Il pleut — et pleut…

Saturday morning we woke to steady rain.  So, we did some laundry and hung our clothes to dry on the designated rack under the covered balcony, hoping our things would dry.  (Very few Europeans have or use clothes dryers.  Back home, we purchased a similar clothes drying rack and have started drying outside, when we are able.)  By early afternoon it was still raining — quite hard, so we declared a day off and, verily, it was.  Read, napped, sorted through a mountain of accumulated literature and logged our receipts.  Then as the rain pattered on the windows and we (ok, I)  watched a BBC gardening show (pure delight!), I made dinner. The stove is a challenge, but I managed. A much needed day of rest.

The next day, and still it rained, so we did some local exploring around the lake in the car.  Along the edge of Lake Geneva stand some grand old mansions  — circa early 1900’s.   Many appear to be still privately owned, while others have been transformed into elegant hotels. We had a nice drive, even walked around a bit, despite the constant rain…If only we could ship this sort of slow and steady rain to California!

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Happily, Monday dawned with just sprinkles — we had cabin fever and this 24/7 together can be trying.   We almost skipped out the door and caught our familiar little bus down to the Pully train station and then the train to Chateau Chillon- more info HERE if you’re interested.

A very pleasant train trip along the lake, through the vineyards and Montreaux.  The Chateau was amazing.  Wonderfully curated and interpreted.  The castle dates back to the 11th century but its present appearance dates back to the 13th century.  Chillon is most famous as the prison where François de Bonivard was held for 6 years and the inspiration for Byron’s poem “The Prisoner of Chillon” (note to self, must read once I get home).  Husband was in ancient building/architecture nirvana and explored every inch.  I wandered about content to climb about, looking out the ramparts, visiting the grand hall where the meals were served and watching the other tourists.  Here’s some photographic evidence of our visit.

Retrieved husband from the weapons gallery, where he was intently studying the chain mail and armor…upon coming back to the current century, he decided it was beer o’clock.

We walked down the path from the chateau, hopped back on the train and went into Lausanne to a recommended craft beer pub in old town…Les Brasseurs – photos of one happy husband below (thank goodness they had a decent house wine too).  And then as we were leaving, we saw two young dudes with a 3 liter beer tower with tap right at their own table… husband asked for photos and shook their hands while declaring bravo!