Les Pléiades

Yesterday was Linda's birthday. It is generally not a good idea to plan anything too ambitious on such a day as many hours are taken up with present opening, cake eating, and more present opening. As a result we planned only to make the relatively straightforward day-trip up the hill from Vevey, to Les Pléiades.

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We didn't actually head out until the afternoon, and the weather in Vevey was overcast and cold so we weren't exactly filled with hope for the conditions at the top of the hill (technically the pre-alps so not really 'mountains'). As we rode the little train up the hill, however, we broke through the haze and into bright clear weather. The view was spectacular, with snow-covered mountains and trees all around.

When we eventually arrived at Les Pléiades we were amazed how clear and still the day was, with blue skies and air that actually seemed warmer than in Vevey. The snow was incredibly crisp and dry and although we kept finding ourselves knee-deep in powder we somehow managed to stay dry.

We had made some tentative plans for tabogganing, or snowshoeing, but in the end we happily wandered around for hours in the snow taking photos and making snow-angels (with various degrees of success).

We even had a little picnic of Baci chocolates on one of the chairs conveniently set up on the top of the hill.

We stayed on the mountain until the sun went down across the valley (hard to believe there was a lake down there under the clouds) and then took ourselves into the little restaurant that overlooks the valley for a mug of hot chocolate. On the train down the hill we watched all the houses and trees go by, decorated with Christmas lights.

All my photos from Les Pleiades are here and Linda's are here (Linda also has some great video, which I will try to upload).