There's nothing like some good red wine to motivate Monsieur Gourmand to a physical challenge.
Hiking from Gryon on a damp foggy day in August - although it felt more like November, much like the rest of summer 2014 - we arrived at the verdant village of Taveyanne. So remote is this hamlet of unusually roofed huts, with no electricity or running water, that it is uninhabited in winter. In summer it serves as a sort of open-air museum of Swissness for hikers and mountain bikers (lazier people can drive up).
One of the houses doubles up as a mountain restaurant, the Refuge de Taveyanne, where ravenous "randonneurs" are served with mountain staples such as air dried meat, raclette and rosti.
After settling ourselves in the spartan out house (the main restaurant was completely full), we took our pick from the mountain menu.
Monsieur Gourmand and our friend both had rosti with cheese, bacon and all manner of fiendishness, while I tried to be healthy by having vegetables. My mushroom croute was fabulous - a piping hot dish containing two slices of soda bread saturated in saucy mushrooms of varying colours and textures. Filling but not too fattening.
My restraint was ruined by a delicious bottle of Pinot Noir which we told ourselves would warm us up in the chilly afternoon air. It didn't do that but it did have an interesting secondary effect: arming Monsieur Gourmand with an iron will to climb the nearest peak. Not by the gradual ascent, you understand, winding through some woods and pastures; oh no, he would be going straight up the front.
We left him to it, expecting him to turn back after recognising his folly. But fuelled by rosti and red wine, he braved almost vertical rocks and even tackled a barbed wire fence to reach the ridge.
It would have been nice to see the view from the top but at least Monsieur Gourmand survived the climb to enjoy some fog-filled imaginings of the verdant valley and snowy peaks beyond.
Refuge de Taveyanne, Taveyanne, Villars-Gryon
+41 (0)24 498 1947; www.taveyanne.ch
Hiking from Gryon on a damp foggy day in August - although it felt more like November, much like the rest of summer 2014 - we arrived at the verdant village of Taveyanne. So remote is this hamlet of unusually roofed huts, with no electricity or running water, that it is uninhabited in winter. In summer it serves as a sort of open-air museum of Swissness for hikers and mountain bikers (lazier people can drive up).
One of the houses doubles up as a mountain restaurant, the Refuge de Taveyanne, where ravenous "randonneurs" are served with mountain staples such as air dried meat, raclette and rosti.
After settling ourselves in the spartan out house (the main restaurant was completely full), we took our pick from the mountain menu. Monsieur Gourmand and our friend both had rosti with cheese, bacon and all manner of fiendishness, while I tried to be healthy by having vegetables. My mushroom croute was fabulous - a piping hot dish containing two slices of soda bread saturated in saucy mushrooms of varying colours and textures. Filling but not too fattening.
My restraint was ruined by a delicious bottle of Pinot Noir which we told ourselves would warm us up in the chilly afternoon air. It didn't do that but it did have an interesting secondary effect: arming Monsieur Gourmand with an iron will to climb the nearest peak. Not by the gradual ascent, you understand, winding through some woods and pastures; oh no, he would be going straight up the front.
We left him to it, expecting him to turn back after recognising his folly. But fuelled by rosti and red wine, he braved almost vertical rocks and even tackled a barbed wire fence to reach the ridge.
It would have been nice to see the view from the top but at least Monsieur Gourmand survived the climb to enjoy some fog-filled imaginings of the verdant valley and snowy peaks beyond.
Refuge de Taveyanne, Taveyanne, Villars-Gryon
+41 (0)24 498 1947; www.taveyanne.ch
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