5th Jan - Tour Day 9

Well, this is it! Today we get to Samoens! But first there is stuff to see and do...
Beginning with Sion, we wanted to see the two castles, visible from the road and our hotel, up close. Last night there was not enough energy around to even get some decent night-time photos of the castles, let alone a visit.

The Château de Valère and the Château de Tourbillon each sit atop a hill overlooking the city. Tourbillon is a ruin, while Valère is still in good shape. Going through the old town wall we made our way up to the top of the enclosed town and could see both castles above.

The entrance through the town wall

 

Hayley and Michelle decided to see Valère while Pierre and I, with all the kids opted for the ruin of Tourbillon.

Tourbillon from the parking area... that's a long way up, and were not carrying building material!

During the long climb to the top we had the company of one of the local's dogs, a border collie, who kept the kids so amused fetching sticks and things that they forgot to ask the two old men for "uppies" - what a dog!

 

The mutt up front with keen kids in tow

 

Arriving at the top, we found the door to the castle locked! How rude, and only due to open a good 30 minutes or so from now.

This is Château de Valère from the battlements of Torbillon

And another... nice setting what?

Back down the hill again... babies ready to depart with Sion in the background

After the trip to see the castles, we began the drive to Samoens.

Pierre taking the wheel for a bit, so yours truly could rest his royal raggedness in the back.

If you've ever wondered what a Mishcat looks like in a speeding van...

After the climb out of Sion, we had to stop and admire the view - can you spot our van? - its the one packed to the limit...
Just beyond the building you see in front of the van in the picture above, the road curves and presents the Rhone Valley...

After dragging ourselves back to the car we were forced to travel through the rest of this very ordinary place...

We attempted a cable car ride up Mont Blanc, I stayed in the van, due to my bout of the dreaded lurgy, while the 7 merrymen made off for the lift. I'd just settled down on the back seat, snacks all packed out, cosy warm, ready to sleep for a few hours when they all returned! Bummer... It was the wrong lift station or something, I can't remember the reason, only the fact that I didn't get to snooze!

This is one of the glaciers that we passed on the way out of Sion

We arrived in Samoens after 3 pm, called Yves, the agent for the farmhouse we rented, and met up with his wife at the tourist information centre in the little town. She showed us through to the house, which is HUGE, there are 5 bedrooms, 2 of which are suites with their own lounges, all are en-suite, nice kitchen, games room with pool table, a massive dining room, cosy lounge with a fireplace and a laundry room equipped with a washing machine and tumble dryer. The house is a restored 17th century farmhouse, stone on the ground floor and wooden upstairs, wooden paneling etc, very, very pleasant.

 

It's heaven for kids, snow outside, masses of space inside, Satellite TV, a games console, close enough to town and the lifts - excellent.
Yves' wife organised ski passes for us, and we had lessons for the kids lined up too. Yves had organised an aupair to fill in for us when the kids needed it, so we were all sorted for the week. I went to bed to get rid of the last of my illness while the family settled in. Got to be ready for tomorrow!

Click here for the previous day - 4th Jan

Click here for the first day - 26th Dec