Mont Blanc, Cheese and a New Bar
Before we get into the glory of La Dame Blanche, or the mystery of the exact location of Chéry-Nord, let’s deal with the important issue of the day: We have found a new bar. Our favourite, the Alpine Bar, closed permanently in April. Whilst we’re glad that the lovely staff have found other jobs, it has left us barless – a most unsatisfactory state of affairs.
Clearly this was a situation that needed remedied without delay. We very much like local approved bars and restaurants rather than touristy places, so we set about finding a tame local. Luckily this came in the form of Coralie, who as well as keeping Le Tyrol on its toes at night, also works at the magnificent Wild Beets at lunchtime. She told us exactly where we needed to take our drinking euros, and after a brief foray to quality check it, all is well again. It doesn’t offer quite the same opportunities for people watching/judging as the Alpine Bar but you can’t have everything.
And so to less important matters. I did my first decent climb today, up to the top of Ranfoilly, where the glittering prize for hauling yourself 5 miles uphill is a wonderful view of La Dame Blanche and her Massif.
I’ll never get bored of the moment where it appears in front of me. It’s tradition to sit on a bench and eat a second petit déj – and who am I to ignore tradition?
On the way up, I eyed up the Pointe d’Angolon where I’ll hopefully be heading next week, for some scrambling, rope and ridge fun.
The equally enjoyable 5 mile downhill run saw me home in time to go cheese shopping at La Fruitière des Perrières, where most of the cheese they sell is made by them.
There’s a small restaurant attached, where we go to indulge in one of the cheesy delights of the Haute-Savoie – a raclette. Their morbier version is the best I’ve ever had and I may dedicate an entire post to it when we’ve trained our arteries enough for the indulgence. And my liver for the innocuous beaker of electric ribena we’re given on arrival.
We limited ourselves to 3 cheeses for the next few days – an Abondance, a Tomme chèvre and a Tomme vache with garlic. Tomme is a style of cheese very local to this tiny part of the alps and it’s really delicious. Yet another of the joys of being here, along with the Diots, the wine, the mountains, the weather and the apparent omnipresence of Chéry-Nord.