Yesterday, Roland took Wayne and I to some of the famous ski stations of the region (via Lake Annecy).
How very sad that there is so little snow. At La Clusaz, there was still enough for the cross country skiiers, but many of the lower downhill runs were barely covered. Despite this, the views were stunning. I guess one of the benefits of there being no snow is that we were able to make it to these amazing sites without having to worry about snow or black ice on the roads. Despite there not having been much snow, the little lake in the valley was still frozen over.
We stopped for a quick bite at Col des Aravis. The little chapel there is dedicated to two resistance workers from World War II. Roland explained to us that this was a major area for the resistance during the war.
When we left Col des Aravis, we stopped at a barn to take photos of the many cowbells that were lined up on the wall. Just as we were doing so, the farmer turned up and he introduced us to his cows. These cows make a well known cheese from the Haute-Savoie region called Roblochon, the breed of cows is Abondance. They are known by the brown patches around their eyes. At this time of year, the cows and other livestock are kept in barns. We then went into the area where they were making the cheeses.
Our final stop for the day was Megève. This little alpine town, like Geneva, had all the high end brands available. Roland told us that people come here not so much to ski, but to show how much money they have. Last time I was in this town (23 years ago with Roland and Christine), it was a winter wonderland. It was quite a different picture this time around.
As the main Christmas meal is consumed on the evening on the 24th in France we enjoyed a wonderful extended dinner beautifully prepared by our lovely friend, Christine: escargots vol-au-vents, salami, foie gras, roast chicken with steamed asparagus, and a bûche de Noël. Of course all of this was washed down with several different varieties of wine.
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