Nyon Autumn Market

It seems that villages here celbrate everything and I am all for that. Here are photos from Nyon including a picture of our castle here.

More decorative food art. This butterfly is made of lettuces, parsnips, plums, figs, onions, fennil, cauliflower, carrotts, broccoli and squash.

When the cows come home

The decent of the cows from their summer pastures, the DesAples of the cows, was extraordinary. The village of St-Cergue was converted to a cow path and people from all over came into town to watch and celebrate.



Cows are revered in this country, as it should be, for their role in producing the delicious milk, cheese and chocolate. They had been decorated with head dresses and huge bells, often embroidered on the harness with the family name. The announcer would ask that everyone clear the way because “les vaches approaches avec plus de force’, the cows approach with much force, and so everyone moved in to get a better photo!



They really were beautiful, with shiny coats, long eyelashes and many of them were full of milk and in need of relief.




I am not sure what she is swatting at, but she was NOT stricking her beautful cows.



In between herds, we listened to the musical troupes of yodelers and horn players and bell percussionists.

We sampled some of the food – vegetable soup cooking in a copper cauldron over a fire for me and a spit-roasted whole pork sandwich for E.

And here is a summary film by E and me of the day's events!

We browsed the vendors, everything from cheese to honey to cow bells to embroidered table clothes. This merchant quickly covered his linens whenever the cows came through and this was a good idea, because there was getting to be beaucoup de poo. By noon, the air was getting ripe and we were glad we had come early.

Next time, rubber boots.

Cassis

On our trip to Provence, we stopped at Cassis on the Mediteranian coast. The water was clear and blue.

We took a boat tour of the fjords and saw a man jumping in off a high cliff, naked sunbathers on the rocks and some beautiful houses and venues, only some of which are pictured here!

Photos from Provence

Bonnieux in the Luberon region of Provence.



Our B&B: the courtyard and their fields of Lavender from which they let me cut a big bunch.

This year, because of the mild winter, these tiny snails have appeared all summer long. They have not caused any concern and look like tiny white flowers....until you crunch them underfoot. We suspect that they are trying to suck moisture out of their host, be it tree, blade of grass or flower stalk.

Very Tidy Roadways

The sides of the country roads in Switzerland and France are very well kept. This is because of the articulating arm assembly on the street mowers you see in this picture.

I have seen dozens of these things trimming things by the sides of the roads!

The amazing part is that they trim the trees near the roads, and the end up looking like fine hedges. The other amazing part is that I took this picture in France! This is something one might expect from the Swiss, but the fact of the matter is that the French, where I travel, take better care of their horticulture around the roads than the Swiss (especially the "round-a-bouts"--see a previously posted picture).

Harvesting in Nyon

This lovely centerpiece is from a farmer's market. Here, the markets are at the farm, in the countryside. The drive there is half the fun. There are usually opportunities to taste and buy, and the displays are often stunning.

At the same farm, the vineyard is worth celebrating.



The apple trees are trained and pruned much the same way as the grapevines. The yield is tremendous and the trees are easily tended.

These next two photos are from the lake side park in Nyon which was a strong hold of Rome. There are ruins throughout the village. The landscaping is spectacular. I walk here every day.

This is the view from under the Roman columns of Lake Geneva. On a clear day, Mont Blanc is visible in the low point among the mountains.

Parade Day in Russin, Switzerland

First, we went the to Marche Divonne, which happens every Sunday. We love this market! Especially nice is this fish dealer. Their fish is exquisitely fresh, and the prepare it for you on the spot. The fish mongers behind the counter are clearly having a great time doing this!

Then, we went to this wonderful fair (fete?) in Russin, Switzerland, just south of Meyrin (the location of the main CERN site in Switzerland, just west og Geneva). This shot of some girls in a sunflower-laden carriage is particularly lovely.
Several of the floats were passing out samples. This one was passing out fresh apple cider. We didn't take any pictures of the ones handing out wine--we were trying to get some instead! :-)
There were four marching bands. This one seems to be high-school-age folks.

This wonderful little bacd consisted of piccalos and snare drums. They were pretty good. And notice the "joker" outfits they are wearing. Very nice!

Here is a movie of some of this lovely parade!

I couldn't resist taking this picture back in Divonne. Can you figure out what it means?