Gateway to the Vineyards

In September it was decided to have a mini stay in the vineyards.

The weather forecast was excellent and it was easy to take a couple of short train rides

to return to the lakeside village of Chexbres in the canton of Vaud.

Two nights in the vineyards was sheer bliss.

The daily walks along small paths with no traffic was ideal.

The views over the lake and mountains were a constant joy.

The village below is called Rivaz.

The temperatures were still very warm and sunhats and bottles of water

were always with us.

This is the Hotel Prealpina where we stayed.

It's perched high above the vineyards and has wonderful views over the lake and mountains,

but it was quite a trek to get up there on foot from the village below.

It took us about thirty minutes pulling our suitcases uphill from the train station!

This was the sideview of the surrounding mountains.

From left to right, these are called La Dent de Jaman and Les Rochers de Naye.

These were the colours of the same mountain range very early in the morning before sunrise.

This is a wider view of the faraway mountains leading to the Valais

and the end of the lake.

I took this from my hotel room just as the sun was hitting the tips of the mountains

at 7:33 a.m.

Here comes the sun from behind the hill in the foreground

After breakfast, we walked down to the small Chexbres Tourist Office near the station.

I love the flower decorated window.

A beautiful hanging basket hanging from the roof covering the village fountain.

We walked down through the village to the vineyards below to start our first walk of the day

I rather liked this palm tree jutting out above the view on the lake 

looking towards the town of Geneva at the other end.

It sometimes seems that the vineyards lead right to the edge of the lake,

but below these vines are many others

and they go down in layers right down to the lake's edge.

Way below the vineyards, I zoomed in on a passing steamboat full of happy, waving passengers!

This is my favourite boat of the fleet called La Suisse.

A few weeks later, we were able to take a sunset cruise on this boat.

I liked the winding trail left in the water where the steamboat had passed by

We decided that it time for lunch and knew a restaurant that we'd been to in the past,

but first of all, we stopped off at a terrace, called the Deck, for a sparkling water

overlooking the fabulous view.

This is the terrace of a hotel where it would be nice to stay another time!

Here is the hotel called Le Baron Tavernier.

A pretty archway, with climbing roses, leads us to an sheltered area with a bench to sit

and enjoy the warmth of the sun and the view.

Up through the village again, past this lovely chalet and to enjoy

our books from the peace of our hotel surroundings before having dinner.

The sunset created pink hues on the mountain tips and in the sky.

This view is from the hotel restaurant.

Most of the light has gone now, but the surface of the lake and the mountain tips

look so lovely at the end of the day.

This is the last scene of our first day in the vineyards.