Our third stop on the "Summer of Shawna" Europe tour was three weeks in France and Switzerland, spending time with several of our friends from KISC.
Geneva, Switzerland:
After leaving England, we spent two nights in Geneva just the two of us before meeting up with the group. We celebrated Shawna's 55th birthday here.
Accommodations:
Hotel Bristol - The hotel is very nice and is a block away from the lake. Our room was very comfortable as well. Breakfast was included which consisted of a nice buffet.
Activities:
We mostly relaxed and went for a walk along the lake. We also got a massage at the hotel which was just OK - one of the masseuses showed up late and we ended up only getting a 60 min massage when we had booked 90 min.
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| Lake Geneva |
Restaurants:
L'Atelier Robuchon - For Shawna's 55th birthday, we had dinner at this Michelin two star restaurant. They offered a tasting menu but we ordered from the a la carte menu instead. We started with a gin and tonic at Bar 37 and then at the restaurant, we had a glass of champagne, a bottle of red and a glass of sauterne with our dessert. We started with the morel mushrooms and the watercress soup for our appetizers. We then had the lamb and beef entrees and we shared the chocolate soufflé for dessert. Most of their seating is around the bar where you can see the activity of the kitchen. The food was very good as was the service - that said, Shawna was a bit disappointed that the only acknowledgement for her birthday was a candle at the end of the meal.
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| Shawna's 55th Birthday Dinner |
Masala House - We had dinner here our last night sharing our usual - samosas, lamb vindaloo, raita and garlic naan. It was tasty!
Samoens, France:
We rented a chalet for a week in Samoens, a cute mountain village in the French Alps that is close to Chamonix. We were joined by Jan, Yoshi, Wendy, Dave, Meg, Henry, Lucy and Monica. We rented a car and picked up Jan and Yoshi from Geneva airport and drove a little over an hour to Samoens, meeting the rest of the gang there.
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| Samoens |
Accommodations:
Chalet - We rented this large house in town. The place was spacious, clean and comfortable. We each had our own bedroom with bathroom. There was a nice garden to sit in and the house had a sauna and an above-ground swimming pool.
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| The gang and our chalet |
Activities:
Refuges de Bostan and Galese Hike - We did this 7 mile, 2.3K elevation gain circuit hike that took us to do different mountain refuges. We had lunch at the first refuge, Bostan, sitting out on the deck where we shared a salad and soup. We then stopped for a beer at the second refuge, Galese. There were beautiful views along the way.
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| Our hike and lunch at Bostan Refuge |
La Jaysinia Gardens - We visited this nice alpine garden in town. The gardens go up a hillside with pretty views of the town below.
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| View of town from the gardens |
Hike at Cirque de Fer a Cheval - We did a 3 mile walk along this valley where there were beautiful waterfalls in the distance. We stopped at one of the cafes at the end for a beer.
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| Hike at Cirque de Fer a Cheval |
Bike to Sixt Fer-a-Cheval - We rented bikes and biked to this cute nearby town called Sixt Fer-a-Cheval. We had lunch there and then Jan, Yoshi and Shawna went to the abby and walked around town before biking back. The rest of the crew biked up a steep hill and did a bit of a loop ride before returning.
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| Town of Sixt Fer-a-Cheval |
Le Lignon - Le Marteau Hike - We did this beautiful 10 mile and 3.4K feet elevation gain hike that passed stunning waterfalls. We stopped in the plateau at Refuge Sales for lunch where we had a great salad and charcuterie plate. The refuge also had comfy chairs where you would admire the scenery. We then carried on to a ridge, mostly through snow so that we can see the amazing views of Mt Blanc and the Swiss mountains on the other side. The hike took a little over 5 hours of walking with another 3 hours of resting. Shawna would put this hike in the top 10!
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| Stunning hike |
Lac de Gouilles Rouges Hike - Shawna and Jan skipped this but the rest of the group did this 3 mile and 1K feet in elevation gain walk up in the ski area. They packed sandwiches for the hike as well.
Lac de Gers Hike - Shawna, Yoshi and Jan skipped this but the rest of the group did this 8 mile and 1.7K feet elevation gain hike to a beautiful lake.
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| Lac de Gers Hike |
Restaurants:
We cooked several nights in the chalet:
- The first night (which was also Keith's birthday), Shawna cooked - we started with a cheese board, then had salad, eggplant parmesan, and cacio e pepe pasta and ended up with some torts for dessert that we bought at a local bakery. We opened gifts from the group - flowers, snakes (an Australian gummy candy we love), colorful socks and a picture of us from Japan on a ceramic tile.
- Lucy and Monica cooked the second night - starting again with a cheese board, then we had salad, green beans, pasta with bacon and the leftovers from the prior night.
- Wendy cooked the third night - yummy risotto with a salad.
- Meg and Henry cooked the fourth night - prosciutto and melon to start, a tasty cheese and potato baked dish and a salad.
- Jan and Yoshi cooked the fifth night - we had pasta and a salad.
- Dave and Wendy cooked the sixth night - we had a great raclette with four different types of cheese which we had with potatoes and a salad.
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| Raclette night at the chalet |
L'instant by Mathilde - We had lunch here with Jan and Yoshi when we first arrived - their treat for our birthday. We shared a quiche and salad - both very good.
Nunabar Pizzeria - Located in Sixt Fer-a-Cheval, we had lunch here, sitting outside with views of the river. We shared a tasty Italian pizza.
La Table de Fifine - For our last night, we all went out to dinner at this cute restaurant. We sat outside with nice views and had a wonderful meal. We shared a duck pate for a starter, a duck entree in phyllo pastry and a cheese cake for dessert.
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| Last dinner at La Table de Fifine |
Canal Boat, Burgundy France
We rented a canal boat from Riverly (formerly LocaBoat) for a week in the Burgundy region of France with Jan, Wendy, Dave, and Connie. We started in Corbigny and mostly boated down the Canal du Nirvernais (at times we were on the Yonne River). We were supposed to end our trip in Joigny but due to the heat wave (temps above 100 degrees during the day), they let us know three days into our trip that the lock workers would only work until 1pm. So we made it as far as we could - Laroche-Saint-Cydraine which was close to Joigny and left our boat there one night earlier than planned. The heat made it very hard but aside from that, it was a fantastic experience.
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| Keith driving the boat |
Accommodations:
Hotel La Buissonnière - Located in Corbigny, we stayed here for one night before we got the boat. We each had our own room which was clean and comfortable and had breakfast here in the morning which was not the best.
Penichette Premium Boat - This is the boat we rented from Riverlry which had 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, a dining area and kitchen. We originally had booked a smaller boat but they upgraded us to this one. On top, we could steer the boat and had a nice sized covered seating area. We also rented 4 bikes and a small grill to cook on. Aside from no AC, the boat was fantastic - very spacious and comfortable. After the second night, we both slept on top of the boat as it was too hot to sleep in the cabin.
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| Our boat |
Ibis Beaune La Ferme aux Vins - Located in Beaune, we stayed here for one night to help make our drive the next day to Kandersteg a shorter one. The place was clean and comfortable and best of all, had AC after a week of no AC on the boat.
Activities:
Each day we drove the boat up the canal, traveling a total of 122km and going through a 60+ locks. The canal was quite narrow for the first few days with small, cute towns along the way. Once we got to Clamecy, the canal got wider as it connected with the river, the towns larger and the houses nicer. The scenery was beautiful with rolling farmlands and vineyards and occasional limestone cliffs.
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| Scenery along the way |
We each took turns riding the bikes ahead of the boat and exploring some of the towns. In the smaller towns, there was not much going on and we rarely saw other people but it could be due to the heat. And because of the heat, we did not explore as much as we would have liked. In particular, we enjoyed exploring the towns of Clamecy and Auxerre where we saw Tudor style buildings and churches. On some of the days, we had a chance to swim in the river. Dave, Keith and Jan also did a tour of Caves Bailley Lapierre which is an old quarry that is now a winery that makes champagne - they brought three bottles back to the boat. We also enjoyed interacting with the lock workers as most of them were quite nice!
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| Clamecy |
We had breakfast on board - yogurt and granola with fresh baguettes which Dave got for us each morning. We also had lunch on board making sandwiches with the baguettes, local cheese and meats, lettuce and tomatoes. We cooked dinner twice on board - both times grilling meat which we had with a salad and sautéed vegetables.
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| Auxerre |
For the most part, we docked in remote areas, near a small village with the exception of two nights where we docked in port to get power and another night where we docked right outside of a larger town. We spend the nights in the following locations:
- Marigny-sur-Yonne - Beautiful and peaceful location. We traveled 1.5 hours from Corbigny covering a distance of 7.5km.
- Villiers-sur-Yonn - Another peaceful location. We traveled 20km this day.
- Clamecy - Very cute town. We boated for 10km this day.
- Chatel-Sensoir - This is the night we docked at the pier, traveling 18km to get there. This is also the day we were told that the lock workers would stop working at 1:00 so our travel distance was limited.
- Cravant - Nice, peaceful location. We traveled 22km this day.
- Auxerre - We boated for 20km to this location and parked right before the town, near a park.
- Laroche-Saint-Cydroine - We boated for 25km and left the boat here as we could not make it all the way to Joigny. We did not sleep here this night as we left for Beaune instead.
Restaurants:
Aux 2 Amis - Located in Corbigny, we had dinner here at this cute restaurant. We shared a salad and beef entree with creme brûlée for dessert.
Cave St Louis - Located in Corbigny, we had lunch here before picking up the boat. We shared a salad and cheese board.
L'ecluse de Marigny - Best meal of the trip - this cute restaurant is located on the canal near Marigny-sur-Yonne. We had the gazpacho soup, fish and duck entrees and lemon dessert. So tasty.
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| Dinner at L'ecluse de Marigny |
Le Comptoir de Villiers - Located in Villiers-sur-Yonne, we had dinner here, sharing a tart, salmon dish and dessert. Very good.
L'etape des Gourmets - Located in Chatel-Sensoir, we had dinner here, sharing a tasty fish and chips and salad.
Ti Amo - Located in Auxerre, we had an ice cream here which was much needed in the heat.
La Cantina - Located in Auxerre, we sat outside along the river and had dinner, sharing a fantastic eggplant appetizer and steak for our entree.
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| Dinner at La Cantina |
Brasserie au RenDezvous Vous - Located in Beaune, we had dinner here - we shared a tuna tatake and trout dish - food was OK.
Kandersteg, Switzerland
Since Wendy, Dave and Jan were in Europe from Australia, they decided to get other ex-KISC staff to meet up in Kandersteg for a mini-reunion. We were joined by Mia, Yoshi, Pravin, Kerstin, Connie, Mike, Anne, Kato, Marco, Moose, Caroline, Monica, Thomas, Gina, and Thomas. We spent three nights here while others stayed a bit longer.
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| Kandersteg |
Accommodations:
AirBnB - We rented this adorable one bedroom house that was near the Doldenhorn. It was a bit expensive but very spacious and comfortable. The place is attached to the owners home but has its own entrance with a large kitchen, living room, bedroom and bath. The owners did a really nice job redoing the interior. The others stayed in other places throughout the town.
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| Our AirBnB |
Activities:
Allmenalp Hike - Some took the cable car up while others hiked for two hours to this valley where we also had lunch. The hike is about 5 miles and gains 2K feet in elevation. Shawna had to leave early for a call so Keith walked back down with the others.
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| Allmenalp Hike |
Stock to Gasterntal Valley Hike - We took the cable car up to Stock and then walked down to the Gasterntal Valley and then back to town. The hike was mostly downhill with beautiful views.
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| Gasterntal Valley Hike |
Tour of KISC - After our hike, we stopped at the Scout Center and got a tour from Pani, the Director. It was cool to see the changes they had made and the others pointed out the differences of where things were when the group worked there.
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| Former KISC staff photo after the tour |
Restaurants:
Des Alps - We had dinner here, sharing a rosti and salad. There were about 12 of us that met up here.
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| Dinner at Des Alps |
Doldenhorn - The group went here after dinner having drinks on the outside balcony.
Restaurant Allmenalp - We had lunch after our hike with great views of the valley below. We shared a brat and cheese plate. Such a cute place.
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| Lunch at Allmenalp |
Blumlisalp - We had about 20 people have dinner here. Connie arranged for fondu and drinks for 45 Swiss Francs per person. We all met on the patio for drinks beforehand. The fondu was excellent!
Marmotte - We met for coffee and pastries at this bakery in town, and Keith and Mia had breakfast here our last morning.
Waldhaus - During our hike in the Gasterntal valley, we stopped here for a drink and lunch, sharing a brat with fries. The place is very cute.
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| Waldhaus |
Schweizerhof - We all had our last dinner here, sitting outside on the patio. We shared a trout dish and apple strudel for dessert. Food was OK.
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| Dinner at Schweizerhof |
Adler - We all went for a drink after dinner, sitting on the patio.
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