Un week-end insolite: le canton de Vaud à l'honneur
Do you know Moudon, a magnificent bourgade situated in the canton of Vaud, a region rich in contrasts - sometimes mountainous, sometimes lacustrine, sometimes bucolic, sometimes urban - where the landscapes are full of beauty? It is in this magnificent setting that the Mélissande family decided to set up their values 6 years ago.
Valmont is a maïeutician, a passionate but demanding profession that keeps him busy for hours at the clinic. He loves the relaxation sessions as much as the activities that make him feel good in the face of strong sensations. Together with his wife, Escarmonde - a passionate jeweller, a teacher by the hour and always on the lookout for the next object to be made, even to the point of cleaning up a planète on the riverbank according to herrive selon elle -, ainsi que s deux enfants, Gwendoline - adolescente un peu nerd sur les bords et fan de jeux d'aventures en tout genre - et Euclave - petit dernier, un brin espiègle and gourmand as well as two, who always tries to have a bit of fun with her sister - were mortally wounded over the weekend. Even a scrabble with her mum at the retirement home on a cloudy Thursday morning would have been palpitating on the side. However, in this region of French-speaking Switzerland, activities are not lacking.
They have promised to return next week: finis les chamailleries à répétition entre frangins qui rendent dingues les parents, inspecteur Derrick à la télé avec papa affalé sur le canapé et la poésie du dernier à apprendre par cœur au dernier moment pour l'école le lendemain. Mais place plutôt à l'amusement, à défoulement et à la rigolade: à la bonne humeur quoi!
The week ends and the following weekend arrives. Mum is on her way, it's she who opens the door to the joys of this wonderful holiday in perspective. Départ illico presto pour la Rage room à Lausanne, où on l'attend avec combinaison, protections et batte de baseball. In front of her? Rien que de la vaisselle, des appareils électroménagers, des bouteilles et d'autres objets disparates sur lesquels elle exprime une rage libératrice. At the end of this session of fleeing, she is in her soul and reunites with her family, who are waiting for her in the car.
La prochaine étape? Bussigny, for a jeu d'évasion grandeur nature, Try to escape, qui n'est pas pour déplaire à l'aînée. The principle? One hour to release a family challenge. In order to solve the niggles, they don't hesitate to call on all their skills - ingenuity, curiosity and entrace -, they are conquered and sit down for a moment over a small, fragrant snack to review this moment full of rebondissements. They know, they return.
In order not to make any mistakes, dad and mum have reserved a surprise for their cadet for the little ones, if you like. Allez vite, en voiture, cap sur Montreux, non pas pour le festival, mais pour une balade à bord d'un train Belle Époque avec voiture panoramique s'il vous plaît - le train des gourmandises -, on the traces of the sweet and savoury delights of Swiss culinary heritage! À la clé? The grandiose landscapes, of course, but also the chocolate you'll see in front of you and the delicious fromage à foison, in the shape of everyone's favourite pastries.
After a day so rich in emotion, they realise that they will have to gather all their forces together in the evening for the activity that Valmont has planned just for them. They will embark from Montreux on board a crémillère train that will soon cross a vertical dénivelé to reach one of the most beautiful natural belvederes in Switzerland: the Rochers-de-Naye. En un clin d'œil, ils troquent les palmiers du bord du lac pour des edelweiss. On their arrival, they take possession of their room for the night, a yourte.
Au programme? Rien que du merveilleux: Cervin, Eiger, Mönch et Mont-Blanc s'élevant majestueusement vers le ciel. They even reveal the famous jet of water from the town of Calvin. Despite the many things to do in these places - especially the Marmottes Paradis, for fans of this friendly mountain animal -, the day on Thursday will be characterised by strong sensations, and Valmont will be there.
La destination tombe le matin au réveil. Ce sera la station des Diablerets qui rassemble trois domaines skiables, dont le fameux Glacier 3000 proposant certes les pistes de ski les plus hautes des Alpes vaudoises - véritables terrains de jeu pour les skieurs chevronnés -, mais également l'une des pistes de luge les plus ardues de la région, de quoi faire plaisir à tout le monde finalement. But the point of honour, according to Valmont, is the Peak Walk by Tissot, the only suspended bridge in the world linking two sommets, a metallic structure 107 m long and 80 cm wide suspended at the bottom of the water, even though it gives you the impression of being frozen just by looking at it in a photo. And that is exactly what he reserved for his wife and two children, a marvellous souvenir. Perhaps they would have preferred the rami with mummy?
Voilà for this merveilleux weekend-end en famille dans le canton de Vaud, rythmé par quelques activités soigneusement sélectionnées. As the other regions of French-speaking Switzerland are no longer a source of questions about original excursions, the whole family will soon be on their way to new adventures away from the beaten track.
Always in a good mood, nut and CrossFit junkie, cooking and baking freak – that's me in a nutshell. I'm also a design afficionado and stop at nothing except maybe at a plate of fennel.