A leisurely start at 9:30am had us arrive in Annecy around 10:45am.

What a beautiful lakeside town. Far too many tourists (with us adding to the numbers), but it was still a lovely place to be. If we visited here again, July or September might be quieter.

Not on the itinerary, just “looking out for us”, our couriers offered to arrange a lake cruise (at cost). I’m not sure we’d have even known they existed, so many brownie points awarded. An hour spent on a comfortable boat, in glorious sunshine, with water-cooled breezes, enjoying the scenery and watching small boats and wind-surfers.

The narrow medieval streets were packed with people but we still enjoyed sightseeing. It was a two-café town; we needed to keep hydrated in the heat. We established that Annecy could be the most expensive café town in France… C’est la vie!

Back at the hotel for 4:20pm, time to unwind.

The hotel’s reception phoned about 30 minutes later, offering a complimentary wine tasting at 6pm. Free wine? Why not?

In a marquee in the grounds the restaurant manager had just three, pretty ordinary wines to taste (and some extraordinarily good canapés to eat).

However, what made it a worthwhile hour, if you ignored the stiffing, swirling and “aroma of burnt vanilla” rubbish wine-buffs so espouse, he had a wealth of knowledge about the history of the chateau which he shared throughout the event. Not a bad way to prepare for another excellent dinner.