Two Go For Cheese

[Abacist]

https://fusilles-40-44.maitron.fr/spip.php?article207666

This tells us a bit about him but casts no light on the FFF!

 

[DBK]

https://fusilles-40-44.maitron.fr/spip.php?article207666

This tells us a bit about him but casts no light on the FFF!

That's very helpful and an interesting website too.

 

[DBK]

We didn't drive far today, about 70km or thereabouts stopping at an Aldi to restock on the way.

And an interesting way it was too. There is a free aire next to the restaurant Le Regardoir above the Lac de Vouglans, which is really just the River Ain being held up by a dam. I had thought of staying here but it was only 11:30 when we arrived and I didn't relish being cooked here during the afternoon. Not I hasten to add by the local chef but by the sun in this shadeless spot. But there is a Via Ferrata here if you are feeling adventurous and have a head for heights.

I just admired the view.

The parking.

The view from the MH isn't quite as good as my photo suggests - I took it standing on the picnic table.

The next moment of interest was unexpectedly provided by the road.

This (below) is the Google Maps view looking back the way we came.

In the distance the road dissappears into a 3.5km long tunnel. This is what we emerged out of and straight on to a massive viaduct which you can see in some of the thumbnails in this Google Maps snapshot.

But the engineering marvels don't end there. The road continues, clinging to a steep mountainside above a lake as two separate carriageways perched on concrete pillars. You can get an impression of this in the photo above where a gantry above the other, lower, carriageway can be seen on the right.

We have stopped at a CCP aire at Seyssel which is next to the River Rhône.

I was a bit worried before we arrived if it would be safe for our dog Charlie to swim in the river, but there was no need to worry. The water was clear, moving fairly quickly out in the middle of the stream and had that characteristic blue tinge formed by melting snow.

This is where we are, blue blob on the upper left.

It was hot this afternoon, probably around 30°C and I deployed our new "sail" a 3m square sheet with ropes and eyelets bought online from a company called Primrose for £18. It worked well with the low sun.

A quick cheese update. The Juradelice with fenugreek seeds was good. The flavour from the seeds wasn't overpowering and just subtle.

This Tomme de Montagne is very mild but I expected that. Cheeses like this are very common.

And for a bit of a bite this Roquefort was perfect. Very creamy and not too strong. Very yummy in fact.

Tomorrow we may head for the hills to make the best of the last sunny day before some rain arrives.

 

[KiwiKampers]

“The view from the MH isn't quite as good as my photo suggests - I took it standing on the picnic table.”
Whaaaat!? As your Health & Safety Officer I would strongly recommend you don’t do that again.
As a Funster, I am really enjoying your posts.
The shade cloth looks good. The colour reminds me of Port Salut cheese rind.
Does Charlie like cheese? It would be nice to see him occasionally, or is he camera shy?

 

[DBK]

“The view from the MH isn't quite as good as my photo suggests - I took it standing on the picnic table.”
Whaaaat!? As your Health & Safety Officer I would strongly recommend you don’t do that again.
As a Funster, I am really enjoying your posts.
The shade cloth looks good. The colour reminds me of Port Salut cheese rind.
Does Charlie like cheese? It would be nice to see him occasionally, or is he camera shy?

Charlie loves cheese but his main experience of it is eating the rind! Not the waxed ones of course but all other rinds disappear in the blink of an eye.

I have been remiss in not featuring him so here's one from today.

But of course he does have is own blog - in which he rarely mentions me.

Broken Link Removed

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[DBK]

We have headed for the hills and free parking at 1640m (5380ft). It is described in CamperContact as Parking Semnoz. It isn't listed in my copy of Park4Night but that is probably because my edition may be out of date.

This is where we are.

We approached from the west, passing through Quintal, but I wouldn't recommend this route, which was single track and narrow in places. Much better to start from Annecy and pick up the start of the D41 which is an easy to drive road.

The MH parking is along the side of a gravel track, seen above from a distance and below a little closer.

If you carry on along this track on foot there is a pleasant walk which we did this afternoon. The photo below was taken looking back towards the MH parking.

But the main reason for coming here are the views which are exceptional.

The Peakfinder app does a good job of identifying them.

The prominent cliffs on the left are La Tournette and on the right and hard to see through the haze is Mont Blanc.

This is another, wider view.

But the views of mountains were all around us, a genuine 360° panorama.

The local summit above the MH parking is the Crêt de Châtillon. I wandered to its summit at the end of the afternoon and set up my radio as this is a SOTA summit. While I was setting up a young couple arrived and asked me what I was doing. They were Anna and Robin who were French, spoke perfect English and lived locally.

I normally use headphones but on this occasion I used the speaker so they could hear what was going on. And things went quite well and I made contact with operators in Slovenia, Austria, Germany, France and Belgium. Conditions are still not very good for HF but it seemed better than when I was on the Grand Ballon.

They even posed for selfie afterwards. Good shots of them but my expression needs more work.

 

[Abacist]

We are at St Jorioz down by the lake! Probably close than when we are at home!

 

[DBK]

We are at St Jorioz down by the lake! Probably close than when we are at home!

You can't see the Lake from the MH parking but I could just see part of it from where I was using the radio.

 

[Spriddler]

While I was setting up a young couple arrived and asked me what I was doing. They were Anna and Robin who were French, spoke perfect English and

They even posed for selfie afterwards. Good shots of them but my expression needs more work.

Cuh, typical Brit abroad. You already knew they spoke perfect English.

 

[DBK]

Cuh, typical Brit abroad. You already knew they spoke perfect English.

View attachment 663840

You are brilliant, I did indeed say fromage!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[nicholsong]

We have headed for the hills and free parking at 1640m (5380ft). It is described in CamperContact as Parking Semnoz. It isn't listed in my copy of Park4Night but that is probably because my edition may be out of date.

This is where we are.

View attachment 663707

We approached from the west, passing through Quintal, but I wouldn't recommend this route, which was single track and narrow in places. Much better to start from Annecy and pick up the start of the D41 which is an easy to drive road.

View attachment 663716

The MH parking is along the side of a gravel track, seen above from a distance and below a little closer.

View attachment 663719

If you carry on along this track on foot there is a pleasant walk which we did this afternoon. The photo below was taken looking back towards the MH parking.

View attachment 663714

But the main reason for coming here are the views which are exceptional.

View attachment 663712

The Peakfinder app does a good job of identifying them.

View attachment 663711

The prominent cliffs on the left are La Tournette and on the right and hard to see through the haze is Mont Blanc.

This is another, wider view.

View attachment 663718


But the views of mountains were all around us, a genuine 360° panorama.

The local summit above the MH parking is the Crêt de Châtillon. I wandered to its summit at the end of the afternoon and set up my radio as this is a SOTA summit. While I was setting up a young couple arrived and asked me what I was doing. They were Anna and Robin who were French, spoke perfect English and lived locally.

I normally use headphones but on this occasion I used the speaker so they could hear what was going on. And things went quite well and I made contact with operators in Slovenia, Austria, Germany, France and Belgium. Conditions are still not very good for HF but it seemed better than when I was on the Grand Ballon.

They even posed for selfie afterwards. Good shots of them but my expression needs more work.

View attachment 663762

We have headed for the hills and free parking at 1640m (5380ft). It is described in CamperContact as Parking Semnoz. It isn't listed in my copy of Park4Night but that is probably because my edition may be out of date.

This is where we are.

View attachment 663707

We approached from the west, passing through Quintal, but I wouldn't recommend this route, which was single track and narrow in places. Much better to start from Annecy and pick up the start of the D41 which is an easy to drive road.

View attachment 663716

The MH parking is along the side of a gravel track, seen above from a distance and below a little closer.

View attachment 663719

If you carry on along this track on foot there is a pleasant walk which we did this afternoon. The photo below was taken looking back towards the MH parking.

View attachment 663714

But the main reason for coming here are the views which are exceptional.

View attachment 663712

The Peakfinder app does a good job of identifying them.

View attachment 663711

The prominent cliffs on the left are La Tournette and on the right and hard to see through the haze is Mont Blanc.

This is another, wider view.

View attachment 663718


But the views of mountains were all around us, a genuine 360° panorama.

The local summit above the MH parking is the Crêt de Châtillon. I wandered to its summit at the end of the afternoon and set up my radio as this is a SOTA summit. While I was setting up a young couple arrived and asked me what I was doing. They were Anna and Robin who were French, spoke perfect English and lived locally.

I normally use headphones but on this occasion I used the speaker so they could hear what was going on. And things went quite well and I made contact with operators in Slovenia, Austria, Germany, France and Belgium. Conditions are still not very good for HF but it seemed better than when I was on the Grand Ballon.

They even posed for selfie afterwards. Good shots of them but my expression needs more work.

View attachment 663762

DBK

We are now following you with even closer interest: we were due to set off from Poland this coming w/e with first point of entry to Provence being Annecy, so approaching from Geneva but joining up with your itinerary.

Things are now on hold because of family problems including Basia's Mother's health, but there is still hope for a delayed departure.

We have been to the area before but we never have enough time, same family reasons.

Having your excellent descriptions and photos to follow are a great help to concentrate our planning. So many thanks, keep it coming.

While I am on, what has happened to your balloon adventures?

Geoff

 

[DBK]

While I am on, what has happened to your balloon adventures

Not well. I launched a balloon just before we started this trip on a serious attempt to go around the world. It went up as expected and it's transmissions were heard in the US and Canada within about 15 minute of the launch which was amazing. Then it all turned pear shaped and slowly descended and crashed after about 30 minutes of flight. Probably a pin hole leak in the balloon.

Very frustrating but I plan another launch in early November. Onwards and hopefully upwards with more staying power!

 

[nicholsong]

Not well. I launched a balloon just before we started this trip on a serious attempt to go around the world. It went up as expected and it's transmissions were heard in the US and Canada within about 15 minute of the launch which was amazing. Then it all turned pear shaped and slowly descended and crashed after about 30 minutes of flight. Probably a pin hole leak in the balloon.

Very frustrating but I plan another launch in early November. Onwards and hopefully upwards with more staying power!

Sorry that one fail, but the transmission must have been working well.

Good luck with the next launch. Remember Musk and Bezos have their failures too - which cost $000,000s more than yours.

Also you are giving a lot of pleasure with the descriptions of your trip.

 

[Orion]

While I am on, what has happened to your balloon adventures?

Had me worried there - until I remembered it’s a search for cheese and not pine nuts!

 

[DBK]

Had me worried there - until I remembered it’s a search for cheese and not pine nuts!

I saw that story today, folk using hydrogen balloons to harvest pine nuts. Astonishing!

My balloon was only 32" in diameter so wouldn't have been much use for this nut harvesting.

But it did look nice and shiny while I was pressure testing it.

,

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[chaser]

DBK eat your heart out, market in menton mor cheese than you can shake a stick at.

 

[chaser]

Also they say you can't buy beef in France.

 

[DBK]

I tried to get a better shot of Mont Blanc as the sun was setting last night but this was the best I could manage - the top is covered in clouds but there is a hint of the setting sun shining on the snow.

It rained during the night and it was still raining when we woke up but fortunately it eased off to just a light drizzle when I walked Charlie.

The weather forecast was wet for the next three or four days so we decided to travel south where things looked drier. But first we headed north as the road directly south is closed for resurfacing. We also needed a few essentials having discovered tomorrow morning's breakfast grapefruit was rotten. So I headed for the Intermarché in Annecy. The centre of Annecy is supposed to be very attractive, with canals and old buildings but all we saw were traffic jams, it was a slow crawl to the supermarket. Annecy is a busy place.

The rain by now had stopped and things were looking brighter so we decided to scrap the southward dash and drive the short distance to the CCP aire in Aix les Bains.

At nearly €15 a night this is one of the most expensive of the CCP aires and it isn't a particularly nice one. The pitches are small, close together, it's muddy in places and the service area is more than a bit run down. But they are doing work on it. Our pitch has had new stone chippings laid on it.

The majority of the other pitches barely qualify as hard standing.

But it is only 200m to the lake.

The name "Aix" which is shared with Aix en Provence is formed from the two words Aquae and Sextiae. The first means water of course and the second is from the local Roman commander. Because as everyone knows the Romans loved a bath and the Romans built one here to enjoy the sulphurous waters. You can still experience the treatment but it needs to be booked in advance from what I've read.

We just went for a walk along the promenade.

Charlie had a swim here. The beach is imported - it has sea shells in it!

And our decision to remain in this area was right. It has stayed dry all day. Tomorrow we might head to a free aire in the Vercors region.

But what of the "fromage de montagne" bought in the farm shop where we were staying last night?

It has a bit of a bite, which makes a change from some of the blander cheeses we've been eating recently. Mrs DBK says it reminded her of old socks, which to be honest it does - but they are tasty socks and Mrs DBK helped herself to a second slice.

 

[James-Alex]

I tried to get a better shot Mont Blanc as the sun was setting last night but this was the best I could manage - the top is covered in clouds but there is a hint of the setting sun shining on the snow.

View attachment 664355

It rained during the night and it was still raining when we woke up but fortunately it eased off to just a light drizzle when I walked Charlie.

The weather forecast was wet for the next three or four days so we decided to travel south where things looked drier. But first we headed north as the road directly south is closed for resurfacing. We also needed a few essentials having discovered tomorrow morning's breakfast grapefruit was rotten. So I headed for the Intermarché in Annecy. The centre of Annecy is supposed to be very attractive, with canals and old buildings but all we saw were traffic jams, it was a slow crawl to the supermarket. Annecy is a busy place.

The rain by now had stopped and things were looking brighter so we decided to scrap the southward dash and drive the short distance to the CCP aire in Aix les Bains.

View attachment 664356

At nearly €15 a night this is one of the most expensive of the CCP aires and it isn't a particularly nice one. The pitches are small, close together, it's muddy in places and the service area is more than a bit run down. But they are doing work on it. Our pitch has had new stone chippings laid on it.

View attachment 664352

The majority of the other pitches barely qualify as hard standing.

But it is only 200m to the lake.

View attachment 664353

The name "Aix" which is shared with Aix en Provence is formed from the two words Aquae and Sextiae. The first means water of course and the second is from the local Roman commander. Because as everyone knows the Romans loved a bath and the Romans built one here to enjoy the sulphurous waters. You can still experience the treatment but it needs to be booked in advance from what I've read.

We just went for a walk along the promenade.

View attachment 664351

Charlie had a swim here. The beach is imported - it has sea shells in it!

View attachment 664354

And our decision to remain in this area was right. It has stayed dry all day. Tomorrow we might head to a free aire in the Vercors region.

But what of the "fromage de montagne" bought in the farm shop where we were staying last night?

View attachment 664362

It has a bit of a bite, which makes a change from some of the blander cheeses we've been eating recently. Mrs DBK says it reminded her of old socks, which to be honest it does - but they are tasty socks and Mrs DBK helped herself to a second slice.

Loving your blog. My cheese book arrived yesterday, along with my book of top ten places in Normandy. Very pleased with both Will take your second slices as a recommendation

 

[KiwiKampers]

DBK eat your heart out, market in menton mor cheese than you can shake a stick at.
View attachment 664154View attachment 664155

chaser in your second photo I can see Mascarpone in an aerosol! Whatever next? Pre-grated Parmesan? Processed cheese triangles wrapped in foil?

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Spriddler]

chaser in your second photo I can see Mascarpone in an aerosol! Whatever next?

They probably stock it to meet the demand from the Rosbif ex-pats and tourists.

 

[DBK]

Thunder and lightning now. Impressive, if we could see it properly.

 

[paddymcc]

We have headed for the hills and free parking at 1640m (5380ft). It is described in CamperContact as Parking Semnoz. It isn't listed in my copy of Park4Night but that is probably because my edition may be out of date.

This is where we are.

View attachment 663707

We approached from the west, passing through Quintal, but I wouldn't recommend this route, which was single track and narrow in places. Much better to start from Annecy and pick up the start of the D41 which is an easy to drive road.

View attachment 663716

The MH parking is along the side of a gravel track, seen above from a distance and below a little closer.

View attachment 663719

If you carry on along this track on foot there is a pleasant walk which we did this afternoon. The photo below was taken looking back towards the MH parking.

View attachment 663714

But the main reason for coming here are the views which are exceptional.

View attachment 663712

The Peakfinder app does a good job of identifying them.

View attachment 663711

The prominent cliffs on the left are La Tournette and on the right and hard to see through the haze is Mont Blanc.

This is another, wider view.

View attachment 663718


But the views of mountains were all around us, a genuine 360° panorama.

The local summit above the MH parking is the Crêt de Châtillon. I wandered to its summit at the end of the afternoon and set up my radio as this is a SOTA summit. While I was setting up a young couple arrived and asked me what I was doing. They were Anna and Robin who were French, spoke perfect English and lived locally.

I normally use headphones but on this occasion I used the speaker so they could hear what was going on. And things went quite well and I made contact with operators in Slovenia, Austria, Germany, France and Belgium. Conditions are still not very good for HF but it seemed better than when I was on the Grand Ballon.

They even posed for selfie afterwards. Good shots of them but my expression needs more work.

View attachment 663762

Semnoz is on the 'Grand Tour du Lac' when paragliding. The route is anticlockwise from Col de Forclaz on the south east side of the lake and ther is a difficult crossing from the E of Annecy, over the town to the low ridge of Semnoz. Not many places to land if you don't have enough height as it's so built up. Because Semnoz only rises slowly to the summit (where you were parked) it can be quite tricky to get to the top but once there it's relatively easy to get a good thermal to take you E to Roc de Beouf. It's an amazing area to paraglide with stunning views of the mountains.
Thanks for the opportunity to reminisce!

 

[DBK]

Semnoz is on the 'Grand Tour du Lac' when paragliding. The route is anticlockwise from Col de Forclaz on the south east side of the lake and ther is a difficult crossing from the E of Annecy, over the town to the low ridge of Semnoz. Not many places to land if you don't have enough height as it's so built up. Because Semnoz only rises slowly to the summit (where you were parked) it can be quite tricky to get to the top but once there it's relatively easy to get a good thermal to take you E to Roc de Beouf. It's an amazing area to paraglide with stunning views of the mountains.
Thanks for the opportunity to reminisce!

There were a couple of paragliders there when we went on our walk. They were very skilled and landed on a sixpence as they say close to where our van was parked. I don't think they had a long flight as the wind was very light.

 

[chaser]

chaser in your second photo I can see Mascarpone in an aerosol! Whatever next? Pre-grated Parmesan? Processed cheese triangles wrapped in foil?

Actually these two were no where near the largest , but the others kept wanting me to taste it so I kept away before I got my wallet out.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[chaser]

When we get past cheddar and red Leicester I am mainly at a loss but I am sure I have never seen so many different cheese's as they have down here both french and Italian, even the small shops have a selection.

 

[jockaneezer]

Do you have a cut off time in the evening when you stop eating cheese ? Just wondered as you've sampled quite a few, but not one mention of a single nightmare so far ?

 

[DBK]

Do you have a cut off time in the evening when you stop eating cheese ? Just wondered as you've sampled quite a few, but not one mention of a single nightmare so far ?

The cut-off time is the one when we stop drinking wine - when we fall asleep.

 

[Spriddler]

Mrs DBK says it reminded her of old socks, which to be honest it does -

 

[chaser]

DBK is there any special cheese you are looking for, and havnt found, we are going to ventimiglia market tomorrow and I will see if there is any here.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}