Let's Walk Along the Lake

On a hot day, there's nothing like a walk by the lake to make me feel cool again.

This is the port in the town of Morges.

The reflections and colours of the water make everything feel so harmonious.

A little border of pebbly beach and watching fluffy clouds collect over the mountain summits.

I love walking here where the river joins the lake.

The chestnut trees were in full bloom and looked so lovely against the sky.

The overhanging branches of a tree bring in some fresh green into the scene

 creating my favourite colour combination of blue and green together!

So glad to take you with me down to the lake!

Do you have a favourite colour combination?

January Wanderings

Ile de Peilz

is a very small island, originally a simple rock which was reinforced

in 1797 with a little wall to make it a bit taller.

The tree is a big plane tree.

It looks very impressive in the summer with all the leaves which hide the tiny island.

This is the far east end of the Léman Lake

and the adjacent town is called Villeneuve.

Mountains and port in Villeneuve.

I'd taken a train to get here with a friend.

On the way back to Lausanne we stopped in another lakeside town of Vevey.

The cloud formations were beautiful

The snowy peak to the left is a mountain called Dent de Morcles.

It overlooks the Rhone Valley and is 2.969 metres high (9.744 feet).

A closer view which includes a strip of lake.

Another lovely mountain view on the Dent de Jaman on the left

and the Rochers de Naye range on the right.

The views from up there are spectacular.

I loved the structure of this almost bare tree against the blue of the sky.

Quite a few autumn leaves are still clinging to the branches.

Another day and a new train ride.

This sleek and very long train was on its way to Milan in Italy.

My smaller train came a little later.

It was a cold wait on the Lausanne station platform!

This is the lakeside in the small town of Cully.

There was a misty, mysterious ambience at the start of my walk

with just a few sparkles on the lake from a pale, hazy sun.

There were silvery tones in the lake

and I like how this scene tells a story.

We can even invent a story of our own!

I had to include this capture because we can see how the lighting changed

an hour later when I was walking back towards the station again.

The pale sun had pierced a layer of mist and the sky was turning blue which reflected in the water.

Back home again

and here is the last bloom on my Amaryllis.

The petals through a macro lens are so dainty and lovely.

After lunch, a small espresso coffee and a square of very dark chocolate.

The embroidered cloth is a lovely memento from three days spent in the mountains in Zermatt.

You can see them below if you would like to:

A Weekend in Zermatt

It's half-past pink!

There is always something new on my crochet hook.

This is my latest creation.

I received this clock from a very kind blogging friend, Astri from

Apple Blossom Dreams

It was time to refresh the flowers with new colours and I really enjoyed

crocheting the tiny roses in bright and cheerful colours.

This clock is on the wall in my bedroom.

Colour is so important during the cold winter months, don't you think?

I hope that you are finding lovely ways to bring colour into your life.

Water Music at Sunset

The beautiful lake is always an attraction, but never more so than at sunrise or sunset.

I loved looking at the early sunset through the illuminated flag at the back of the steamboat.

But I do believe that this lilac sky is my favourite on this particular day.

I had read about a new kind of evening cruise which included a classical music concert!

The fact that it featured a well loved piece of music made the idea even more exciting.

There was a live orchestra on board playing

Water Music by Georg Friederich Haendel.

So appropriate!

You can listen to it 

HERE

It was magnificently interpreted and I especially loved the horns and trumpets

So joyful!

Water Music was originally created in 1717

for King George 1st of England

and it was played on the Royal Barge with 50 musicians

as it floated along the River Thames on July 7th, 1717,

The King loved it so much that he asked the musicians to play it over several times!

G.F. Haendel, gifted musician and composer, born in Germany.

he travelled and lived in several European countries

 and he lived in England for many years till the end of his life.

He even taught music to the King's children.

I have heard that another musical cruise may be organized at some time in the future.

I shall definitely want to go again, especially if the music is as beautiful as this concert!

A last colourful look at the sky right after the sun went down.

High Above the Lake

The day was almost perfect

It was warm and great for walking

but a slight haze made the lake look a little misty.

We took the little train up to a place called Chexbres, 

high above the lake.

The flowers were all gorgeous, especially the geraniums.

This is a decorated old fountain on the way down to the vineyards.

This is just one of the decorations right next to the Chexbres train station.

These wonderful dark berries were ripening against an old wall.

A rusty gate and some steep steps led up to some vineyards

So prettily decorated with wild growing flowers

but not to be used by tourists or visitors.

The grape vines are protected at this time of the year.

We stayed to the public paths between the vines.

You can see how steep these slopes are.

Ideal for ripening the grapes and exposed to the sun and the reverberation

from the lake.

Here's a wider view of the vineyards with the slightly hazy lake and mountains beyond.

The grapes are protected both from passing walkers and the birds

by nets. I put my camera lens through the mesh of the nets to take this photo.

Here's the church steeple from the village called St. Saphorin

where we had lunch.

The church door as we made our way down some steep steps.

The ornate and lovely sign of the well known restaurant

called l'Auberge de l'Onde.

We sat next to an open window in the restaurant facing the church.

This refreshing drink is called 'Blanc cassis.

It's a mixture of cooled white wine with a dash of Blackcurrant liqueur!

A pretty dark pink rose on each table.

You can see the reflection of the church wall and blue sky

in the shiny dark vase.

The delicious looking ripe white grapes

just about ready for harvesting!

The Lavaux Vineyard Terraces are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The last time I walked in these vineyards was in May 2016.

You can see what they looked like

HERE

Sunset Cruise

Take a beautiful day

and choose one of the lovely vintage steam boats on the lake.

There were three of us on the cruise together

My grandson, a friend and me.

We had chosen to go on a sunset cruise

with a meal in this lovely old-style restaurant.

A photo before everyone streams in

This is our view from the table on the other side.

We took lots of photos and admired the wooden panelling on either side of the window.

We passed vineyards

and familiar mountains as the boat turned in Montreux

The Swiss flag flies in the stern of the boat.

It was still quite light

and I wondered if we would actually see the sunset

 before returning to our port in Ouchy.

It's always fun to see the paddle wheels turning

I love the lines of the mast against the light blue sky on the top deck.

The sun is getting quite low on the horizon

and the colours change with each passing minute and become more golden.

I love catching the scene through a foreground of poles and lines

and seeing the flowing French flag at the prow of the boat.

Just before disappearing behind the mountain range,

the golden sun-flares delight us all.

The gorgeous lighting after the sun has gone down

makes the silhouettes in the port look really magical.

On the other side of the sky,

everything is bathed in shades of blue and pink.

As we leave the boat and walk along the lake,

I take the last photos of the deepening sky

until just the hint of the silhouetted boat remains

with touches of pink behind the trees where the sun went down.

Such a wonderful outing on this beautiful day in August.