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From: damag@bigpond.net.au

To:

Cc:

Sent: Monday, April 23, 2001 1:06 AM

Subject: Friday = France

Dear All

 

Finally, after 4 months in London, we are on the road again.  Friday morning dawned cold, wet and hailing in London and that was just the impetus we needed to head for Dover.  Not wanting to risk another Force 10 gale, we decided that Dover-Calais would definitely be the way to go.  Having been warned that the French Customs Dept were taking everything they could lay their hands on in the way of food, because of Foot & Mouth (after all, Britain is currently being called the "leper" of Europe!), we had dwindled our supplies and threw away some milk and cheese.   

 

Got to Dover to have only one warning re produce into France - no meat or milk or milk products.  OK - we don't have any.  On the ferry, uneventful crossing and not a stop at all on the Calais docks.  No one really cared two hoots for what we did or did not have on board.  We drove over a disinfectant mat - not long enough for one revolution of the tyres - and we were off.

 

Unfortunately the weather wasn't that good across the Channel either so, rather than drive in the rain and hail we stayed at a small campsite not far from Calais (Camping Les Epinettes - nowhere near as good as the Caravan Club site guide says).  We watched the hail for hours but at least we felt that we were on our way.

 

Saturday saw a long drive to Chalons en Champagne (Camp Municipal - excellent site but expensive) - you got it - back to the Champagne district.  However, we only consumed a small bottle of champagne and watched the sun set in the cloudy (but no longer hailing/raining) sky. 

 

Having visited and stayed in this district before, our goal for today (Sunday) was to get into the area of Burgundy.  This has been successfully achieved by an easy morning drive and we are currently sitting in the SUN (in short sleeves - inside the van) near a town called Auxerre (Camping Les Ceriselles - 10km from Auxerre with no public transport into the town).  We are now in the north west corner of Burgundy and tomorrow will see us visiting Chablis.  If you think this sounds a bit like a wine trail, I guess you are right.  There are a few other things around - like churches and museums - but it is a very pleasant way to head towards the French Alps and then on to Switzerland. 

 

We plan to spend about 10 days in this area and then move onto the Alps (weather permitting).  Hope to be able to tell you of wineries visited and food eaten next time and also hope that the weekly epistle to you will start to gain some interest.  It takes a while to get back into the swing of these things, particularly after such a long break.

 

Cheers for now.

 

Deb & Arnold

From: damag@bigpond.net.au

To:

Cc:

Sent: Monday, April 30, 2001 1:09 AM

Subject: Cutting the Mustard

Dear All

 

Still can't tell you about food eaten or wine consumed because we have been restricted somewhat by the weather.  It seems to conspire against us when it comes to dinner time.  Twice this week we have tried to go out to eat and twice the rain has descended around the time we were due to walk to the restaurant.  However, the daytime weather has, for most of the week, been comparatively good and we have twice gone without coats or even jumpers to various sights.  We have also managed a couple of bottles of wine and the odd meal in the van.

 

Backtracking a little, we drove through Chablis, the town not holding particular interest, to the Abbaye de Fontenay.  This Abbey was founded in 1118 and has had a checkered history, including being a paper mill in the 1880's.  It was purchased by a rich Frenchman in 1906 and a wonderful restoration has been accomplished.  The priests were industrious little guys and the Abbey grounds contains a very large building that was a huge Forge/Foundry where the first  industrial, hydraulic hammer was invented and used.  Our drive back to the campsite (Camping Ceriselleo in Vencelles - good facilities, a bit off the beaten track) was via Avallon and some great sandstone formations.  We stopped at a cafe where the truckies stop and had a great coffee, sitting outside in the SUN.

 

On to Vezelay where the Basilique is dedicated to Mary Magdelene and is purported to hold some of her bones in the crypt and also under a rather modern statue of the lady herself.  She was so greatly venerated that the church was enlarged in 1096 but in 1120 a fierce fire broke out on the eve of 22 July, day of the great pilgrimage, destroying the whole nave and engulfing more than 1,000 pilgrims.  What I find so fascinating is that exact dates of these sorts of things are recorded.  The other thing about this church is the carvings on the capitals (the tops of the pillars - my architectural knowledge is growing).  It is said that the works are by about 5 different stone masons and, to quote the Michelin guide, their genius is expressed with spirit and malice although their realism does not exclude lyricism, a sense of the dramatic and even of psychology.!   Vezelay also has the name for being the place where Richard the Lionheart met  King Phillipe Auguste of France before departure for the Third Crusade in 1190, St Benedict preached the Second Crusade at Vezelay on 31 March 1146 (the exact time of day is not recorded but since it was in France it was NOT between 12 & 2 when all France stops for lunch - AG) .

 

Thus ends the history/architecture lesson.

 

The campsite at Vezelay (Camping de L'Hermitage) is very basic and small but has good clean facilities (that cannot be seen from the road so don't judge too harshly on first sight) and is easy walking distance to the Basilique.

 

On ANZAC Day (25th April for the non-Australians) we travelled through the National Park of the Morvan area.  The area of the Morvan is an unfertile country that has for a long time been the butt of gibes from its neighbours. In Burgundy they say:  Nothing good comes from the Morvan, neither good people nor a good wind.  It is an unjust statement that expresses the superior attitude of the rich Burgundians towards the Morvan people, whose countryside has neither vineyards nor fertile fields.  It is amazing though that in the early 19th C the rich Burgundians and Parisiens used the Morvan women as wet nurses - it was not seemly for the rich ladies to nurture their own children.  The Park is not as we in Australia know National Parks - this one has towns and some small farms in it.  Almost the whole region of the Morvan is National Park.  (Campsite near Autun, one of the Les Castels group, was very disappointing with dirty facilities, sloping terraces and not much going for it.  Would not cope well in high season - Le Manoir de Bezolle.)  The campsite does have a very friendly peacock that we hand fed garlic bakerolls - didn't have any fresh bread.

 

It was around now that the weather closed in on us again.  Great thunder/lightening etc and so we decided to go straight to Dijon - hence the cutting of the mustard.  We did buy some mustard from the famous Maille Mustard House where it cost us about 5 francs more than in the supermarket - no, not really, the type we bought "with fine herbs" is not available in supermarkets, we are told.  The campsite was an easy 1.5km walk into the city (Camping Municipal de Lac) and this is what we did.  Walked in and out and thoroughly enjoyed our day in Dijon.  Met a couple of retired school teachers from the UK (Dora & Brian) and spent a couple of drinking nights with them.  They introduced us to an apparently local drink which involves sparkling white wine and cherry liqueur - the acidity of the bubbly wine cutting the sweetness of the local liqueur product - not the best thing we have ever drunk but good to try the local stuff. 

 

Three nights in Dijon and today we chose to head south into the proper Burgundy wine region.  We sat in the van just outside the town of Fixin, right in the middle of miles and miles of newly budding vines with the bright mustard coloured flours of the rape crop contrasting vividly with the old, still brown vines.  The soil is very rocky around the vines and, because of the lateness of the arrival of spring, the buds are only just beginning on the new growth.  We sat drinking coffee and eating a peach tarts, thinking how lucky we are and how grateful to be on our travels again.  We drove to Beaune, a city from which we will explore some of this area.  (Camping Municipal des Cent Vignes - 1km from city - maybe we will get our dinner in town! - site with hard standings and heated facilities)  Unfortunately the campsite near Nuits St George was awful (Camping Le Moulin de Prissey) so we didnt stay and nowhere near walking distance to the town.  So, our Nuits St George tastings will have to wait for a day or two till we can work out where to park in that town. 

 

As the rain once again waters the vineyards, we bid you a fond farewell until next week, hoping that you and yours are well and that we hear from you often.

 

Love

D&A

From: damag@bigpond.net.au

To:

Cc:

Sent: Monday, May 07, 2001 2:19 AM

Subject: Finally - food!

Dear All

 

Well, what a week.  Feels like a month we have crammed so much into it. 

 

After the disappointment of not being able to find a campsite in Nuits St George, we were delighted to find a really good one in Beaune - about 15 minutes down (or is it up) the road.  (Camping Municipal des Cent Vignes - clean, convenient (only 1 km walk into town), restaurant on site - didn't try it- bread and croissants available in the morning.) 

 

Beaune is at the heart of the Burgundian vineyards and its name is synonymous with good wine.  Not only that, but it has a hospital that was founded in 15th C. Perfectly preserved from the Middle Ages, the Hospices de Beaune was built in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin, Chancellor of Philippe le Bon, Duke of Burgundy. In the wake of the Hundred Years War, Beaune was suffering from poverty and famine. Three quarters of the town’s inhabitants had no supplies. To redeem the situation, Nicolas & his wife, Guigone de Salins, decided to found a Hospice for the Poor. They endowed it with an annual income, provided it with its own resources (vines and saltworks) and engaged a large number of artists in its decoration.  From the Middle Ages to the 20th C, countless sick were taken in and cared for in several of the large rooms by the Sisters of the Hospices de Beaune. The Hotel Dieu (another name for the Hospice) rapidly gained a great reputation amongst the poor, nobles and middle-class alike. It was subsequently enlarged with donations from the latter and embellished with new rooms and works of art, thus becoming a true "Palace for the Poor".  What doesn't get mentioned in the guide books though is that at times there could be up to 4 people in a bed and death of one of the four meant a new bed companion. 

 

The wines from the Hospice vineyards have won international awards and there is now an annual wine auction of the Hospital's wines and it is known as the greatest charity sale in the world.  All proceeds go to the modernisation of the surgical and medical facilities of the new hospital and maintenance of the old.

 

Speaking of wine - "under Beaune's buildings, streets and ramparts, millions of dusty bottles are maturing to perfection in cool, dark, cobweb-lined cellars" according to the Lonely Planet Guidebook.  We may not have seen millions but we certainly have seen thousands.  In a place called Marche aux Vins (Winemarket), wines sit (sorry, lie) in the candle lit cellars of  the desanctified church Eglises des Cordeliers (13-15th C).  Here 18 various wines can be tasted, including some from the famous Hospice wines and from such well known areas as Nuits St George, Gevrey Chambertin, Morey St Denis etc.  The wines are tasted in a taste-vin, a flat, metal cup with both concave and convex surfaces enabling you to "admire the wine's colour".  We admired, smelt and tasted all 18 and, at the end of the visit, we decided to buy a couple, and were given the opportunity of tasting yet another wine - a 1991 Hospices de Beaune red, which we bought as well.  19 wines in one afternoon - albeit very small quantites - and the spitoon also received a proportion!  Reminded me somewhat of a Coonawarra trip I did many years ago!   The difference between this time and then was that this time my tongue wasn't black from the heavy Australian reds.  What's more, this time I was sober enough to walk back to the van and cook dinner!

 

Dinner - well, yes.  We have had a dinner of local delicacies including escargot, jambon persille (ham brawn flavoured with parsley), coq au vin, beef bourguignon, epoisses (a very soft, very very smelly, wonderfully tasty cheese) and cherry icecream with a cherry liqueur - and again we staggered home under the weight of all that food.  As a little aside, the restaurant in which we ate was in a 15th century cellar.  Whilst quietly sipping our wine, waiting none too patiently for dinner, a small part of the ceiling decided to fall into Arnold's wine.  The waiter thought it was a great joke and I watched him telling his colleagues about it out the back of the restaurant, laughing hysterically.  Fortunately the glass of wine was almost empty and was immediately replaced by a full one.  Must admit, we got the giggles about it too.  After all, how often does a 15th century bit of ceiling fall into one's drink?  Dinner was great.

 

After all that food and wine (not on the same day I might add) you wouldn't think we would be interested in any more.  However, a gourmet market was set up in the town square on the morning following dinner.  Unfortunately it was a little disappointing but we still bought some fresh herbs and a little cheese to take back to the van. 

 

May Day (1st) arrived whilst we were in Beaune and, although not celebrated in Aus, is a big thing here.  The thing to do is to sell lilly of the valley to the tourists but also to the locals.  Apparently it epitomises the coming of the season and is on sale at every street corner.  As it is my birth flower and as I have never seen it "in the flesh" so to speak, it was lovely to have some in the van.  In fact, still have some in the van.  The flowers were much smaller than I expected them to be and lacked the perfume that I thought they might have.

 

Four nights in Beaune and then off to the Jura mountains and a small town called Arbois.  Not only is Arbois famous for its wine - particularly the Vin Jaune (yellow), but also because Louis Pasteur lived and worked in the town.  His father had the local tannery and young Louis lived and went to school here, working both in the tannery and later using the house across the road to conduct experiments on the effects of fermentation and microbes.  Went to the house and, lucky for us, we were the only tourists for that particular session there.  We were able to take photographs of the laboratory (normally "No photo").  It was amazing to see bouillon (a clear soup) that Louis had ordered to be made still in perfect condition - he made it in 1883!  Having "pasteurised" it, it was sealed into the flask and, to this day, is clear and free of "bugs" (sorry Reuben I know you must cringe reading this simplistic version!)

 

The "yellow" wine was okay.  It smells like a fino sherry and tastes like a thin version of it.  Personally, we decided we would rather have the sherry.  However, it was, once again, a local delicacy to be tried.  (Campsite in Arbois - Camping Municipal Les Vignes - sloping terraces - no hardstandings if full - we used the car park because the site was not full.  Facilities were okay, not brilliant.)

 

Today (Friday) we are having a day off.  Unfortunately the weather is bad again and, as we were supposed to have climbed a mountain today, it is probably a good thing that we have delayed it.  The weather has actually been really good to us.  One night we sat outside to have dinner and didn't go back in until after 9pm.  We have also had a couple of days of sunshine - so things are looking up.  The good thing about "sitting out" is that you get to meet people.  We met Bill and Mary who were on their way to a car rally in Hamburg.  They have a Citroen Lomax kit car and has only three wheels (the single being on the back).  They were going to a "3 wheeler" rally.  They had been to Russia in 1987 and so we spent quite a bit of time comparing their visit to ours (1999). 

 

Now it is Sunday and we still haven't climbed a mountain.  Instead we drove to a place called Dole yesterday where Louis Pasteur was born.  We saw his "maison natal" and once again his dad's tannery.  Lovely old town Dole and it was fascinating to watch about 700 (almost entirely) men play games of patonque (not sure how to spell the name of the game that has small metal balls thrown at a little plastic one) right along the side of the canal.  (Camping Le Pasquier - very muddy, few hard standings, facilities would be very stretched in the season.)  Today we drove via some very lovely mountain (well big hills anyway) scenery to Belfort where we are going to see a big sandstone lion that was designed and carved by the guy who designed the Statue of Liberty.  (Camping L'Etand des Forges - not in the Caravan Club book - a bit unloved out of season but good facilities).

 

Hope you haven't all got readers' cramp from so many words but it has been a busy week and if Arnold has his way I think the coming week may be also.  Remains to be seen.

 

Hope you like the picture - it is Louis Pasteur's toilet!  And on that note....

 

Deb & Arnold

 

 

 

 

From: damag@bigpond.net.au

To:

Cc:

Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2001 1:59 AM

Subject: Less food, less wine - more curves

Sorry for the delay people - big email problems

Dear All

Well, believe it or not the sun is shining and it is, in fact, too hot to sit outside for any length of time. We are in a campsite on the shores of Lake Leman (apparently incorrectly called Lake Geneva) only about 7km for the city of Geneva. (TCS Camping Pointe a la Bise - good site, in fact great location, bus into town, a few mosquitoes and lots of other bugs and, unfortunately, only luke warm showers - and very expensive. Location, however, makes up for the downfalls.) (Arnold: my shower was very hot - if the men's showers are hot it doesn't matter about the women !)

But I get ahead of myself. Last time I wrote we were about to see a giant red sandstone lion - well we did. The lion was not all that impressive but the fortifications designed by Vauban in 1687 were stunning. Vauban surrounded the then fortress with several pentagonal fortified walls anchored to the rocky cliff on which the buildings stood. It took about 20 years to construct. An amazing feat and so vast. We kept walking through gate after gate, up hill and down dale. I have probably sold the lion short - he is big and has a lovely face (even though he is supposed to be in a threatening pose) but he is in need to a bit of a clean and would then look quite spectacular against the white cliff face.

Moving on from Belfort we passed through some wonderful countryside with mountains, rivers and steep valleys. At one stage we travelled sandwiched between the cliffs and the river on a road that was a marvel of technology. Jolly hard work to build, that's for sure. In a little town called Pont de Roide we stopped at a church that was tucked away off the main street. In it was a 15th C bronze holy water stoup and a 14th C Pieta. We were the only ones in the church (even though it was a Holy Day - 8th May holiday) and the atmosphere was created magnificently by the wonderful stained glass windows. The Pieta was in the crypt and we were saddened in the extreme to see that it had been graffitied and an attempt to remove the red pen had not been completely successful. It made us both very cross but, as Arnold said, probably not as cross or as upset as the priest who found it must have been. (Camping du Lamont in Pontarlier - terraced site with few hard standings but good, heated facilities.)

There are several rivers in the area and we were able to go to the actual source of two of them - the Loue and the Doubs. Both spring from a cave and fall in various waterfalls. (Arnold; the Loue is fed from the Doubs. This was shown years ago when an Absinthe factory caught fire and millions of litres of Absinthe ran into the Doubs and was detected a few days later in the Loue.) What was spectacular with both sources was the countryside around both areas. Winding roads that double back on themselves with steep drops. Unfortunately, due to the narrow ledges on which some of these roads were built, stopping to see the "belvederes" (views) was not always possible. However, on the odd occasion when a look out spot was available, the scenery was wonderful.

More curving roads as we tried to drive to the top of Mont D'Or (of cheese fame). Wonderful green meadows full of the brown and white cows that are famous for their cheese. Tiny road, surrounded by pine trees, very steep and then suddenly very muddy. A section of road for whatever reason was covered in thick mud and it was not possible to continue on up the mountain. That's fine, except that it is a single lane road and no place to turn around. That's fine too - Deb hops out and directs our reversing down the mountain. That's fine, except now there is a car coming up the hill - not one but 4 of them. Cutting a very long story short, they edged past us and were able to make it through the mud (3 out of the 4 were 4 wheel drive cars). We continued a long and tortuous reverse down the hill until we found a piece of ground solid enough to be about to do about a 23 point turn. With the weight of the van, it just wasn't worth the worry of maybe the road getting worse up the mountain and the thought of an even longer reverse was not a pretty one. So, a little bit of excitement was had and the adrenalin did some pumping but all was well. We hadn't had a sticky situation for a while - it keeps you humble!!!!! (St Laurent en Gravelaux - Camping Municipal le Champs de Mars - have to pay for hot showers but site ok)

Now, no letter from us is complete without a mention of the weather. It has been really strange. Although cold earlier in the week, the sun has been shining and we were thinking our luck had changed. However, the afternoons of several days were both a nightmare and fantastic. We experienced two of the most fascinating electrical storms we have ever seen. On one day the hailstones that hit the van were large enough for us to worry about potential damage to the van. Because we were in the mountains the thunder echoed around them and hence seemed to last twice as long as a normal thunder clap and sound twice as loud. Lightening was striking all around. It was actually a little scary at times. Twice I jumped at the closeness of the noise and flashes, one following right on top of the other.

As we had been flirting with the Swiss border for so long we decided that it was time to go to Geneva. Another curving, tortuous road for the poor old van - this time it was mainly down hill to Geneva. (For those from South Australia - the turns made Devil's Elbow look easy.) We were stopped at the border and asked several questions in French. When we indicated that we did not understand the questions we were asked, our destination. On saying Geneva, we were waved on. Don't know how important the questions were but - we didn't answer them - so leave it to your imagination what they may have been.

Yesterday we walked around the old town and cruised on the lake, past the Jet d'Eau (the famous water spurt you see in the pictures) and generally had a lovely day. Nearly bought a postcard that was only half covered in a picture. On the other side it said "Spent so much in Switzerland I could only afford half a postcard". It was not wrong. Eating out will be a non-event and I think it will be sandwiches from home for lunch when we go away from the van. Very expensive place, but very beautiful.

Tomorrow we are off to see the Palais de Nations (UN headquarters) and the Red Cross Display at its headquarters. Yesterday we saw where the Geneva Convention was signed. Tonight we are having a drink with a couple of Scots who live in Portugal and like to drink cheap Italian Chianti - could be an interesting night - will let you know next week.

PS Congratulations to Ron who has completed a bike ride from Land's End to John O'Groats (For the Aussies, thats from the bottom SW corner of England to the N tip of Scotland).

PPS Ron your cheque is in the mail this week.

Cheers

Deb & Arnold

Email for 20 May 2001 (Evian water and a gurgling computer) is in Switzerland emails.

From:damag@bigpond.net.au

To:

Cc:

Sent: Monday, June 04, 2001 12:42 AM

Subject: Wow!

Dear All

 

Ran out of superlatives last week, don't know how to describe Chamonix Mt Blanc to you this week.  We left Chambery and traversed a very narrow mountain pass (with great big trucks coming the other way!) down into the town of Chamonix.  The road to the caravan site was blocked because of fire that morning that had burned down one of the oldest houses in the town.  It had been an inn since about 1750.  Nevertheless, undaunted in our efforts, we fought through the deviations to arrive at Camping Iles des Barrats (great campsite, clean, spectacular views of Mt Blanc and Aiguille du Midi - no toilet paper, expensive - but worth every franc) and the wonders of the "view".

 

Mt Blanc is the tallest mountain in Europe at 4807m and the best viewpoint for it, apart from our campsite with a perfectly blue sky behind the mountain, outlining its splendour, is from the lookout at Aiguille du Midi (3842m), reached only by cable car.  In 8 minutes you go from 1030m (the altitude of Chamonix) to 2317m, flying over the forest.  As you go up you can see Mt Blanc summit and the Bossons glacier.  At 2317m you change cablecars and then spend another 8 minutes going what seems to be vertically to the top of du Midi. 

 

We were so luck with the weather.  The views from the top of what looks like a rocket ship, on top of the mountain were stunning.  Surrounded by whiteness, ice tunnels, rugged mountains and suffering a little from altitude sickness (warnings are in place about walking slowly because of it) we climbed the 3 flights of stairs and took the lift to the top and stood, breathless.  360 degrees of white splendour with the tiny town of Chamonix 3,842m below us.  Not happy with this, we then went on a "gondola" to Pointe Helbronner in the heart of the Vallee Blanche.  This gondola is another form of cable car that glides over a world of crevasses and seracs.  There is 5km of cable and the flight takes you over the Geant Glacier.  The gondola stops several times to allow for photographs but the most amazing thing was the silence.  Apart from the wind (not much of it) through the cables, there isn't a sound but your own breathing.  Suspended above the glacier, rocking gently in the breeze, getting sunburned through the glass and soaking in the scene was a fantastic way to spend my birthday.

 

At the end of the 5km of cable is Helbronner which is right on the Italian border and so, whilst still standing in France you can see the Italian Alps, the Swiss Alps (including the Matterhorn) and off into the distance as far as you can see, alps.  We were soooo lucky with the weather (next 3 days the mountain was totally cloud covered).  Back again over the 5km of magic to the Aiguille du Midi where we ate lunch in the "Altitude 3842" Restaurant a quaint little place serving local cuisine.  The restaurant only seats 30 and the food was great.  It has to be hauled up in the cable car and there is one chief and one waitress who puffs about as if she is suffering altitude sickness permanently.  Deciding that half a bottle of the local Savoy wine was more than enough (big trip down the hill to go) we sat for about 2 hours enjoying our set menu of 4 courses and just people watched and mountain watched.  It will be hard to have as good a birthday again as the one I have just experienced.

 

The trip down the mountain was also spectacular.  We watched as human ants crawled up and down the mountain.  Brave (or foolish) souls were climbing, skiing or walking up and down these enormous slopes.  There were also paragliders way above us.  Leaving the mountain behind we were struck by the warmth of the ground level at Chamonix - whilst -3 up on the mountain it was +30 in the town and the rest of the day (well evening really) was spent sitting watching the view from the campsite.  We stayed in Chamonix a couple of days and watched the weather be cruel to tourists arriving in buses, hoping to see Mt Blanc or to fly to the top.  We heard one guy say that at 10am he couldn't see his hand in front of his face up on the mountain - not cheap to go up there either so I guess a lit of people get very disappointed.  Not us, this week has been spectacular.

 

We came back into Switzerland a couple of days ago to a place called Villeneuve which is just south of the town of Montreux (the Riviera of Switzerland).  (Camping les Horizons Bleus - mainly statics with a small patch of grass that was grossly crowded being a holiday weekend - near lake but no view, great hot showers.)  This town is supposed to be dripping in "beautiful people".  We didn't see any but it has a great castle and the view from the hills of the old town are great.  On a clear day you can see almost to Geneva - on this occasion we did not have a clear day.  We did walk the 7km from Montreux back to Villeneuve along the lake and felt very righteous for having done it.  Add the couple of kms we did up and down the old town and our exercise levels for the day were admirable - see its not all just food and drink!

 

Right now we are, just outside of the little medieval town of Gruyere.  (Camping Haute Gruyere - small, basic (but okay), serves fondue.)  That's right of cheese fame!  We spent the morning in a town called Romont where the local castle holds the Museum of Swiss Stained Glass and holds leadlight glass pieces from as early as the 12thC along with contemporary exhibitions.  Some so temporary as to be being made whilst we were there.  There was a light covering of snow on the lowland fields and with rain more than threatening we have decided that tomorrow with will make the assault (by foot) upon Gruyeres.  The town is still walled and is apparently extremely picturesque - just what I need - more pictures to edit!  Oh well, I promise I won't inflict all of them on you (at once).  Another uphill walk of several kms (and back again) awaits us.

 

Thanks to those who sent birthday wishes and we continue to enjoy hearing from you.

Love

Deb & Arnold

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