Sunday 28 July 

The only morning train left Orta station at 07.40, having travelled from Novara, so we crept out of the hotel via the white door into the underground garage (always open) at 07.00 and pulled or pushed our cases along tarmacadam roads up to the station. Hot work even before 08.00!  The train arrived on time (platform 2 – across the line) and we set off for Domodossola, where we ate breakfast at a bar across the road during the 50 minutes before taking the train to Brig in Switzerland. What a wonderful way to travel!

Instructions from Peter arrived by text, and our train journeys to Brig, and then Visp, went smoothly. 

At Visp we avoided the automatic machines and instead bought tickets for the bus from a useful ‘info’ person just before the express version of the bus roared off five minutes early, delivering us 30 minutes later at the Saas Grund Post stop, just by the newish RC church, where Peter was already waiting.

Peter is a generous and attentive host, and we and our luggage were taken to the house via the car park recently engulfed at the end of June by the major mud and rock avalanche of which required the army to clear, and whose debris and consequent damage is still all too evident.

Kate, Tom and Georgie were leaving for Norway (via Basel) at 15.00 (Keith having already returned the UK for work) and we arrived as Jill was creating sandwiches for all our lunches. The weather here was uncharacteristically hot, and Lucy and Louis (dogs) were causing concern as they lay still zonked from having walked too far in yesterday’s high temperatures. 

After farewells to the leavers, Peter and Jill took us up to Saas Fee, parking in the magnificent if vast car park which serves this hugely popular ski resort, and bundled us into one of the gondoliers of the cable car up to the ski slopes, to show us the lie of the land as it appears in summer. The Swiss government provide free transport for overnight visitors in a concerted attempt to increase tourism all the year round.

The Saas Fee glaciers are visibly receding, and the grey-blue, cloudy melt water continuously pounds down the hillsides, whereas the recently rain-filled rivers remain clear. The moraines, the corries, the cols and the hanging valleys are a wonderful sight.

In the winter the ski runs traverse the glacier, and the quicker red and black routes contrast the more sedate runs zig-zagging through forests of the lower tree line. Skiing is a hugely popular local activity; Zermatt steals the show (the next valley) with Saas Fee more sedate, and slightly less fashionable, but nonetheless very important.  Both Peter and Jill have skiied here for forty years, and all their extended family now enjoy the sport. 

The house was restored by Peter and Jill in 2007 using a local architect and local skills, who honour the traditions of the Vallais: wooden walls, wooden interiors of re-cycled and new larch; even a basement nuclear bunker, with four months’ vital supplies, a legal requirement for every home. They stay frequently in spring, summer, autumn and winter.  We were so fortunate to spend two fascinating days with them and to experience these beautiful mountains firsthand. The alpine flowers are simply amazing! 

Monday 29 July

The temperature and humidity were unusually high, and even the alpine nights much warmer than usual. Jill and I both found it difficult; she had had a demanding time with family, and me with luggage.
Whatever, Peter had planned to take us to another favourite set of ski runs slightly lower down the valley, using not one but two sets of connecting cable cars, and a soup lunch between the two.

After reaching the higher ground, now above the transhumance pastures, the air seemed very thin, and the temperatures hot, so we aborted the walk at Holsaas on the very steep and stoney terrain, and instead dropped down to the meadows where the huge but benign black cattle were pastured. All of us felt the strain of thinner air and excessive heat. 

On the way home David and I stopped off in the village to visit the modern church with its carved reredos, high altar, pulpit and side chapel altars rescued from former times and probably an earlier building; popped into the shop for more nuts (essential Zoe snacking) and walked home via the village cemetery, along the old mule path which eventually climbs up to the lake at the head of the valley and into Italy. 

Jill tells that until 1951 when the present roads were built, there were two mule transits a day, each way, and post was collected and delivered twice a day to village Post Offices. And in the snowy months, sleds were used to maintain the traffic. Extraordinary times.

For supper we enjoyed Jill’s beautifully cooked rack of lamb and Barbaglia’s Nebbiolo, in addition to Peter’s Prosecco, and were in bed by 22.00. 

Tuesday 30 July

After a slow start, we spent part of the morning with Jill walking Lucy and Louis on the old mule path this time up stream along the river, seeing more and more of the flood damage as we went. 

At noon we left for Visp taking the route along which the bus had brought us, to visit a nearby winery, St Jodern Kellerei at Visperterminen, from which Peter buys his wines, made from the grapes grown on this highest and steepest vineyard in Switzerland. We watched their promotional video and rapidly tasted four wines, before heading into Visp proper, to present the dogs to the Vet, to procure the travel certificates required to return with them to the UK. Hilarious! 

Peter and Jill kindly took us to the station and we said our farewells and thank yous. The temperature was well over 30; unpleasant as well as unusual. The train to Vevey (it continues to Geneva airport) was very civilised but horribly hot, and I felt distinctly unwell. I learned later that the car registered 38 degrees as they drove out of Visp, and that for ecological reasons, the air conditioning on Swiss trains is set for 5 degrees less than the outside temperature on hot days. No wonder we were hot!

The Astra hotel in Vevey was directly opposite the train station and we spent a couple of hours recovering there, unpacking and my making use of a tiny bath. It was still very hot as we ventured out looking for supper and exploring the lake’s promenade. It was heaving with sun bathers, lake dippers and families trying to cool down, and the air was sultry and humid, and heavy with haze. 

Several eateries were closed, either for August holidays or their night off, and all seemed very expensive. We settled for La Botane, in the town hall square, where we ate a shared plate of hummus, tapenade and parmigana tomato pesto with excellent bread and beer. There was even a very traditional, not overly sweet lemon meringue pie, and a very friendly waitress. Our spirits rose…. And we slept like the dead! 

Wednesday 31 July

We made a very slow start and ventured out for coffee in the hotel bar before walking in fresher, less hazy sunshine to lunch at Ze Fork. The fan, recharged, was very useful and we enjoyed efficient service, pretty good food and the company of two old ladies, carefully turned out and enjoying their lunch on the promenade, in the shade of the foliage canopy and close by the lake.

But it was still very hot, and we took refuge in the Musée Jenisch close by. It is an elegant, purpose built late nineteenth century building which was wonderfully cool. Fanny Jenisch left most of the estate she inherited from her husband to the town of Vevey to build what has now become the repository of both local and international art works, including thousands of drawings. The director plans temporary exhibitions drawing on these resources.

We spent an hour and half in comfort looking at some rather strange collections including a contemporary exhibition on the themes of hands and gloves, a series of engravings by Pierre Aubert including one of St Saturnin les Apt, and many other pieces of art, including a Tree by Corot, two Still Lives by Giorgio Morandi, a fountain in Barcelona Cathedral by Picasso, Lavandières a San Remo by François Bocion, a Young Woman in White by Édouard Ravel, Dorothea Lange’s famous Migrant Mother, and some impressive embroidery by Mariann Pernath. Art galleries and Museums never fail on hot, muggy days!

Although the day had begun by feeling fresher, the clouds had gathered and the humidity soared, continuing the pattern of very sultry and muggy afternoons with temperatures in the 30s. We headed back to the hotel for a rest, missing a heavy shower by seconds. 

The air temporarily cleared, and we ventured out towards the promenade, fortunately equipped with umbrellas. The heavens opened again, and we took refuge in La Clef – a newish restaurant with friendly staff, watching the teeming rain, and the air briefly freshening. We enjoyed our supper, and the bottle of rosé, and briefly watched the firework displays across the lake as the Swiss began to celebrate their National Day, before heading home feeling upbeat.. 

Thursday 1 August : Swiss National Day 

The rain last night had cooled the air a little and we walked a mile or so to the Vevey Funicular where we could use our free local travel passes issued to overnight visitors by the hotel. The Funicular runs every 20 minutes from 06.00 until midnight. Very useful indeed, as we were to hear from our next lunch host, Germain. 

We had a half hour stroll through the village/suburb of Mt Pélerin before Le Chalet opened for coffee. Despite the undemanding circumstances, I still felt unwell; slightly nauseous and feeble. The weather was close and humid, and once on the terrace, I stayed put while David explored further.

 Lunch here was irresistible; fabulous views of the lake and the french mountains opposite. Jill had told us about the swiss tradition of communal buffet meals on festivals, and this restaurant offered both an á la carte menu and the buffet. The evening offering is particularly popular because of the view the terrace offers of the celebratory fireworks around the lake. Lunch was terrific; the view fabulous and Germaine, the manager and sommelier, was warm and interested in David’s book.

We returned to Vevey on the funicular just as the rain started and boarded a bus back to the hotel. My persistent sore throat and loss of voice had finally morphed into a full-blown cold, which required yet more resting.

In the early evening we walked the length of the promenade westwards, well beyond La Tour de Peile, passing the statue of Charlie Chaplin who lived nearby for 22 years, and the Fork installation created by the Nestlé foundation and related to the nearby Alimentarium (food museum) where food is the main exhibit in this impressive tourist attraction, shown below.

We caught the bus back in time for a final supper at La Botane, dodging inside to avoid another cascade of heavy rain. We didn’t linger in the Place du Marché where the celebrations continued with fireworks, despite the rain.

Friday 2 August

Two coffees in the hotel bar cost more than the provisions purchased from the local Coop, after which we strolled to platform 1 to catch the 11.24 to Geneva airport. Busy to start with, space appeared once we had travelled beyond Lausanne, and this time the air conditioning and the cooler outside temperature combined to make the journey pleasant. Geneva airport seemed huge, and very busy with flights departing to every corner of the world.

Our plane was delayed by a flat tyre, but we eventually took off an hour late, and arrived without incident in Gatwick. At Clapham we opted for Waterloo, to guarantee a seat and a civilised homeward journey, and to buy a take away supper. We were home by 20.45; hurray!