A Stay in the Vineyards

 

This time of the year is perfect for visiting the vineyards.

The weather forecast was so good that we decided to stay the night.

This is the village of Chexbres, well know for the quality of its wines.

This was the mist over the lake when we arrived in the morning.

We walked through the vines on small paths with no traffic.

The wine harvest had taken place just the week before.

The views on all sides were stunning

On many of the slopes, the vines were taking on a golden hue.

I love seeing one of the steamboats pass by too.

The view from the hotel room was breathtaking!

This is a partial view of the hotel

and I stayed on the top floor in the third balcony from the left.

These are the mountains seen on the left of our balcony

The small thumb shaped mountain to the left is called la Dent de Jaman

and is 1.875 metres high.

I climbed that mountain once many years ago

and trying to come down again was a bit hair-raising!

a kind and experienced man helped me by telling me where to put my feet.

Whew! I don't have a head for heights!

The longer range of mountains to the right is called les Rochers de Naye

and they stand at 2.042 metres high.

I've been up there on an electric cogwheel train.

We see another steamboat go by in the opposite direction.

I believe we saw five of them gliding across the lake during our stay.

This boat is called the Simplon. It is named after a mountain pass.

A view from the balcony towards the end of the lake and the Valais.

The views took on a warmer tone towards the end of the afternoon.

There's a big cedar tree planted just below the hotel.

Luckily it only cuts off a part of the view.

Towards the end of the day, we noticed murmurations of starlings coming across in swirling clouds.

It was so difficult to get a shot of them as they were so fast

so the quality of this photo is not as representative as I would have wished!

Murmurations are huge groups of starlings that twist, turn, swoop and swirl

across the sky in beautiful shape-shifting clouds.

Just before dusk, small groups of starlings from the same area

come together above a communal roosting area.

We saw them settle into surrounding trees.

After a light supper, we sat on the balcony to watch the sunset.

This photo was taken at 18:28 (6.28 pm)

This one was taken at 19:03 (7.03 pm) after the sun had set

and the lake seems to be illuminated from within!

The next morning a purple and pink sunrise announced a new day.

This was taken at 7.56 am

Just a few minutes later.

So beautiful!

We walked into the village for breakfast and came back through the vineyards

 to enjoy them again.

The vines leaves were catching the light so beautifully

There were even a few grapes leftover.

Often these grapes are allowed to ripen and sweeten to make a very delicious

November wine which has the sweetness of the early autumn sunshine.

So vibrant and lovely with the vines in the background.

This is a partial view of  The Deck belonging to the hotel.

It was closed at lunchtime, but we did have lunch in the adjoining restaurant with the same view.

We had just finished the last drops of our delicious red wine!

An original deck decoration: hanging bottles of roses.

Some of the lovely autumn leaves I picked up on my walks.

The leaf on the upper right is a vine leaf.

The colours of the leaves inspired me to crochet a big mandala to go on the top

of a small round table next to my couch.

Here it is on the table, with an orange cotton cloth that seems to fit with the colours.

This a rather photo-heavy blog entry, but maybe you don't mind too much!

If you have time, do a double click on the images to enlarge them.

I hope that October has been a beautiful month for you so far!