Switzerland

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We have just returned back to Nîmes from a week in Switzerland. We were fortunate to get a ride there with Silvio and Beatrice; train travel is very expensive and it was great to have the opportunity to spend more time in their company. I’m sure for most people it would take about 6hrs to drive to Geneva from Nîmes, but Beatrice is a Formula Ford race car driver (how cool is that!) and so it took us 4.5hrs! I was a bit anxious anticipating the drive as I really don’t like being in fast cars in lots of traffic, especially in France where they drive like maniacs as far as I’m concerned. However, my angst was for nothing. It turned out that I was more comfortable cruising at 160km/hr (and sometimes 180km/hr when there was a lull in the traffic) with Beatrice driving than I am at much slower speeds with anybody else!!


Our destination was Vallorbe, a village in the Jura mountains one hour away from Geneva, where we stayed for three days with Silvio’s sister Line and her husband Claude. They are such lovely people, welcoming us warmly into their home. Switzerland is quite different in appearance than France. The houses are much more solid looking and square than in France, with much less fencing between homes (the French properties almost all have large perimeter fences and imposing gates).


When we arrived there was about 6 inches of snow on the ground – expected at this time of the year – but the very next day it was unseasonably mild and it all melted at our elevation in just one day! We took advantage of a nice mild sunny day and caught a train to the far end of the lake in Vallee de Joux and then walked all the way home – a total of 22km. Half of the walk was beside the lake and then the second half you climb a little higher into the mountains so we were walking through snow, but on a sunny day it was just plain fun. It was a fabulous day. Perfect hiking weather, beautiful terrain, much needed exercise!!



After our visit to Vallorbe we caught a train to Montreux on Lake Geneva (famous for its annual jazz festival and for Deep Purple’s song Smoke on the Water). It is a great train ride because for much of the trip you have Lake Geneva on one side and on the other steep mountains where the grape vines and houses hang precariously onto the slopes. At Montreux there is, yet another, fabulous medieval Chateau located on the side of the lake. We toured the Chateau Chillon after which Silvio picked us up to take us to his home that is on the other side of the lake in a small town called Le Bouverez. Again, Silvio and Beatrice were awesome hosts; one evening feeding us traditional Swiss fondue (yummmm) and the next day loaning us one of their many cars (Silvio collects them and has about 25!) so that we could go exploring the next day.


The weather wasn’t so great for exploring outdoors as it was cloudy and drizzly so we decided to visit the quaint and beautiful village of Gruyere (yes, where they make THE Gruyere cheese) and visit the Gruyere cheese making factory. Keeping with the Swiss theme we then visited the Cailler chocolate making factory – where there was a sample room of all the chocolates they make. And get this, we were the only ones in it (no staff and no other tourists) so of course we had to take advantage of this “unusual situation”. Talk about feeling, and acting, like a child in a chocolate factory!!!!!!!!


As an aside, did you know that the artist who designed the Alien characters was from Gruyere? It was pretty bizarre that in this tiny quaint village in the middle of nowhere, all of a sudden you stumble across a small corner with fabulous statues of Alien characters built into the architecture and a café entirely furnished and decorated as if from the Alien movie – not in a cheesy way at all, but totally fabulous looking. I think I mentioned once before that travelling in the winter time is great because you don’t fight crowds at all, but the downside is that often museums or chateau’s are closed. This was one time we were disappointed that things close down in the winter. Both the artist’s exhibition and the café were closed so all we could do was peer longingly in the windows!!


I am so fortunate to have visited Switzerland with such great hosts. Both families could not have been more gracious and generous. Now we are 'home' in Nimes where the weather is glorious!!

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Comments

[Allison]

Love the pics! looks like you are having a great trip.....chocolate, cheese, art, European countryside, each other......how wonderful :-) Love to you both, safe travels. Allison