Thursday: I went to Geneva for the day and saw the city with Emilie. Though she has been living there for more than a year, for her studies, she never really played tourist there. She knows the important sights, but it was a discovery for both of us. We visited the Brunswick fountain first, then we saw the "jet d'eau" (water fountain) which throws water up to 180 meters. It was originally an pressure release for one of the hydroelectric damns near Geneva, but the locals like it so much that they made it a permanent installation. We then went to the English garden nearby, though most of the flowers had been removed for the winter. We saw the "mur des reformateurs" (wall of the reformers), all of them Genevois (as everywhere in Switzerland, people feel a stronger affiliation to their Canton than to the Swiss Confederation). The most notable is Calvin. We visited the crypts of the St. Nicholas church, which was expanded a total of four times before being it's current size. We finished the day off by visiting the UN and the botanical gardens, with a quick trip to "Les Brasseurs", a brew-pub, where I tried a cherry beer, before catching the train back to Sion.
Friday: Gregoire and I visited the valley of Anniviers in the morning. We stopped at Grimentz to have a look at the old town, before heading to the Eastern side of the valley to visit the tourist town of Zinal, which was obviously quite dead at this time of year. Afterwards we visited the Wine and vine museum in Salquenen (or Salgesch in German). This part of the Valais is where the transition from French to German happens (called the Rösti line). It was fun to see all the progress that was made in the past centuries in terms of equipment and knowledge. We then went to the second museum of the same name in Sierre (Sidders). It is a bit more modern and there is quite a bit less technical stuff. We then headed over to Provins, which is the dealer who Michel sells his grapes to. They were having a degustation of three different Fendants, a local AOC. To end the afternoon we visited "La Sierrvoire", a brew-pub in, you guessed it, Sierre. They also had a degustation, and we tried three varities, the "Clair" a slightly spicy pale ale, the "Blanche" a belgian style wheat beer and the "Rousse" an incredebly malty red.
Saturday: For lunch Rose-Marie (Michel's wife) made a wonderful tomatoe and cheese fondue, which you spread over potatoes. In the afternoon I went to Gaya's (a friend of Emilie) mother's sled-dog kennel to help Emilie feed them. Gregoire and I made some spaghetti bolognese thinking that Emilie and Gabriel might come and join us for supper, but they had sabdwiches after doing the invetory of a grocery store. Afterwards, I went bowling with Emilie and Gaya, and for once wasn't the worst player. Gaya went home after two games and Emilie took me to "Le Baroque", a small bar where we talked for a while before she took me back to Gregoire's.
Sunday: For lunch I went to Gisele's, who is Michel's sister, with Gregoire, Emilie and Gabriel. In the afternoon Gabriel and I were supposed to go rock-climbing, but both places were closed, so we went to the baths at Saillon with a friend of Gabriel's and her sister. I had supper at Jean-Luc's, with him as well as Emilie and Gabriel. Afterwards I went to see "Les petits mouchoirs", a French film, with Gregoire.
Monday: Gregoire took me to a small mountain with a great view over the valley. The snow had set in at higher altitudes, so when we got to a nice plateau we stopped climbing as the paths were slippery. I was able to take some great pictures from up there. We came back into Ardon and took an apero at the bistro where Gregoire's friends, who went to the play with us, work. In the afternoon I visited the two castles of Sion, Valere and Tourbillon, which are both on neighbooring hill tops overlooking the Valais. Afterwards I got my pack ready and went for a last supper at Michel and Rose-Marie's. They made me a typical valaisan supper, the "croûte au fromage" (cheese crust): bread with a bit of wine drizzled on, topped with ham slices, cheese and two eggs, quite a hardy meal. Then it was time to go grab my first train to Visp, then Zurich where I took a night-train to Vienna.
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