ate a pretty impressive meal at Maison Boho, where Vetea’s dad used to DJ in his youth. We loved it, and enjoyed lighting storms out the window.

Day 5

Trout Fishing & Spa Day

This morning, our friends took us up into the mountains for trout fishing. There was a pond stocked with trout, fishing poles for rent, and a man ready to clean the fish and take them to the restaurant. Mia didn’t rent a fishing pole because she didn’t want to kill the fish. She did hold a fish though, then dropped it and it escaped. We had them cooked up for lunch at this cool restaurant in the woods. Leia caught some tadpoles.

We then left the kids with Vetea’s folks and drove back to Talloires for scheduled massages at L’Auberge du Père Bise – Jean Sulpice. We enjoyed swimming, a cold plunge, and the sauna with a view. They also had this fun shower room that changed theme (colors, sounds, water spout type.)

We went back to the family dock and swam and played on paddle boards. We then ate this giant meringue!

This time it was Angelina and Vetea’s date night, so we ate pizza at their house.

Day 6

La Sambuy

The Ribets had to head home, so we spent the day with their family. The whole big crew gathered in the morning then drove up to La Sambuy for a crazy hike! La Sambuy is a small, family-friendly ski and hiking area with panoramic views of Mont Blanc on clear days. In warmer months, the chairlift stays open for hikers and alpine coaster fans.

We took a gondola up as high as we could, then began hiking. We hiked for awhile, and it was sketchy and hard (lots of rocks!) When we got to the base of a very steep part, Witt said he wanted to go back down. We encouraged the kids to go further even though the mountain became cliff! There were metal handholds, but there was sometimes only air beneath us! Once we proudly reached the peak, we saw a 4 year old… This place has some hard core parents!

The view was SO AMAZING! We could see full 360 including Mont Blanc! It was so cool. Then our whole group ended up at the peak, which didn’t have much room.

The hike down was hard but we made it to a hill straight out of The Sound of Music and ate pizza with our new family in tall grass right along a cliff. We were so high, we could look down at paragliders.

We then went on a mini rollercoaster!

We went home and had our last French meal. Merci, Ribets!

End of ROCO Trip

We drove back to Geneva to pick up Gabba and say goodbye to my Aunts. This marked the end of our massive ROCO trip – over 3 and a 1/2 months to 9 European Countries!

Over 104 days, we took 18 flights, 6 car rentals, 14 trains, 9 boats, endless buses, taxis, subways and ubers. This was a trip we’ll never forget!

Now back to Maui!