Skies and Mountain Silhouettes

More photos from Lavey-les-Bains following the first part here:

Mountains, Relaxation and River

Pine Branches against a late summer sky.

There were many beautiful trees in the grounds of the hotel.

Colourful fluffy clouds and birds flying high before the morning sun hit the mountain range.

The sun is arriving

At last the rich colours start to show as the sun illuminates the higher peaks.

So many interesting clouds at different times of the day.

I liked these in pink and gold.

Sitting on a bench in the grounds to read my book-

It's called : 'Standing in the Rainbow' by Fannie Flagg.

A charming story of people and their connections with each other in a small town

called Elmwood Springs in Missouri, U.S.A.

I'm also crocheting rainbows to make a garland and here are the first three!

I saw this hollowed out tree trunk full of treasures from nature

The mountains are extremely steep in some parts

and I prefer to admire them from afar rather than climb them!

Watching the sunset from the hotel room

and getting a last glimpse of an illuminated tip of a mountain,

the Dent de Morcles

which can also be seen in the preceeding blog entry.

These beautiful white flowers were in hanging terracotta pots along the covered terrace.

Just for fun!

As I passed a metal sculpture in the hotel on my way to the spa,

I had to laugh at my deformed image!

I think my next blog entry may be about flowers

there are still so many beauties blooming in this late summer period before autumn sets in.

Spring Snow

I know that the first day of spring isn't quite here,

it's still two days' away.

That didn't stop fresh snow from falling in the mountains!

All the mountain scenes in this posting are thanks to a lovely early birthday treat

from my son who came over from Canada to visit his family and friends.

We spent a night in a beautiful hotel with a spa.

The Lavey Spa Centre is situated in the Rhône Valley surrounded by mountains.

Here are some of the warm thermal water pools.

The water from the baths comes from the hottest spring of Switzerland

(33° - 36°C).

It is caught in great depth, up to 600 metres, near the baths.

If you look up into a small snowy plateau on the mountain side,

you can see a little hamlet and the steeple of a church.

On the day of our arrival, we both had a massage at the spa centre

and then enjoyed swimming in the pools as it was snowing on our heads!

I like the Hammam very much which is steamy and perfumed with essential oils

which clears the lungs and respiratory system.

The centre under a deep blue sky at night.

I went here some years' ago with a girl friend on the longest day of the year

and we swam under the stars until midnight!

This lovely golden scene was taken from my hotel room at the spa.

This was the first sun of the morning, around 6.30 am which illuminated the peaks

in a golden light.

The new day brought us bright blue skies which contrasted so beautifully with the fresh snow.

The sun hadn't yet reached the foreground.

The branches are still bare, but tiny buds are swelling and getting ready

to burst open at that time when the temperatures rise over a certain amount of time.

This is the lovely Georgia O'Keeffe picture in my hotel room.

This metal statue is at the entrance to the Spa Centre.

I sat in the waiting area drinking herbal teas and waiting to be called.

I had chosen an Alpine salt scrub followed by a back massage done with shells

and heated oil!

We did several lovely walks in the hotel's park and beyond until we reached a waterfall.

This is a fun reflection I took in one of the metal deforming structures.

You can see part of the hotel in the background.

The water from a waterfall travels down to the Rhône River below.

The level of the water is very low at this time of the year.

We have had little rain and the snow has not yet melted.

In the late spring and early summer, you can hear the water

rushing noisily over the rocks.

A last look at this beautiful mountain range covered in fresh snow.

What a lovely early birthday treat and some quality time spent with my son.

A visit to remember!

I also came here with my daughter for the day last autumn,

to celebrate her birthday!