Sunday's Surprise

Pauline’s second surprise required 2 hours of driving to get there. We were heading into Switzerland. No one mentioned passports, not even at the border crossing, though I had mine with me.

Switzerland isn’t just mountains, but what impressed me were the fields of apple trees grown almost the same way as grape vines. I didn’t end up with any good pictures of the smaller trees that were grown close together and were well pruned (my camera had trouble competing with Pauline’s speed).

Unlike the vineyards, every field of apple trees was completely covered in netting. Amazing.

Most of the vineyards in this area are terraced. The orderliness is awesome.

We passed Lake Geneva, almost hidden in the gray day, and kept on going and going until we reached Bulle and a chocolate factory!

This is a lousy picture of a wall of chocolate bars…and Lauryne…

The first part of our tour were dioramas to illustrate the history of this chocolate brand. In one section we were supposedly in a boat and the floor moved slightly. 

Apparently that was too much for some poor soul and in the next section we were more interested in getting away from the wet spot on the floor and its smell than we were in the story unfolding before us. It was too dark for decent pictures…  

Then we walked past some of the machinery used in the chocolate factory.   

In Switzerland, where someone has a sense of humor, the guillotine is used on candy instead of people.

You can see the 4 long bars of chocolate on the right side and the cut pieces emerging on the left.

 More chocolate was splashed onto the cut pieces. Then a robot grabbed each piece off the table. It moved so swiftly I couldn't

get a clear picture except during the pause as the next 4 pieces of chocolate moved forward. Cameras checked the candy and would tell the robot to ignore any piece that had a defect.

Then this nice fellow offered us a sample.

We moved on to look through glass at a section of the real factory...lots of stainless steel and not a human in sight.

At the end of the tour we were able to taste a large selection of chocolate candies, so many that I actually skipped the last one!

I did manage to sample all of these, but the counter continues...

Lauryne and Pauline decided it would be better to find a place to eat back in France. We weren't hungry and it would be cheaper than eating in Switzerland, so we headed for home...

...and passed this castle on our way. 

Pauline doesn't mind posing for a picture.

And this is where we ate...an American chain because most restaurants are closed in mid-afternoon.

The weekend was over. Time for Lauryne and me to return to Sologny, but not too far from Pauline's place we passed a lavoir!

This lavoir is the first I have seen without even one wall. Lavoirs are public places where the water is always moving and people could wash and rinse their clothing.