Gorges de la Diosaz

Also near to Les Houches in the Chamonix Valley and well worth a visit is the Gorges de la Diosaz. Visitors make their way up the gorge on a shaded wooden footpath suspended over the river; it feels like walking through a tropical rainforest! It is a riot of bright colours. The green forest and white waterfalls contrast with the black and green schist and the grey and red oxidised rock. There are also natural crystal formations in the steep cliffs.

The paths and bridges were a feat of engineering when they were first built by the owner, Achille Cazin and a local carpenter, Pierre Berthoud in 1875. Numerous information boards along the path explain all these features in detail. This site really is a great way to spend a morning in Chamonix!

Forest trails

Suspended wooden walkways

The Eagle Falls near the top

A natural fallen rock bridge at the top of the gorge

Courmayeur - Champex-Lac - Chamonix

At the end of August each year there is a mountain trail festival based in Chamonix in France. This year Daniel is competing in the 'CCC', a 101km race from Courmayeur (Italy) through Champex-Lac (Switzerland) to Chamonix (France). We spent part of our summer doing a recce of the route. Daniel learnt the trails and I renewed my impression of how hard his job is (those mountains are high!!).

Chamonix and Mont Blanc - where the trail ends

The race starts in Courmayeur, an Alpine town in Italy which is accessed through the Mont Blanc tunnel. We hiked up to Grande Col Ferret at 2537m which forms the international boundary between Italy and Switzerland. How cool to hike to another country!

The Aosta Valley in Italy where the race starts in Courmayeur

The international border in the Alps (from the Swiss side)

The route down into Switzerland is beautiful. The Alps were at their most majestic as we descended the fairly steep path. Fortunately there was a convenient and much-appreciated refuge en route where we stopped for a rest and lunch.

La Peule Refuge - great sandwiches here!

Green mountains and cascades

Lots of hiking options. We followed the TMB route.

Glacial rivers abound in this region

The halfway point of the race is at Champex-Lac in Switzerland. We've visited here before on a day trip, and it was good to return to an old haunt. We spent two nights in nearby Bourg-St-Pierre, including the Swiss National Day on 1 August, but the clouds rolled and the wind picked up at night so we didn't see any fireworks.

Champex-Lac

The race route continues to wend its way up and down the Alps, reaching a total of 6,100m of vertical gain. I joined Daniel for a hike between Vallorcine and Chamonix, the last 18km of the race. At the top of the pass at Tête au Vents we saw three chamois, including a baby! It was a sturdy little creature, true to its goat-antelope heritage. The views from the top were spectacular - a panorama of mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, and of course, the highest mountain in Europe, Mont Blanc.

A chamois mother and kid

Glaciers overlooking the Chamonix Valley

The peak at Tête au Vents with Mont Blanc in the background

The race reaches its grand finale in Chamonix, where we've spent time before. This season, we've visited the Alpine resort a few times for Daniel's training. During some of his runs, I did a bit of sight-seeing around the region, including visits to Parc de Merlet, Gorges de la Diosaz and Gorges du Durnand.

Mont Blanc overlooking Chamonix

A rainbow in the clouds above Chamonix!

Annecy, France

A lovely day trip from Aubonne is to Annecy in France, 35km south of Geneva. This charming city has been nicknamed the "Pearl of the French Alps" and the "Venice of the Alps". It lies between the mountains and a lake and has two canals and a river running through the old town. It has also won the "Golden Flower" award for being one of the nine most-flowered cities in France!

Needless to say, it is idyllic. We spent a beautiful summer's day having a picnic in the park by the lake and strolling through the old town.

Restaurants lining a canal in Annecy Le Vieux (the old town)

One of the canals passing through Annecy

The Palais de l'Isle in the Thiou River

Promenade along the lake

Lake Annecy and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alps

The park on the lake's edge

Yvoire, France

In summer there are ferries several times a day across Lac Léman (Lake Geneva) between Switzerland and France. Yesterday we caught the Rhône ferry to Yvoire, a medieval bourg at the tip of the Léman peninsula.

Our ferry - the Rhône

Excited for a trip to France!

The port in Yvoire

Yvoire has been voted one of the most beautiful villages in France. It is a modern fishing village, but remnants of its historical strategic position on the lake can be seen in the castle, ramparts, fortified gateways and houses. It is a charming little village with stone streets, stone walls, abundant flowers, artisanal shops, boutiques and restaurants. We strolled around the village for a while admiring the old stone houses and enjoying the wares in the shops.

A hotel on the lake

Quaint medieval village

Lots of flowers and charm

Cute village streets

Most of the restaurants in Yvoire have fish from the lake on their menus. The most famous is the perch, but there is also arctic char, fera and pike. We went to a restaurant on the lake called "Le Pirate" where we had some delicious perch in garlic sauce and an even better bottle of ice cold wine on a hot day!

A great restaurant by the lake: Le Pirate

On our return to Nyon we took the Valais ferry back across the lake. It was 35 degrees out and the breeze off the lake was most welcome. The trip across to France was a lot of fun and we'll definitely be exploring this area again.

Departing Yvoire

Arriving in Nyon

Sunday Market, Divonne

On Sunday we drove 20 minutes to the border town of Divonne in France. Divonne is famous for its Sunday Market (and its big Carrefour supermarket!). All the stalls at the market have delicious meats, cheeses, breads, fruits, flowers, seafood, everything fresh galore! It's a perfect way to spend a sunny Sunday morning.