Booked my airline tickets yesterday: arriving Geneva 18th July, leaving Geneva 11th August.

Will spend first two days and last day along the lac Léman, probably Lausanne at one end of the trip and Vevey at the other.

In between three weeks in the mountains. Current plans (no reservations yet, so open to suggestions):

• A week in (surprise ) Évolène, my favorite village in Switzerland.
• A week in Kandersteg. I spent a few days there say 20 years ago. The real point is to be in the Oberland but not in Mürren, which I have visited twice recently. Wengen and Grindelwald seem too close to it to really qualify as change, but I am open to suggestions.
• a week in Château-d'Œx, as I have never visited the Alpes Vaudoises. Took the scenic train through the area more than once half a century ago, but never actually stayed there. Again, I am open to suggestions.

This is a much shorter trip than usual, but I will be "celebrating" my 76th birthday soon after my return, and am no longer up to six week hiking vacations. Please note that I am NOT complaining:

Great plan, enjoy. Where do you normally stay in Evolène? There is a great B&B called 'la grande peur dans la montagne' in the hamlet of La Tour between Evolène and les Haudères. Patrick and Madeleine are really friendly and speak excellent English. Madeleine was born and bred there and knows the whole area by heart.

E-mail: gr_pm@bnb-evolene.ch
Telephone: +41 (0) 27 283 10 5

If you do pop into the Jura, get in touch and meet for a meal or come over for one.

If you wish to have a "special" night somewhere - I would recommend the, not in Switzerland but bloody close, Chateau Divonne just outside Nyon.

If you stay on a Saturday night - it is a 10min walk into the village for the excellent market.

As you will leave on the 11th, Geneva will organize for you a big firework on the 10th, to say goodbye....




Did you choose specially that period ?

Thanks, Odile.

In the mountains I rent an apartment, both for the kitchen and for the extra space. That imposes an unwanted rigidity on my plans, apartment rentals in tourist areas are almost always exclusively from Saturday to Saturday.

I have noticed the Grande Peur the few times I have walked down the road from Les Haudères to Évolène and wonder whether I could have an assiette valaisanne with trois décis de Fendant there one evening.

I am not sure how the Jura would fit in, but who knows?

Merci!!

I had not even thought of the Fêtes de Genève, might just maybe spend that last night in Geneva.

I have ever been to Divonne, but have heard a lot about it over the years from my late mother's Genevan friends.

They don't serve any outside guests. But they will let you use the kitchen if you ask- and also have a small studio with a double bed and 2 bunks with its own kitchen - and of course would not require a week's stay. Book early if interested, it is very popular.