Hello friends and welcome to a quick instalment of the SCR to bring you up to date on what we've been doing for the past few weeks. We left you with the promise of a pending hike to a chocolate factory in the woods. In fact, this turned out to be a long uphill walk to a chocolate factory on a mountain.
Woods
Mountain (not Woods)
I hope our longterm subscribers will see fit to stay with us after this unfortunate error. Those responsible have been sacked. In any event, a few weeks back Sam and I joined some colleagues to walk from the lakeside town of Rolle to the mountain village of Bougy-Villars. Surrounded by vineyards, B-V is a rather upscale little part of Switzerland (will let you know once we find a downscale part of Switzerland), in part owing to the fabulous views of Lake Geneva.
Bougy-Villars
The distance was only about 5km or so, but mainly uphill with some impressively steep sections. This didn't bother Sam though as at the steepest bits he wisely insisted on riding in his stroller. That he hates. On flat ground.
Sam Taunting His Father As They Drop Farther Behind the Group
While a bit of a gloomy day, the outing coincided with the annual grape harvest so we got to see the vineyards during the thick of the action.
Delicious Wine Seeds
Buckets of Harvested Grapes, About Twice the Size of Sam
On Their Way to the Winery
Despite the appearance of lots happening, in practice, vineyards are pretty calm and picturesque places even at the height of activity.
Wine Country: Bucolic
Chateau Something-or-Other: Nice Neighbourhood.
When we arrived in Bougy-Villars, we stopped in the churchyard to enjoy a picnic lunch and the promised views of the lake and Mont Blanc.
Sam and the Church at Bougy-Villars
Sadly, there was fog and the views were unremarkable, so we had no choice but to introduce ourselves to the small winery (Fechy) across the street. A few sample bottles and a tour by the affable owner Georges-Claude Blanchard was enough to convince us of the merits of this fine Swiss enterprise, so we loaded the stroller with a few bottles of their Grand Crux for the trip back down the mountain. (Please stroll responsibly.)
The Busy "Fechy" Winery in Bougy-Villars
Before we could head back though, we first had to make a stop at the famous Tristan Chocolatier, which is considered by many (at least according to Wikipedia) to produce among the finest chocolates in Switzerland.
The Best Chocolatier in Switzerland?
I am by no means yet an expert on Swiss chocolate, although I did invest considerably in my ongoing education during this visit, but in my opinion this place certainly deserves consideration for the title.
Chocolate: Delicious.
On the way down the hill, we took a short break to enjoy some grapes and wine from the fields of a family who bottle only for their own use and enjoyment.
Sam Joins a Lumberjack Biker Gang
The following weekend we had big football related plans. The local club, FC Collex-Bossy (as in the club that plays at the field directly behind my house) had unexpectedly advanced to the final 16 of the Swiss Cup (unexpected as they are a fifth division semi-pro side) and were taking on Swiss Axpo Super League giants Sion. This is not Collex-Bossy's first brush with footballing titans, as the wee field had once played host to Liverpool, Aston Villa and Real Madrid in the heady days of the early 1980s (and the way things are going at Anfield, they may be moving in the same circles as the Reds again soon).
FC Collex-Bossy's Home Field
We planned to go as a family and with friends of ours, but the weather on game day was "good football weather" as they say. Meaning it was freezing and raining and awful. While about 2000 made it to the match, the game-going crowd from our group was reduced to me and a friend who left at the end of the first half. I, soldiering on alone, enjoyed a fine display of football. By Sion. Who scored 45 seconds in before dismantling the plucky upstarts from down the road 4-0. I felt a bit responsible for this given the way 2010 is unfolding on the sporting front, especially since they had been doing quite well up to that point and haven't won a game since I became a fan.
Alas, that's the way it goes. Those are the high points from the past few weeks. We'll be back with our next update soon, wherein the family takes up the battle for French pension reform by derisively shrugging off the fuel shortage and blockades to visit riot-scarred Lyon for the weekend.
Now here's a parting shot of our village, Jura mountains outlined in the background.
Collex
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