Montreaux

We are now in Messac-Guipry, a small community on the banks of the Vilain River in Brittany, France. Our hotel, Le Carre d’As is far removed, in style as well as distance from the plush hospitality of the Hotel Eden Palace au Lac in Montreux.

Montreux is self styled as the Swiss Riviera, complete with casino and lakeside palatial hotels, fashionable restaurants, horological emporia, and a genteel feel about the streetscape. You know it is civilised We arrived at Montreux, hmm, a few days ago now, it seems and navigated our way to the lakeside where our hotel was handily situated. Jenny always seems to instinctively mistrust my sense of direction, and while that was probably justified in Rome, I have now recovered from those lapses.

The Eden Palace is certainly stylish, but by pre-paying our booking, we got a rather good deal for a nice balcony (in addition to a bedroom) with breathtaking views of the lake and the mountains. Not that we could see the mountains as they were shrouded in grey clouds and mist, at least on our arrival. The bathroom was more like a corridor and seems to have been something of an afterthought and designed for someone of, let’s say, a narrower frame.

We were determined not to spend more than we had to in Montreux, as meals seem to absorb an extraordinary amount of our budget. We even called by a nearby Maccas for a coffee and were astounded to discover that the “value meals” (burger, fries and drink) cost over 16 Swiss Francs, around $20. You can probably tell by now that have become a bit over-obsessed with the value of Swiss meals. The problem is that the food is not that marvellous. However, I take the hint and shall desist from further commentary. We went for a good walk, surveying the town, and checking out the railway station. Just to familiarise ourselves with the layout in case we are rushing for our next connections. I hate the sense of panicked helplessness, being in a strange location and needing to find the correct platform and time ticking away. As it turned out, the Swiss know all about foreign idiots and everything is well-planned and easy to find, including where you need to be for your carriage.

Reassured we continued our exploration, have an early dinner at a bistro, find a supermarket for some breakfast provisions and have an early night.

We were thrilled to wake to a bright day, the lake bright and glistening in the sun, the snow-capped mountains reaching out of the lake opposite our hotel, but the higher mountains of the French Alps still masked by low grey clouds. We decided to visit the Chateau Chillon, a medieval castle on the shores of the lake, and jumped on a trolley bus to deliver us there. It was definitely worth the 8 francs admission (they were happy to accept our ACT Seniors Card for a concession). Apart from the rich history of the occupants, the chateau gave impressive views with, I thought, Mount Blanc peeping through the cloud for a few seconds.

We decided to walk back to Montreux, a pleasant walk recommended by the locals as a 50 minute walk that takes about two hours. And it did. Apart from the splendid and gracious gardens of the many lakeside mansions and grand hotels, the city planners have kept the esplanade open to walkers and enhanced it with gardens of their own. It was such a beautiful walk, punctuated with pauses to sit among the flowers, smell the scents and take photographs.

As we sat on a bench to soak up the scenery, we took account of our finances to avoid withdrawing any more francs if we could manage it. The pocketsfull of coins of various denominations totalled around 20 francs, so we quarantined 8.90 that we knew could buy two coffees and a muffin at Maccas, and with the rest we could get some provisions for some dinner. We did eat well that night, with fresh bread rolls, a tomato, local cheese, a punnet of strawberries and a couple of bananas (for brekky).

With the sun getting low in the west, I positioned myself on the balcony for some good sunset pictures. To the south, I noticed the the Alps were still covered with high cloud, but as they drifted, I could see that there was a gap that would show the mountains in good light – provided that the sun did not set too soon. It was like a race between the sun and the clouds, and I waited in anticipation of both sights, the sunset and the alps. To my delight the clouds cleared perfectly in the south, but remained in place in the west for the setting sun. I was able to get some terrific photos, and I have included some in the gallery below.

The trip to Messac in Brittany was interesting. Arriving early at the Montreux station gave us the chance to board an earlier train to Geneva, and thus a longer time to make our connection. The TGV takes around two hours for the approximately 550 kilometres to Paris, and while the first part of the trip is reasonably slow as the train snakes around valleys and through mountains, it soon accelerates to around 300 kilometres an hour. Again, our seats were facing backwards and we pinch some forward facing seats to avoid Jen getting sick. By now I realise we need not have forked out the dollars for reserved seats, as there has been plenty to choose from. Maybe they were needed for the Amsterdam to Basel leg. It might be a different story in the high season.

At Paris we decide to use the metro as the TGV from Geneva arrives at Gare de Lyon not far from Notre Dame, but our train to Brittany leaves from Gare Montparnasse. Initially we thought a taxi would be the best way, but Jen thought we should attempt the metro, so that clearly became the best way. My iPad has a handy Paris Metro Planner, and it did seem easy enough, with just a single change of lines. Easy on the iPad. But the iPad does not have to navigate around these vast metro stations, up numerous levels and down to even deeper levels with a singular lack of escalators. We had gotten used to the Swiss way of planning, but eventually we made it, but by this time exhausted from hauling our bags in what probably amounted to an escalation of Mount Blanc.

The TGV trains look a bit tired and worn, but at least in the first class carriages, are still quite comfortable, and at 300 k/ph chew up the distance quite rapidly. For some reason, about 20 kilometres short of Rennes where we would make our connection to Messac, the train driver put his foot on the brake, and we coasted along at a very modest pace, thus getting in late and missing our connection. Rennes station was havoc. It is a pretty big station, and lots of people had missed all sorts of connections. Confusion was in abundance, and the staff did not seem to know enough to help us.

Of course it all worked out, and we now find ourselves in Le Carre d’As. This is more like a country pub, with very unassuming accommodation, but comfortable enough, and about a third the cost of the cheapest other place we have stayed. Its main business is its bar, but it also has a wonderful restaurant. It seems they employ an actual, you know, chef – a person skilled in the art of cooking. We had a great meal last night and fantastic lunch today. It must have a good reputation, as it had been full at every sitting. I don’t think the chef does breakfast though, as our fare this morning was a basket of bread rolls, croissants, Nutella and jams. And coffee.

We had a quiet exploration of Guipry, which is the adjacent village, over the river. Being May Day, it was quiet, but a produce market was open and we were able to get some fruit and cheese and a coffee. And Jenny’s favourite, crepes. We sat at a small bar for our coffees, while our neighbours drank wine. There was an interesting sight when on old man (probably about 65) drove up to the door, almost entering, in a tiny Peugeot. He must have been a regular as the barman emerged with a large glass of red wine which the driver sank with a couple of gulps. As the barman retrieved the glass, the patron lit up a fag, swung the car back into the traffic and lurched off down the street. Maybe this is his daily outing!

There is certainly a nice feel to rural France (our 24 hour’s experience qualifying us to make a judgement!) The people are friendly and the pace of life much subdued. We ambled back to our pub, but it began raining steadily so we spent the afternoon drying out and catching up with messages, emails and Facebook (which is turning out to be a great tool of communication.)

Fiona and Don are already in Rennes and we have a lunch date with them at our pub, before we pick up our boat in readiness for the next seven days together. The weather is expected to be bright.

We are not sure about internet for the next week, so we may be in the shadows for the next week.