On A Grand Tour

A popular phrase here right now is La Neige de Mai, or the May Snow. Now this is a type of snow I can get behind, as it’s not frozen water that is currently blanketing the mountain meadows, but white narcisses, or daffodils. Such a sight was worth a muddy, rainy, and foggy trek into the Prealps above Montreux. We started in the mountain town of Les Avants and, just like every hike we do, began our ascent. Once up on the ridgeline that boasts 360° views of Lake Geneva and the surrounding mountains, we were met with…an impenetrable wall of fog. While missing out on the views was disappointing, there is something quite moody and mystic about a quiet, foggy forest. So, feeling like we might be stepping onto the set of a horror film, we pressed on.

Our fog was an amazingly quick-moving fog though, and within seconds the wall of white could open up to a spectacular view and become obscured again just as rapidly.

We were having a great, if soggy, time, and then we found the flowers. I am a flower-lover in general, but wandering a mountain path with steep meadows covered—no, blanketed—in daffodils to the soundtrack of cowbells chiming, was really quite something. Maybe it was the weather, but the massive crowds I was expecting à la every superbloom that occurs in Southern California did not materialize, leaving us to enjoy to our hearts’ content. I could have stayed there forever with my cheery daffodil friends, though the rain and sometimes deep, sometimes slick mud did motivate us to keep moving at some point. With Kurt currently sporting a broken hand that would most certainly not benefit from being landed on, every slight slipping sound gave me a small heart attack.

Lucky for us, the intermittent rainfall did not transition into a torrential downpour until we were back in town and headed to the train. Mother Nature must have been feeling compassionate!

Very different but no less beautiful was the Fête de la Tulipe, or Tulip Festival in Morges, another beautiful town on the shore of Lake Geneva. Luckily, the skies were clear and the temperature warm for this outing, with not a drop of mud in sight.

We strolled through endless tulips of every color, shape, and size imaginable, marveling at every single one. Apparently, there are 252 varieties of tulips represented here, which was not hard to believe as we wandered through row after row of gorgeous color. Get ready for a million photos!

Once we had our fill of tulips, we headed down the lake, wanting to soak up as much as we could of the beautiful weather. It seemed that the rest of the population had the same idea, as every park, waterfront, and beach was packed with people. Despite the warm temperatures, though, I still have not summoned the courage to jump into the freezing water as the Genevois do. Ten miles and a few new tan lines later, we made it to the beautiful city of Lausanne.

After a long and decidedly gray winter, spring has not simply arrived but rather has exploded onto the scene, and we are soaking up every minute of it. We can’t wait for all the fun summer has in store!