I forgot to mention yesterday that we also had a walk in the local woodland, so different from our Australian eucalypt forests. The trees tend to be slender and straight and tall, with less undergrowth, and this woodland is tended as a source of firewood.

On Friday, Gorel and Othmar had already planned a program for us, so after a fantastic breakfast including terrific home made jams, we set off on a trip to Gruyeres along the quieter back roads that took us through many small Swiss villages and gave us a lot of time to get a feel for the local specialties - corn and cattle - and some of the distinctive features of traditional regional architecture, with a heavy reliance on wood. Gorel commented on the way that hay is now baled, describing the plastic wrapped bundles as "tractor eggs" a Norwegian expression she says.

About an hour brought us to the foot of the hill occupied by Gruyeres. A few interesting facts. Gruyeres refers to the bird that we call a crane and which both the French and Italians call a gru. They, like us, use the same word for the machine that lifted things. Ain't language fascinating? The emblem for the town is - you guessed it - a gru. (The bird!)

The town still has the remnants of its ancient wall, and a substantial chateau - a castle not a luxurious home - which houses a fascinating museum that explores the spaces in the castle and their original condition. Anne was particularly taken with the severed hand of some witch who was caught at it, and the explanation given for the short beds - not that the people were shorter (which they were) but that they slept sitting up- as only the dead lay horizontal. Must have been getting ready for someone to invent economy class flying!

While it threatened rain all morning, the only time it actually did more than threaten was when the four of us were safely ensconced in the Restaurant Les Remparts which looks on to the ramparts and dates back to the 1600s. The meal du jour was a delicious fondue with bread and potatoes and white wine.

Taking a slightly different route we headed for the shore of Lac Leman/ Lake Geneva to see the wonder of the local wine industry where the vines on the steep hillside sweep down to the lake in ordered terraces- like the Cinque Terre with rules. We drove through places like Chardonne, Chexbres, expresses and Dezaley. They (the Swiss) say the wines do better here than on the French side because they get three times the benefit of the sun - directly, as reflected from the lake, and from the warmth held in the stone terrace walls. The sun came out to order and created a tremendous panorama as we looked up and down the lake, backed by the mountains on the French side.

Home, tired but happy, to a light meal of roast chestnuts, apple, prosciutto, grapes and dried beef. (And more red wine). A brief blog and off to bed, tired but happy.