A very overdue post – and while the summer is very definitely behind us, I’m still remembering the hot summer and the family adventures we went on, as the days grow shorter and I reach for the jumper.

This summer we travelled overland to Switzerland, firstly to Geneva, then up into the mountains from Sion to a little village called Arolla where we explored the mountains and glaciers as well as the flower-filled meadows – precipitous paths and all! Back down from the mountains to Sion via the post bus, we then journeyed into Italy and up to a Swiss hilltop village above Locarno, called Intragna. I remember excellent fig ice-cream and cakes from the brilliant bakery and an early morning swim in the river. We ended the trip with a couple of nights in Zurich exploring the city and found time to swim in the lake too, before getting the train back home via Paris.

Switzerland tested my language skills, particularly as we travelled through French speaking Geneva, Italian speaking Locarno and German speaking Zurich, but we did our best. The food was fairly heavy on cheese and potatoes, and I can recommend the Swiss wine that apparently tends to stay in the country rather than being exported. Of course we sampled the chocolate too!

The landscape was beautiful and varied during our holiday, from vineyards to pastures, wide glacial rivers to narrow streets of Geneva. It is sobering to see the pace at which the glaciers are retreating, with dates marked on rocks along the walk up the valley to meet the ice of years gone by. The flowers were stunning and in abundance lower down the mountain passes. We were fortunate with good weather during our time in the mountains so on one day we were able to climb to nearly 3000 metres and lunch at a refuge hut before a rather long decent including steep drops, rickety bridges and large staples to hold on to – via ferrata – some rather scary!

We enjoyed some excellent galleries and museums during our trip including:

Musée Ariana – the Swiss museum for ceramics and glass in Geneva

The Regional Museum for the Centovalli and Terre di Pedemonte in Intragna which also included a climb of the bell tower

Landesmuseum (Swiss National Museum) Zürich – which housed an exhibition on all things Techno, as well as a sizeable collection of Swiss art and design through the ages and an incredible collection of rings of all shapes and sizes

The Pavillon Le Corbusier, also in Zurich, nestled in a park by the lake

A surprise cultural highlight was a festival in Geneva on Swiss National Day (1st August), where we were treated to a performance by Alpenhorn Sound System, as we watched fireworks over Lake Geneva – amazing!

A great holiday, lots of good memories and plenty of inspiration!