After the dramatic visit of The Apprentice, who went home with a broken arm, and the visit of The Mechanic, who also went home with seriously damaged hand ligaments following their mountain bike crashes, it was time for Wooksie (long-suffering wife) to enjoy a holiday in the Alps.
It took me eight years to persuade The Apprentice to come to the Alps, and despite us owning the apartment for eight years, this was Wooksie’s first summer trip as well. It has taken me that long to persuade her that there are more things to do in the mountains than just skiing and mountain biking. I could tell that she wasn’t convinced, so I promised to be on my best behaviour and that we would just enjoy the scenery, with nothing too strenuous.
On the first day, things started badly. I planned a nice walk through the mountains, heading up on the Morillon chairlift and coming back on the Samoëns lift, 5 km away and 200 m lower in altitude.
It all seemed so straightforward until we started walking. I had assumed we would walk along a gradual decline on the side of the mountain. I hadn’t anticipated that we would be clambering down steep gradients into valleys and then back up and over ridges, descending and climbing a total of 700 m, rather than simply dropping 200 m.
We eventually arrived in a sweaty condition and Wooksie wasn’t in the best of moods, but the day improved and ended with a flat walk back along the Giffre river valley. However, I had definitely lost house points.
The next day, I decided I needed to avoid any additional crises, so we jumped into the car and headed for the place where they invented water, or rather bottled water. It’s still quite amazing that someone thought of bottling water at Lake Geneva, sticking the name of the little town on the label, and somehow becoming a multi-millionaire.
Part of the scam seems to be that it comes from a specific well, but the water looks and tastes incredibly similar to the very clear waters of Lake Geneva, just a few yards away.
To be fair, the town of Evian is very pleasant. Sitting on the shores of Lake Geneva, with views across the lake to various towns and cities on the Swiss side, there are regular ferry services across the crystal-clear waters.
It is clearly the home of wealthy people, with various beautiful houses and buildings spreading along the waterfront. There are several marinas, restaurants and cafés overlooking the lake and keen to sell you coffee or food, depending on the time of day.
A few hundred metres back from the lake is the main drag, with a wide range of eating places, specialist ice-cream and cake shops, and all the things people need to kill an hour or two and hang out in the shade, because it was very warm there in August.
The mountains, valleys and waterfalls in this area are spectacular, so it makes for a really nice day out and, best of all, I didn’t injure or annoy Wooksie. In fact, she seemed to have a nice time, so it was back to Morillon and a couple of beers by the lake in the evening.
The biggest achievement of the day was that I had got some of my house points back and could continue the week with more confidence. The rule of thumb is now: “Avoid any activity where I can’t predict the outcome.” This is hardly the spirit of Rare Adventures, but needs must.
Leave a Reply