The Chateau Menthon-Saint-Bernard backed by the cliffs and peaks of the French Alps.

This is yet another painfully beautiful castle in the area. This one, however, is open for tours during the summer which indicates that the owner couldn't afford to pay all of his taxes on this place.

If you look in the upper right corner, you'll see a speck of a paraglider enjoying the view from near the peak of one of the nearby mountains.

The gorgeous Chateau du Menthon Saint Bernard nearly a 30 minute drive from Annecy.

An aerial view of Chateau Ruphy, a French castle, as seen from Col de la Forclaz, a mountain pass near Annecy, France.

In continuation of the castle theme, I present a photo of yesterday's same castle. And in taking more baby steps while I drive around the Haute-Savoie region, I've gone a bit further afield - to the other side of the lake - to take this photo.

An aerial view of Annecy Lake spotted from Col de la Forclaz in the mountains above Annecy.

The white mass of civilization touching the top portion of the lake is Annecy. The area surrounding the lake is dotted with the most beautiful villages and some of the friendliest folk you'll meet in the developed world.

A lungi-clad Sri Lankan fisherman stands on a rock on a beach in Mirissa (ARCHIVED PHOTO on the weekends - originally photographed 2008/05/14).

A beautiful French castle, the Chateau Ruphy on the banks of Annecy Lake.

I finally got the nerve to drive Lady Travelguy's car all by my lonesome despite not having a valid international driver's license, nor a complete understanding of French road rules, nor the ability to speak French well enough to be understood by police. But there were some absolute musts I wanted to accomplish before I leave here so I'm planning to take the ol' Peugeot hatchback for many more cruising sessions around this painfully beautiful area. Ideally, I'd want Lady Travelguy to chauffeur me around, however, her daily work is inconveniently interfering with my tourist schedule! No matter because now I have access to my own set of wheels and I plan to give the area a proper once-over!

Chateau Ruphy, a beautiful French castle on Annecy Lake.

This is my initial foray into driving alone in France, hence I chose this castle which is only about 10 minutes drive from Annecy proper.

A user-controlled voyeuristic view of busy tourist foot-traffic in Annecy, France.

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An incredible light show illuminates the front of Annecy's town hall.

The light show lasted about 20 minutes during which time, a series of animated scenes set to music flashed across the front of the town hall. If my French comprehension were better, I'd be able to tell you what the show was about but if I were a gambling man, my guess is that it was some kind of history of the founding of Annecy along with random beautiful images like the waterfall forest above.

Annecy's city hall outlined by the light painting effect of a light show.

As I said before, the town hall people in Annecy really have their act together!