The next morning we were up late again (around 7am), but that was OK, because our next attraction was about half hour away and did not open until 9am. We went to Voiron, where the Chartreuse monks make Chartreuse liquor, a liquor made out of about 150 herbs, spices, and flowers. In 1792, Francois Hannibal gave a recipe for a life extending elixir to a Chartreusen monk. The monks "perfected" the recipe in the 18th century and created Elixir Vegetal. Later it became yellow Chartreuse and then green Chartreuse. After visiting the cellar which is the longest liqueur aging cellar in the world at 146m, we headed home. In order to break up the trip, we stopped by Annecy. A friend of ours recommended this cute little town just 30 mins South of Geneva. It is reminiscent of Venice or Amsterdam with all the canals. It is also packed with little squares and restaurants along the waterways. This was one of the quaintest and most scenic places we have been to in France - well worth the visit. Unfortunately, our pit stop was rather quick - just had a couple of hours to stretch the legs around the old town where we saw some squares, the Palais de l'lle (Annecey's old jail) located on an island in the middle of one of the water canals connected to the Annecy lake, the castle (easiest walk to a castle ever) and finally stopped for lunch before we headed for a 3.5 hour ride home.
