Country Rambles

We've been having an exceptionally beautiful month of October.

The temperatures having been hovering between 18-24 Celsius (around 68 Fahrenheit)

and I've been out as much as possible, enjoying nature.

From where I live in the town of Lausanne,

I need to take the metro, the train and then another little country train

which you can see here.

It stops at every single little village and hamlet on the way!

I went with a friend, and we noticed how dry the earth was through lack of rain.

The trees were changing colour and looking beautifully seasonal.

Some autumn plantations had already been done and appeared very green

against the dried fields of ploughed earth.

The mountains took on an almost purple hue

and quite a few had been planted with a ground cover

of purple flowers which I learnt were to replenish the soil in nutrients.

Here is a group of flowers in close-up.

The bees seemed to love it.

These country roads are wonderful for walks

and I love to go here at least twice a year to see the beautiful area in different seasons.

I love the lines of fields in different colours.

After walking through the woods, we turned to go back down the hill

down to a village called Apples.

The village church steeple can be seen

and the mountains above the lake as well.

We are still high enough to see the lake

and behind the mountain to the right

is the well-known Mont Blanc Mountain which is in France.

I thought these sunlit leaves, already quite orange,

were so typical of this beautiful season.

Nearer to home, I collected fallen leaves and thought it would be fun

to create an Autumn Quilt by taking macro shots of parts of the leaves and making a collage.

A quilt inspired by nature

in this beautiful month of October.

Balmy October Days

Autumn Camellia

This first half of the month of October

is giving us beautiful clear skies and deliciously warm temperatures,

anything between 19 and 24 Celsius.

Vibrant Dahlia

I've been going out for lots of walks,

especially down by the lake and in the country.

The hibiscus down by the lake were in full, glorious bloom.

Taken in Montreux.

Perfection

This bud is still wet from watering.

An American Oak leaf

well and truly caught in the spikes of a bush below the tree.

Fallen from this beautiful Oak Tree where the colours are starting to turn.

Deep blue skies and colourful branches.

This one was taken in my neighbourhood.

I love this garden gate with the geranium flowers coming out to greet the next visitor.

They seem to say: "Welcome, we're expecting you!"

I do my weekly marketing downtown on Saturdays

and this is the latest bouquet I brought home with me. 

I do love the mixture of fresh colours.

I hope that you are also having a beautiful month of October

with generous sunshine and clear autumn skies.

Water Music at Sunset

The beautiful lake is always an attraction, but never more so than at sunrise or sunset.

I loved looking at the early sunset through the illuminated flag at the back of the steamboat.

But I do believe that this lilac sky is my favourite on this particular day.

I had read about a new kind of evening cruise which included a classical music concert!

The fact that it featured a well loved piece of music made the idea even more exciting.

There was a live orchestra on board playing

Water Music by Georg Friederich Haendel.

So appropriate!

You can listen to it 

HERE

It was magnificently interpreted and I especially loved the horns and trumpets

So joyful!

Water Music was originally created in 1717

for King George 1st of England

and it was played on the Royal Barge with 50 musicians

as it floated along the River Thames on July 7th, 1717,

The King loved it so much that he asked the musicians to play it over several times!

G.F. Haendel, gifted musician and composer, born in Germany.

he travelled and lived in several European countries

 and he lived in England for many years till the end of his life.

He even taught music to the King's children.

I have heard that another musical cruise may be organized at some time in the future.

I shall definitely want to go again, especially if the music is as beautiful as this concert!

A last colourful look at the sky right after the sun went down.

High Above the Lake

The day was almost perfect

It was warm and great for walking

but a slight haze made the lake look a little misty.

We took the little train up to a place called Chexbres, 

high above the lake.

The flowers were all gorgeous, especially the geraniums.

This is a decorated old fountain on the way down to the vineyards.

This is just one of the decorations right next to the Chexbres train station.

These wonderful dark berries were ripening against an old wall.

A rusty gate and some steep steps led up to some vineyards

So prettily decorated with wild growing flowers

but not to be used by tourists or visitors.

The grape vines are protected at this time of the year.

We stayed to the public paths between the vines.

You can see how steep these slopes are.

Ideal for ripening the grapes and exposed to the sun and the reverberation

from the lake.

Here's a wider view of the vineyards with the slightly hazy lake and mountains beyond.

The grapes are protected both from passing walkers and the birds

by nets. I put my camera lens through the mesh of the nets to take this photo.

Here's the church steeple from the village called St. Saphorin

where we had lunch.

The church door as we made our way down some steep steps.

The ornate and lovely sign of the well known restaurant

called l'Auberge de l'Onde.

We sat next to an open window in the restaurant facing the church.

This refreshing drink is called 'Blanc cassis.

It's a mixture of cooled white wine with a dash of Blackcurrant liqueur!

A pretty dark pink rose on each table.

You can see the reflection of the church wall and blue sky

in the shiny dark vase.

The delicious looking ripe white grapes

just about ready for harvesting!

The Lavaux Vineyard Terraces are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The last time I walked in these vineyards was in May 2016.

You can see what they looked like

HERE

A Wedding in Zermatt, 2018

There was a special event in August this year:

My son's wedding in Zermatt.

Most of the guests went up to the mountains for three days.

I did the train journey with my daughter and grandson.

I'll start off by showing you the Zermatt flag which is very striking .

Then there is the Canton of Valais flag

and the well-known Swiss flag

We had booked into the same hotel.

It's just a stone's throw away from the church

where the wedding was to take place.

As you can see, it's very mountainous.

The town itself is at an altitude of 1.620 metres

(5.310 ft)

Twice a day, a herd of goats were lead through the main street

The children guiding the goats were dressed in embroidered

red tunics.

The surrounding mountains are stunning

But the most iconic of all is the Matterhorn

whose summit is 4,478 metres (14,692 ft)

On the first day, we settled into our hotel and enjoyed visiting the little town.

On the second day, a wonderful outing was organized for all the wedding guests.

We took a cogwheel train up higher into the mountains 

where a delicious meal was served on an outside terrace.

It was lovely to meet up with other members of the family

and meet friends and colleagues who had been invited.

We walked back down all the way down to the village.

It took about one and a half hours and I could really feel the muscles

on my legs for a few days afterwards!

The day of the wedding arrived and we left our hotel dressed in our wedding outfits!

My daughter took this photo of me as we were leaving!

My daughter and grandson, in disguise!

After the church service

We all went to the wedding reception where drinks and snacks were served outside.

We had a quick peek and the prepared tables in the living room,

This long one was for my son and his wife and all close members of the family.

There were also two round tables.

I had been busy many weeks previously crocheting red hearts

for each guest.

I was so happy to participate this way.

I had also seen the idea of folding the starched napkin into an envelope shape

with a place to hold the menu 

and with the heart,

I like that the envelope represents a love letter.

The flowers are not yet on the tables.

They were pretty red roses and white baby's breath and greenery.

Perfect!

One of the sparkling chandeliers in the dining-room.

Here are the happy couple leaving in the hotel's carriage drawn by

two white horses.

So romantic!

It was a fairy-tale wedding!

You can see the good-luck rice being thrown as the carriage leaves!

There were many emotional moments, especially at the church.

It was very much an unforgettable and wonderful time in the mountains!

Last December,

I also visited Zermatt.

You can see how different everything looks in the winter here:

A Weekend in Zermatt