Lazy days (Days 14 & 15)

Knowing we've got a full month here in Mont Pelerin has afforded us the freedom to have our days of no major sightseeing or activity. This has been a real treat and it's made it possible for us to really start to get to know the area. For example, we were so intrigued by last Saturday's market in Vevey that we decided to return, this time arriving earlier so that we could take in more of the affair.

We never expected to see this anywhere but in Ricola commercials, but the traditional Swiss alp-horn players came out to play a few ditties at the market while we were there. Their horns are so big, I couldn't fit them all in one photo (see below for the end pieces). I'm guessing they aren't touring the country in Smart cars (unless they have really big racks). They sound like muffled trumpets, if you haven't heard them before.

Before the alp-horn players made their appearance, there was a band providing the on-site sound-track for the market. I would call them an orchestra, if their music wasn't so reminiscent of my high-school band experience. (Think trombones and French horns playing Beatles cover tunes.) For what they were trying to play, they sounded pretty good.

The market is a great place to purchase locally grown produce and fruit, locally made cheeses and breads, and to buy little snacks. Last time, we sampled a local favorite called raclette, which basically consists of melted cheese served with boiled potatoes. Simple, but yummy. This time, we bought (on Lucia's request and constant nagging) some Brie, her favorite cheese (yes, she has champagne taste and caviar dreams). However, it's up to me now to finish it up ("too stinky"). There undoubtedly is a peculiar odor to it, but nonetheless it'll do.

I took the photo above during the wine tasting just because it was a spectacle so utterly foreign to us, being from Canada. How old do you figure this wine server is?

A nice part of our trip has been the opportunity to meet some of the friends and family of our hosts. This past Saturday, we had the chance to go look at a photo exhibit put on by Corinne's step-Mom, Colette. Besides being able to look at some great photos, we were able to meet this very warm and delightful woman. Her exhibit was held in the back room of a little fair-trade retail shop (very similar to 10,000 Villages) in Vevey. Had a great time chatting with Colette and then a few of the ladies that were running the shop. Before we knew it, we were sitting

down having espresso and juice in the back of the store with them. It was a bit of an odd arrangement - we weren't entirely sure if we were being treated as guests or customers. There didn't seem to be money changing hands for the coffee that was served to others, and we distinctly got the impression that this was a gift to us by the end, which we gratefully accepted. For that short time in the shop, it almost felt like we had
become some of the "locals". (It helped that they all spoke excellent English in the shop.) One of the shopkeepers told us about all of the places she had lived, working in Swiss embassies (I think she had since "retired"). A very impressive list, indeed. Then a journalist from France who was well known to the shopkeepers came in and sat down with us. She also seemed a very "worldly" person, and was very interesting to chat with. These are the rich travel experiences that we'll cherish for a long time. What a gift.

We think every day about the opportunities that we've had during our time here that have existed largely because of the way in which we've come here (home exchange). This is a way of travel that has us excited for more of the same. Where to next?

Here's a shot of Colette and us. Seeing as we're missing blueberry season in BC, she's offered to take us blueberry picking before we leave. I'm looking forward to it!

That's it for now. I'm closing with a shot of the two turtles, Franklin and Lily. Both of the kids love them - Lucia loves to feed them, and Elias just makes these funny sounds at them (sort of like meowing). They're good sports (the turtles).

Frolics in France (Day 13)

"Ahoy matie, to France and beyond!"

Thus began our boat trip across Lac Leman from Vevey, Switzerland to Evian, France (via Lausanne). As far as we can tell, there's only one outfit that runs boat trips on the lake - similar to good ol' BC Ferries - but these boats are a little different. For one, they're for foot passengers only, and for two, they're all steam engine and paddle wheel driven. Previously, when I thought paddle wheel, I thought about floating casinos and massive paddle wheels at the stern of the boat. These boats are a bit different in that the paddle wheel is midship and paddles are pretty much concealed. I'm not sure how many of these boats the company owns, but we were on a different one for all 4 legs of our trip (we traveled on a conventional boat for one of the legs).
All of them are circa 1910, and the steam engine "drive-train" is left fully exposed in the center of the boat for all to see. The picture showing the engine at work doesn't do justice to the size of the engine parts - they were huge! Falling over the rail would sure mess you up. Being Swiss, the engine parts are all impossibly clean and shiny.

Evian's a nice place and the water is quite refreshing, but the real highlight of the day was the boat trip on the lake. It was a beautiful day - not too hot, not too cold - and getting a view of the shore from the water was a treat. Of course, we were looking at vineyards the whole time, but we never seem to tire of looking at them. It's so different from home.

Check out the vineyards to the left. It's incredible how the land has been developed over the centuries and how every last bit of land is cultivated. These are the same vineyards that we walked through a few days ago, and now I can see why I was so tired after that day. Those are steep hills.

I believe this is the village of Cully with a train in the foreground (it's hard to keep track of all of the little villages we come across). There's actually a "wine train" that runs a 15-minute stretch from Cully for all those lazy bums that don't want to hoof it on foot.

Looking out the eastern end of the lake. France on the right, Switzerland on the left.

When we got to Evian, we were famished and quickly found a spot to grab a bite. We found a little restaurant in a quaint old alley, with seating outdoors and ordered up some pasta for the Danielle, Lucia, and I. (Elias had nodded off pretty much right after we had arrived, and would sleep through our entire lunch break. This was pure gold.) You can't see it, but that's an Illy cup in my hand. Again, for the coffee drinkers out there, you'll understand you ain't had coffee until you've had a shot of Illy. Sweet Italian love.

Of course, Evian is all about the H2O. We did a little walking tour of the town and came across the original water source where it all began. Now, it's an actual "tap" on the side of a wall where there's an endless flow of "Evian" water. I thought this might just be a show for the tourists, but no, the locals kept coming and going with their empty water bottles to be filled up right at the source while we were waiting around trying to get a picture.

This guy let us sneak in and just fill up our one tiny water bottle. It was good water, indeed.

Evian waterfront, French mountains in background...

For 2 Euros, kids can ride on little bumper cars in a small enclosed area along the promenade. We bought Lucia one ride, which she loved, and then Danielle figured out that you can push the little cars just as fast as their engines make them go, so Elias and Lucia both got a few more Mommy-powered rides. (I know what you're thinking. But who was supposed to take the pictures?)

It was a long, but great day, and I think it's neat the kids will be able to say they've been to France. Not only that, France was where Lucia first learned to drive. (She made me proud.)

On top of the clouds (Day 12)

We woke up this morning without a cloud in the sky, and we decided that this would be the day that we'd go explore some mountains east of here. A place called Les Diablerets had been highly recommended to us by one of Corinne's (our host's) good friends, Karine. (She lent us a stroller after ours was lost/stollen at the lake during our first week.) We knew nothing about this place, and we're still sans guidebook, so we were hoping that this endeavor would live up to the strenght of its recommendation.

It did. This day trip will certainly be one of the high points (literally) of our stay here in Switzerland. We were treated to an absolutely stunning drive up to "Glacier 3000" in Les Diablerets where you can catch a gondola up to the summit at 3000 m. I would have been happy with just the drive here - although I was a bit envious of all of the motorcycles I saw on the road. The road from Aigles (in the Rhone Valley) is a very winding narrow road that takes you up the mountain, past traditional dark wooden houses built along the hillside and the occasional stone church. Quintessential Switzerland. I'm not a cyclist, but after seeing all the cyclists working their way up the mountain, it made me want to be one. If you're going to ride a bike, this just seems like the place to do it. (My brother Chris, who is an avid cyclist, would have been green with envy. I hope he's not reading this.)

When we got to the gondola at the road summit, we parked and checked out the prices for the ride up to the glacier. In keeping with the prices of everything else in this country, these prices were inflated accordingly. We had a choice: we could pay 28 Swiss francs (each) and go halfway up the mountain or 49 francs to get to the top (where the glacier was). We had to convince ourselves but I'm glad we splurged, because the halfway point was right in the middle of a cloud.

Here's where we ended up (altitude 3000 m)...

And here's where we came from.

(We could still hear the cowbells down here.)

This was about a minute after we got off the gondola. I couldn't wipe the grin off my face. Although clouds had gathered around the summit, we were actually above all of them, and we could view what seemed like all of Switzerland's alps. It was really cold when we got off the gondola, and we realized we had not come prepared for this. (Duh? We're going to a glacier.) Fortunately, we hadn't been there long and the midday sun started to warm us up.

When we got off the gondola, we still had to walk up a short distance to get to the actual summit. Where you end up is on a steep craig up above the rest of the world with an essentially vertical drop-off surrounding you with the exception of the path you came up. I'm usually pretty good with heights, but this was not a little unnerving. The little chain fence that they've put up doesn't go very far in terms of reassurance.

Here's my sweetheart at the top trying to smile while wondering if that chain fence is going to withstand Lucia's weight leaned up against it.

Not only do they take you to 3000 m, but then they offer you the world's highest alpine roller coaster. This was an experience not to be passed up. While one of us stayed with Elias and let him play in the snow, the other took Lucia down on the roller coaster. I think I was screaming the whole way down - louder than Lucia. The car you ride in is attached to the track but it's free-rolling and you are responsible for slowing yourself down with a hand break. If you can imagine, every switchback on the right side of the photo gives you the sensation that you are about to be flung off the cliff. Talk about a wild ride.

This is Lucia and Danielle at the start of their ride...

Lucia seemed pretty unfazed by all of this. Weird. She's afraid of pirates these days, but the prospect of flying off a cliff doesn't seem to bother her.

Here are a few shots of the view we had (we were so captivated, we shot nearly 100 photos...there's lots more where these come from).

Looking down on a midpoint gondola station through the clouds...

Yup. A fall from here will definitely ruin your day.

Snow in July. Who knew??? This snow felt like the stuff from a Snoopy Snow Cone Machine. Lucia wanted to make a snowman with me, but the building materials weren't quite right.

Family shots are really hard to come by. This one's a self-timer and it's not bad. Just wish Elias could sit still for more than 2 seconds. Now that he's found his legs, photo-ops are not on the agenda.

Know your limits (Day 11)

Today it was raining and we thought we'd take our activities indoors. We visited the Cailler chocolate factory in Broc, about 45 minutes from our house. Even though they've been acquired by Nestle International (which apparently produces at least one food product that we consume every day), they've held on to their original recipes. Their chocolate is set apart by virtue of the fact that they use condensed milk instead of milk powder. One bite of Cailler chocolate and everything else is but a waste of your tastebuds' time.

Not surprisingly, chocolate tasting is a component of the factory tour that they offer here. I won't say much more than this: even the pleasure of eating Swiss chocolate has its limits. I'll say one other thing: these limits are very, very, very difficult to observe. Yada, yada, yada, an hour after our arrival, we all had brown mouths and aching stomachs.



Just look at those brown beauties. How can one possibly resist??? Although a white chocolate specimen isn't shown here, you could actually taste the dairy in each bite. Amazing.








The table of endless delight.
This was right at the beginning of the chocolate-fest. These are the faces of pure pleasure. (This was not to last.)

Here are a few shots of the machinery used over the past 100 or so years to transform cocoa beans, milk, sugar, and all the other good stuff into fine Swiss chocolate. A feat of engineering. This is mankind at its best.

Immediately following the tour, Danielle and I were wondering if we would ever eat chocolate again. Hours later, we were starting to entertain the possibility that we would. The next day, we were ready to pack up the car and head back to the factory.

What a great way to spend a rainy day.

Chillin' in Chillon (Day 10)

We set out today to drive up to the mountains and see a glacier not far from Vevey, but we got sidetracked by a grocery shopping trip, hungry children, and cloudy weather. Not unlike other days so far on this trip, we changed our plans to suit the prevailing conditions and found a spot by the water in Villeneuve, a small town at the eastern end of Lac Leman (Lake Geneva), and went for a picnic. (Our plans have been pretty fluid and I think this has made the experience more enjoyable, especially with the two little ones along.)

When we reached the beach, we saw not far from us the Chateau de Chillon, a magnificent Swiss castle on the lake that we had meant to see at some point during our stay here. There's a great pedestrian promenade along the lake, and we decided to stroll on down to the castle. The clouds had come in and we were glad we had forfeited the drive up the mountains in favor of our little picnic and then the castle.

Not to say anything bad about them, but I tire of museums and other such tourist sites quite quickly, but I have to say this castle was very impressive. We spent the whole afternoon wandering around in its many rooms and courtyards. I won't bother recounting the history of it, other than to say it dates back hundreds of years and has had several additions/modifications along the way. Below are some shots we took...

Elias slept through most of our time at the castle, but Lucia had a great time. She's recently been eating like a horse (growth spurt?) and she insisted on having her snacks (yes, multiple) sitting at one of the many windows looking out onto the courtyard or lake. She got a real kick out of the latrines in the castle. (Wooden seat with hole, BIG drop-off to the stone foundation below. Primitive, but functional.)

Here's a shot of Elias and I looking at the ducks out on the lake. That's camouflage on his hat so he can sneak up on them.

Here's me getting a little artsy with the camera...

For a cloudy day with intermittent showers, it turned out pretty well. We got back to the house just in time for a HUGE thunderstorm. I was surprised that Lucia wasn't more afraid of it than she was - the thunder was really loud. She actually insisted on having her story time by the window so that she could watch the lightning.

Tomorrow, the chocolate factory.