Snow Fantasy

 

One of the ways I've dealt with the canicule (heatwave) is to fantasize snow, complete with my Scarves, Swedish mittens, and boots. I picture gentle falling snow outside our window then howling winds. I go back to my childhood when we turn snowdrifts into forts.

My husband had a more practical method. "Let's go to Chamonix. It's in the 20s instead of the mid 30s."

 "Sherlock go," we reassured our dog who considers suitcases a cause of anxiety and off the three of us went to the ski resort in the Alps.

Arriving about noon we stepped into cooler air. We thought off season it would be empty but it was filled with hikers.

An Italian restaurant provided lunch served by a Thai waitress who preferred English to French. The pasta was fresh made, the cheese local. We sat on the terrace under umbrellas.

As if there was a switch, someone turned on pounding rain and high winds. We ran inside for our after lunch coffee and tea. And as suddenly as it started, it stopped.

Rick has a habit of finding interesting hotels. We've stayed on a Dutch canal boat, a plastic bubble on an Austrian country roof, a converted schoolhouse in Ireland, a château owned by a descendant of Napoleon, and the Davos Hotel where the world leaders stay at the Economic Forum.

This unpretentious family owned hotel that he found was simple with everything we needed. The friendly receptionist wore a T-shirt that said, "Life is too short to learn German."

Sherlock, who made a hit with the hotel staff, loved walking around one of the three lakes near the hotel.

The next morning we went searching for the brand new musée of Alpine history. I went in the morning, Rick in the afternoon. Sherlock was chien non grata.One of us had to stay with him.  

Lunch at chez Josephine. Rick said that he had the best onion soup he ever eaten and he loves mine, which isn't half as good as my late friend Bill's. A plate of local meat, potatoes, salad and olives reminded me how Italy has anti pastas and Spain Tapas. 

Rick checked on a store that sold English books and brought back Land by Maggie O'Farrell and Fourteen Days, overseen by the Author's Guild. He also found French chocolate.

Tomorrow we descend to Geneva. The temperature is predicted to drop to the high 20s, which will be a relief.

Meanwhile we've had the break from the heat, a mini getaway.

And my fantasy? Every time I look up, I've seen snow on the Alps.