the passing seasons

Can you believe it's fall already? I keep asking myself that question, too. My answer is no, I can't. I really can't. But here we are.

So, I guess I'll happily embrace that unmistakable chill in the mornings and relish the warm afternoons that disappear a little too quickly behind the setting sun.

How about you? Are you welcoming fall with open arms or a stiff upper lip?

let's head for the hills

Last weekend, we decided to have breakfast at a higher altitude.  After picking up croissants from our favorite boulangerie, we high-tailed it into the hills. We opted for a short hike and decided to walk a small portion of the trek around the Mont Blanc.

Lots of hikers come through on their way around the Mont Blanc.  The trek usually takes about 7-10 days.  Although, some daredevils do it in under 24 hours but those are men and women running the UTMB, the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc and they are very much exceptional human beings. This year's race was this past weekend. It's so exciting and energizing to watch.    Anyway back to our small, small endeavor, we opted for a very short portion of the same trail.

Nature brought out the bear in Clover.  Literally.  Out of the blue, he growled at some fellow hikers that walked past us as we were taking a break and sent himself into a fit of giggles.  Well, it made the passers-by chuckle, too. Not to fear though,  should you cross this little cub in the wild, I  have on good authority that he isn't very dangerous and can be swayed into just about any activity by offering a small square of cheese or chocolate.

We were rewarded for our early morning motivation.  The sun was just peaking over the tops of the mountains when we arrived at our destination, Le Sollié, a high altitude restaurant just off the trail.  It's usually a stopping point for a refreshing perrier on the way back down from a long hike, or a sweet crêpe to give a boost for that last bit of trail.  We ordered coffee and orange juice to enjoy with our croissants and soaked up all the sunshine we could.

Outside the small chalet that houses the restaurant, there are gurgling fountains. They have rabbits that happily nibble away on grasses and a big sand box filled with toys, in other words an endless amount of things to keep a little boy occupied. They did so very successfully.  But, lunchtime and naptime were growing closer and before those things could happen, there would need to be a hike down.

A tired out Clover got a fair amount of rides on our shoulders and a well-coiffed Félix got an even better hairstyle from his new, little hairdresser.   This breakfast in the hills was a great start to our day and a wonderful start to the weekend.

How was your weekend? I hope there was sunshine involved! Maybe some croissants, too?

Auberge de Colombaz

photo credit: JYR

I had a great start to my birthday weekend and it just happens to perfectly coincide with the Love the Place You Live series by Gabrielle at Design Mom. The idea is to get out and enjoy a place close to home, share about it and link up with others that did the same.

On Friday night, we hiked up to l'Auberge de Colombaz, a remote mountain chalet inaccessible by car.  It was a beautiful clear night, the Alps making a perfect outline against the star filled sky.  Dinner was delicious, all authentic Savoyard cuisine made even more tasty by the steep, winding hike just before.  My favorite part, besides the wonderful company, was sledding down the mountain, headlamps lighting the way.  It was a much quicker trip back down on our speedy red sleds.  High altitude restaurants and midnight sledding make for just two of the many, many reasons why I love where we live.

This was also the first time I tried my hand at night photography.  I'm lucky to have a talented photographer friend who showed me the ropes...and then let me use one of his photos when none of mine turned out. Thanks, JYR!

So please share, what are you loving close to home these days?