Saturday 18 August 2018

Mostly Miserable in Morzine


Wow, I really picked a great week to revisit the French Alps, having not been in this region of Europe for some 30 years.


Bridge over the Dranse River in Morzine


The whole idea of heading to Morzine (altitude 1,000m), about 90 minutes' drive from Geneva, was to escape the unrelenting heat the UK has experienced over the past three months. At the time of making our plans (back in June), it seemed impossible that Europe would still be in the grip of this year's heatwave, and surely not in an alpine region where the August daily average is usually about 20ºC.

Well, unfortunately TMC* prevailed, unfettered, for the entire trip - temperatures ranging between 27-38ºC each day, and high humidity most of the time as well. You can imagine how thrilled I was.

* The Maree Curse



Morzine is full of lovely chalet-style buildings, all festooned with pretty flower boxes in summer




Not to my taste, of course (not being a fan of dairy, generally) - but you can eat
your own body weight in cheese in any number of establishments in Morzine.
Fondue opportunities are everywhere!

Morzine belongs to the Haute-Savoie department of France, and sits in the region known as Les Portes du Soleil ('The Doors of the Sun'), one of the largest ski areas in the world. The region has 13 resorts between Mont Blanc in France and Lake Geneva in Switzerland. In summer the town attracts mountain bike enthusiasts in their thousands, as well as hikers. I can only imagine how busy the place is in winter, when it is thronged with skiers and snowboarders. 


The church of Eglise Sainte Marie Madelaine de Morzine


Creative use of excess logs in Morzine!








The town itself didn't hold a huge amount of interest for me. There are lots of incredibly unvarying restaurants (all serving pizza, fondue and generally French food - ie meat and dairy), some gourmet food stores offering local delicacies (again, lots of meat and dairy), and tourist shops. I do indeed have a fondness for French linen, and for anything with the Swiss flag design, but at the current exchange rate (weak GBP, mostly courtesy of Brexit nerves it would seem) there was no way I was parting with my limited funds for trinkets.

However Morzine is very appealing visually. It's full of cute timber chalets bedecked with flower boxes, stone churches, and buildings with rustic or retro murals. There's also a very nice river and lots of woodland, plus a couple of riding schools whose horses and ponies are in superb condition - I find this quite ironic in a country that openly consumes horse meat. 


This very nice retro mural makes me think of my dear Mum.
Naturally my Dad, being Norwegian, was born on skis and Mum was a keen student.
We have some wonderful black-and-white photos of them in the Australian alpine region in the 1950s




Charming framed mural in naîve style, on the outside of a Morzine house


As usual, my luck was out with scaffolding.
This tiny chapel, which was just a short stroll away from our chalet, had no scaffolding
for the first few days of our stay.
The day I finally remembered to walk down and take a photo, there it was  *poo!*


One of the numerous chalet-style hotels in Morzine

Morzine is, however, located in a spectacular region and we took the opportunity of exploring. In the face of searing temperatures I pat myself on the back for stoicism. Having travelled all this way I couldn't live like a hermit in our tiny chalet; we had to get out, and at least we could enjoy the air conditioning of our car, because nobody - and I mean NOBODY - has air conditioning in Morzine. There is nary a fan in the whole town.

On our second day we visited a nearby lake, the Lac de Montriond, just 15 minutes' drive away. We were surprised by the queue of traffic and the difficulty in finding parking, but soon discovered this was because we chose to visit on the one day of the year when the lake hosts an evening summer festival with music, food stalls and a huge fireworks display. 

As we arrived preparations for the evening's activities were under way, with access barred to one whole side of the lake. But it's a beautiful spot and we decided to risk the ire of the French authorities by climbing over the barricades and walking the 4km circuit around the lake (there were others doing the same). I raced through the unsheltered sections, fleeing the heat of the sun which was unbearable, and then ambled along in the shady bits like something half-dead.

Nobody challenged us, by the way - and I like to think this experience was the manifestation of the famous gallic shrug (ha ha!).


The beautiful aquamarine colours of the Lac de Montriond


The Domaine du Baron, a fabulous new conference centre / wedding venue
- right on the edge of the lake
(see the website for some amazing shots of this building and its location)


It was worth facing the heat of the day for this view at the Lac de Montriond
We did have a few hours of relatively cool weather the day we drove up to Avoriaz, a ski resort about 800 metres higher than where we were staying in Morzine. This visually spectacular development was constructed in the 1960s, based on designs loosely inspired by Le Corbusier. 

The resort really is something. Its high rise cedar-clad buildings with their severe angles are meant to blend in with the jagged peaks of the surrounding mountains, and indeed they do. But as a whole it puts one in mind of a science fiction novel. It's so futuristic - hard to believe it was constructed 50 years ago.

Cars are prohibited - guests drop off all their luggage and then leave their cars in a parking station. In summer guests have to pull their luggage along on wheeled trolleys, and in winter they use giant sleds across the snow.



The cute little village of Les Lindarets - where the goats roam free!
We passed through it on our way up to Avoriaz.
This chap was making himself comfortable right in the middle of the road


Kevin exploring the extraordinary architecture of Avoriaz


Such was my relief at the comparatively cooler temperature in Avoriaz (only about 24ºC) we actually dined out for the first and only time of our trip, enjoying an unintentionally long lunch. My rusty French meant that we accidentally ordered a whole bottle of rosé instead of just a glass for me, while Kevin enjoyed a beer - naturally we had to stay long enough to do the bottle some justice, taking the rest with us when we left. Santé!


Just what I needed after a couple of days of mid-30s heat - a crisp French rosé


One of the many sprawling, geometric buildings in Avoriaz


The fabulous interior of the Information Centre at Avoriaz

Our final jaunt during this trip was to the unbelievably beautiful Chamonix, which lies in the shadow of Mont Blanc. It was only an hour's drive from our chalet in Morzine, and en route we passed through some charming small towns. 


View over the town of Cluses


I have no idea where this rustic house was located!












In Chamonix once again we were thwarted by extreme heat, which I found very frustrating as I wanted to see every corner of this lovely town.

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (that's the town's full name) was the site of the very first Winter Olympics in 1924, and is situated in France but is very close to the borders of both Switzerland and Italy. Every direction you turn presents vistas of exceptional beauty, not least the Bossons Glacier and Mont Blanc itself, which at 4,810m is the highest mountain in Europe (excluding Mt Elbrus in the Caucasus, in Russia... 'coz I don't count Russia as part of Europe, and certainly not Mt Elbrus which is practically in Georgia).

Chamonix is a tourist mecca, even in summer, and you're surrounded by languages and accents from the four corners of the world as you make your way through its neat and tidy squares and streets, many of which are pedestrianised.


Kevin in Chamonix with the Bossons Glacier in the background


Office de Haute Montagne, Chamonix


St Michel Church in Chamonix (with paraglider... and small girl, for scale!)




How on earth do all these flower boxes / baskets survive 35ºC heat?!


ATTENTION! Chutes de Neige du Toit!
You know you're in a place with significant snowfall when you see a sign like this






Kevin filling up from the alpine spring in Chamonix.
 That water was amazing! Ice cold and very welcome on a 35ºC day






The Bossons Glacier at Chamonix


The Pont St-Marie outside Chamonix



We had a reasonably comfortable night on our last evening in the chalet, when a huge storm brought heavy rain and a 10-degree drop in temperature.


We had planned to spend two days exploring Geneva before heading home, but with the weather forecast to be in the mid 30s for several days, and after nearly a week of similar temperatures in Morzine, I simply could not face it. Like everywhere else in this part of the world, air conditioning does not exist in Geneva. The prospect of trudging around the city and not being able to find relief in a climate-controlled restaurant or shopping centre - or in the hotel overnight, when the temperature was expected to remain in the low 20s - was too much to bear.

Thus, at considerable expense, we managed to get a flight back to the UK about 36 hours earlier than scheduled.




Bonkers Kevin. 
Despite 36ºC and a long detour due to a road closure, he persevered with 
his ride from Morzine to Les Gets, Taninges and Samöens (and back)
[selfie by Kevin Joy]



We passed this chateau on the way back to Geneva, in St-Jeoire.
It's one of four houses belonging to the Fraternité Eucharistein - a Catholic fraternity




Rustic buildings just outside Geneva

I was sorry to miss out on exploring Geneva, which looked very tidy and affluent as we passed through on our way to the airport. It has some beautiful architecture - both aged and modern. 

I can never think of Geneva without conjuring up images of its glory days as the headquarters for the United Nations, captured in 1960s thrillers such as Goldfinger and The Thomas Crown Affair. Even our brief drive through the city bore out those images, with the lake and its jet, and the distinctive civic buildings and public spaces.

We'll try to get a bargain airfare to Geneva for a long weekend sometime one spring or autumn, though we'll be hoping for a stronger British Pound against both the Swiss Franc and the Euro before then. *Sacré bleu!* the cost of everything... absolutely eye-watering.

The Jet D'Eau at Lake Geneva








Fabulous modern architecture in Geneva


Take a good, long look at this cup of coffee, purchased at Geneva Airport.
Cost? Just under €5.90 (that's £5.30 as at August 2018)


Gorgeous bottles for this Swiss produced gin - a mountain peak inside!


Hosting a Beluga caviar evening?
Not to worry - at Geneva Airport you may purchase all your Beluga / Russian vodka accoutrements


Seriously the best macarons I've ever tasted
(well, we had to fill our time somehow at Geneva Airport)

On the surface this was one of my most disastrous holidays, given the exceptionally hot weather and level of discomfort I experienced. Constant sweating and managing barely 4-5 hours of sleep each night is not exactly a recipe for returning to work rested and refreshed.

I usually live by a rule of never travelling anywhere in summer without a guarantee of air conditioning in my accommodation, but at the time of making the arrangements I thought it was a risk worth taking. Well, that's me taught a valuable lesson!

All the same, we did see some beautiful places, so it's hard to regret it fully. Another bonus was being able to brush up my French - somehow from the bowels of my brain I managed to dredge up vocabulary and sentence structure from four years of high school French classes, forty years ago! I was able to make myself understood when ordering food, asking for the bill and so on, and each day I understood more, as the words - long forgotten - materialised back into my consciousness.


Tero and Graeme outside The Hop Blossom in Farnham


Immediately before we travelled to Morzine, we were excited to have visits from several friends from Canberra. 

Tero and Graeme spent four nights with us, and we enjoyed introducing them to Farnham because although they visited us at Frensham back in 2009, we didn't really get to show them around the town. Amongst other fun activities, we whiled away a very hot and humid afternoon at The Hop Blossom, playing several games of pool whilst enjoying a constant stream of 80s classics on the jukebox and becoming pleasantly tipsy on beer, cider and wine.  Under the influence of Saint Morten, with the strains of Take On Me in the background, despite having only picked up a pool cue perhaps two or three times in my life, I managed to sink the first ball.

We also jaunted across three counties one day, first visiting George Michael's country home in the lovely village of Goring on Thames, not far from Reading. It was very sobering to be able to walk right up to the front door of the house where George sadly passed away, and to write our heartfelt messages in the book of condolence.

A short drive further brought us to Waddesdon Manor where we met up with Roy and Tracey. A few hours ambling around this spectacular National Trust property built up our appetites for a very pleasant pub dinner in Great Missenden, followed by an evening stroll to the cemetery where Roald Dahl is buried.


On the boys' last day with us, we headed to one of our favourite Surrey pubs, The Old Plough in Stoke d'Abernon, for Sunday lunch with Kim and Ron who were also in the UK seeing opera, attending the cricket and touring around various historic towns.


Tero and Graeme up to shenanigans at The Hop Blossom in Farnham



The front door of George Michael's country home in Oxfordshire, where he passed away.
Twenty months on, fans still leave bouquets and filled-up condolence books are replaced regularly


View across the Thames to George Michael's house



A fab day out at Waddesdon Manor with
(L-R) Graeme, Maree, Kevin, Tero, Tracey and Roy
[photo courtesy Tracey Lathwell / Tero Blinnikka - one of them!]


And finally, only a day or two after Graeme and Tero departed, we were treated to our annual visit from Lesley. Being no stranger to Surrey, it's becoming harder to find new places to take Lesley, but we enjoyed an afternoon at The Sculpture Park in Farnham, amongst other things.


Yeah... I don't think so.
This bug/rodent/bat fearing claustrophobic gal says 'No' to The Sculpture Park's sensory  experience invitation


It's Day of the Triffids in downtown Farnham!

Lesley in Lower Church Lane 

We always have a nice dinner out on Lesley's final evening and this time we returned to the place Lesley and I discovered last year, The Mill House in nearby Odiham (Hampshire). Our time together was too short, but thank goodness for social media, email and cheap international calling rates.



Kevin and Lesley outside The Mill House on a glorious summer evening

As you can see, it's been a very busy time. Nice of our Canberra friends to coordinate so we could see all of them in the space of a week!

After our week in France/Switzerland it's been a relief to return to England where, finally, the hot spell has broken and we have enjoyed rain (glorious rain!) and cool temperatures over the past week. England is starting to look like England again.

Now for the house move to Frensham...



View from the Route de la Joux Verte, near Avoriaz

Until next time,
- Maree  xo