On The Road

We had a fabulous room last night. Our view was down a lovely valley with the lights of a few small villages highlighted against the mountains behind. There was not a cloud in the sky and tons of stars were visible. We left the patio doors open and had a face full of stars every time we opened our eyes. Seems Tami spent more time star gazing than sleeping so is a bit sleep-deprived today. Today was a relatively gentle day. We spent most of the morning coming downhill into the Val (Valley) d'Entremont. Although the views into several valleys were spectacular, we were in the trees and on roads (very small roads; some paved but most not) much of the day. The views were of several small villages, farmland extending up the hillsides and roads winding improbably up to houses perched far up the slopes. Our wildlife du jour was a snake snacking on a mouse. I resisted the temptation to take a picture, although Tami and Billie each have one. Lunch at Sembrancher confirmed that we are now further off the tourist trail, as our server spoke no English and we just guessed at items on the menu. Worked out OK. Back on the trail again and a right turn into another valley. A few hours of gentle uphill into the towns of Le Chable and Villette. We've run into some of the same folks for a few days now - three gentlemen from the UK, a couple from Calgary, 3 couples from Rossland BC and a family of 11 from Seattle (Dad is 81 and Mom is 80!). Our accommodation tonight is in the gondola building and is reminiscent of military barracks. Once again, a bit of a communication challenge but we worked through it. Can't wait until we get to the German part of Switzerland. I have nothing but a free phone app to work with. BTW, I'm sure they only put the vital words on the non-free version. We have a big climb tomorrow. I wonder if I can take the gondola up and just claim that I fell out of bed and boarded in my sleep. Great dinner tonight. Beautiful sunshine and temps in the low 30s. 230m up and 815m down. Hope the great weather stays with us, although a few clouds are forecast for tomorrow. Billie leaves us tomorrow AM :(. just Tami and I for the rest of the trip.