We all slept well. I awoke first, everyone else was sleeping, so I went out to find coffee. No Peets here. Breakfast is served until 10am (for a price) and I didn’t really want breakfast, just a cup of coffee. It’s not that simple here. I walked out to the lake, hopeful that they would have a little coffee stand (a la Hawaii?). No luck, so I went into the restaurant and outside into the courtyard, passing by the breakfast buffet (more on that later). I decided to just ask a waiter for a cup of coffee. I did it in my best French, but she had a hard time understanding that ALL I wanted was a cup of coffee. Then she asked “what about my husband and two daughters?” How did she know? I said that they were still sleeping and would have breakfast later. So I went out into the courtyard and sat down. I thought she would bring me a cup and I could take it to walk around. Well she brought out more than a cup. She re-appeared with tablecloth, cloth napkin, silver coffee pot and a silver pitcher with steamed milk. So I couldn’t exactly take it to go. So I sat and drank and even added a bit of steamed milk in honor of Ellen. What a relaxing morning. Looking out over the lake, quiet. No paper, no blackberry, no laptop. Forced to just enjoy the peace. When I went back up the girls were waking up and we finally got Marc up and out. We peeked at the buffet (now closing) and noted that they have quite a spread. Baskets of pain chocolat, croissants, baguettes etc. And then an entire table of cereals and seeds. Marc vows to come back tomorrow morning. Eggs of course. And I think I saw a bowl of cornichons.

Before leaving the room, Marc wants to leave a tip for the maid, but we didn’t know how to say “for the maid” in French…then I remembered “Le Femme de Menage”…we wrote that, but then thought, maybe that is not the right term for 2007 and maybe has a different connotation now than it did 25 years ago in the French primer…so we wrote “pour vous” but she didn’t take it. Oh well.

We go into town because we remember a boulangerie that we saw yesterday. The girls get pain chocolat (surprise) and we get a pain au noix. I buy a few jams that look incredible and we head back to our deck and chaise lounges for a leisurely breakfast on the lake. The girls go up to put on their swim suits when they discover a windsurfer board (without the sail) and spend the rest of the morning playing on the “surf board”. All sorts of games. (see photos) Marc and I lie back, read New Yorkers and watch them.

About 2:30 we have to pry them away to get some lunch (are these our children?). This is different from walking the streets of Paris and visiting museums and obscure areas of the city! We walk 8 steps to the outside café of the hotel and order lunch. Marc starts with a kir royale (and has a second one before the meal is over). Emily has a dish of seared salmon on a marinated cucumber salad and Sarah orders that we think is spaghetti with tomatoes and basil, but it is actually “spaghetti” of a vegetable (squash?) prepared like pasta. It is really good and she devours it. Marc and I both have the “Grand Salad” but we tell them “pas de jambon” and it comes with some of Sarah’s “spaghetti” and some of Em’s salmon. Perfect (or is it just that the kitchen is closing and they want to get rid of the remains of lunch?). There is also a tiny bowl of melon soup on the plate that is so fresh and so good. Marc has a cup of coffee and we set off into the small town again, this time to find Marc a cap to wear out on the boat. We stop on the way at a patisserie shop next to the three star Pere Bise restaurant and buy a few little after lunch sweets for the girls (and us). Almost into town, Emily has to go to the bathroom and right there is a WC public. Perfect. Except that it is one of those French type without a toilet per se. “No way”. So we buy the hat quickly and head back to the hotel.

We rent a 4 person pedal boat (two people pedal) and go out onto the lake (see photos). The girls decide they want to be the pedalers so we let them, and Marc and I sit back and relax, taking in the sights. We see an old castle that we swear is BeauxBaton (Isn’t that Madame Maxim in there?) –see photos. We also have a great view of the mountains from the middle of the lake and all the hang gliders (there are tons of them and they sprinkle the sky with dots of color). Earlier in the day, walking to town, we walked by a man with TWO broken arms and we figure we know how he got them!

Two hours later (!) we head back to shore. The day couldn’t be more spectacular. A few high clouds but mostly all blue sky and the temperature in the mid 70’s. The sun is strong, even at 5:30pm. We think the girls are probably ready to head back up to the hotel room (it’s 6:30) but no, they want to go back to their “surf board”, so we go back to our deck. Marc and I find two chaise lounges and our New Yorkers and the girls play. We order some “lake side” drinks (fresh squeezed lemon juice for Sarah and fresh squeezed pamplemouse for Em). We make it back up to the room at about 7:30 and contemplate the rest of the evening.

We don’t make it out of the hotel room until 9:45. We walk into town (5 min) and go back to a small place we saw this morning. Le Café de la Place. There is outside seating and the night is warm enough. There are some smokers but there is a lot of fresh air around. Limited menu on a chalk board but we are all happy with what we get. Deb: marinated vegetable (eggplant and peppers) on greens. Emily: Salad chevre chaud (her new favorite) Sarah and Marc: Vegetarian lasagna with salad….warm and good. By the time we finish (10:30) it is too cold to stay for dessert and coffee. We walk back home and tuck in for the night. The girls feel as though they are still rocking on the boat. Tomorrow we leave for St. Remy (Provence) to stay with Paul and Annie et. al. We are planning on staying one night there and then before heading up to Lyon on Monday, heading down to Aix to have lunch with Paul and Tania.

Sarah and Marc have been playing chess every night. She is turning into quite a player. Marc thinks she should be on the chess team at Archer. I personally think she should be on the debate team given all the negotiations she is doing on this trip!

Check in tomorrow.