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Published: September 25th 2011
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Désalpe.
We just happened to see this procession as we were heading up to Charmey. They were coming down from Charmey. We had a great weekend! We drove to Charmey to see the Désalpe. This is where the cows come down from grazing in the Alps over the summer wearing the big bells around their necks. It was a neat thing to see, with the farmers/herdsmen dressed in traditional clothing. It was a little noisy though. The kids loved seeing the cows and they even brought goats down as well, all decorated with their own little bells. The goats seemed to be a little confused about what to do. They were always veering to the left and to the right.
After the Désalpe, we headed to Bulle to find our hotel for the night. However, we were not the only people that wanted to see the Désalpe, so we drove the 10 km to Bulle at a snail's pace. Everyone and their dog seemed to be in Charmey.
After arriving in Bulle, we found our hotel (Le Tonnelier) fairly easily and we didn't even have to use our emergency cell phone for directions. We went out for supper and then came back and put the kids to bed. We actually found a place that was open before 6:00 pm to
My Sweetie Pies!
On the way up to Charmey. eat supper. It is funny to see NON-STOP on the doors of restaurants that don't take a break from serving meals. They serve them non-stop. I find it funny, because you read a bunch of stuff in French and then you come to NON-STOP.
After the kids were in bed, there was a little lobby area on the second floor of the hotel room, so Avery and I went there. She did some reading and I did some app investigating for my IPOD. After a little while, we decided to take Denis' advice. I went down to the restaurant under our room and ordered us some méringue à double crème. Man was it delicious. It is like a desert cookie with rich creme (whipped creme.) I should have taken a picture of it. Anyways, I brought the tray up to the little area where we were sitting and other guests were passing by, as well as the cooks from the restaurant. People must have found it odd that we were indulging in these wonderful deserts in an obscure place.
After those yummy deserts and a peaceful sleep, we awoke this morning with excitement. We were getting a true
Charmey.
The Désalpe. taste of Switzerland today with cheese and chocolate. We first went to Moléson to a fromagerie d'alpage. It was the last day of the season that they were making cheese. They didn't offer any cheese samples, but we were able to drink some of the cows milk that is left over and they give to the pigs. What does that say about us?! Anyways, the milk was good and it had about 0.2% milk fat in it.
Next on the list was to go to Broc and eat some chocolate. We went to the maison Cailler, which is part of the Nestlé company. This was a unique experience, and man, there were samples coming out of the ying-yang. We definitely had our fill of chocolate today. My favorite was the chocolate with hazelnut. You know that it was a good day when Myles has chocolate stains all over his shirt. So all in all, it was a good tourist weekend.
Friday, I participated in my first school outing. The whole school went to Signal de Bougy, where we did some hiking, eating and then participated in various activities for the afternoon. I stayed at one station all afternoon
and was able to teach squirrel tails to the whole school. Thanks for the game Glenn Wilson! The kids of Chancy loved the game. I must say that I could get used these type of field trips over here. We needed to board a bus and then drive 45 minutes. This was no yellow school bus. This was one of those buses that you see people peering out of who are on European tours. We were riding in style!
Lastly, I had to explain to Avery the code of the thrifty traveller. This morning we went down for breakfast that was included in our hotel price. The breakfast was excellent, with fresh bread, croissants, cereal, yogurt, ham and Gruyère cheese. Also, there was some excellent Gruyère honey, that I got my fill of. Anyways, back to the thrifty traveller. As we were about to leave, there was still a croissant that was left on our table. So I said to Avery to put that croissant in our cooler to have for later. I also took a yogurt to have for later as well. Avery gave me a funny look as I asked her to do this. I explained to
Goats.
They seemed a little confused. her that this is what a thrifty traveller does. Well, maybe just I do it. Works for me!
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