The neighbourhood chalet shutters are drawn tight, the road is quiet, the chimneys cold. Down in the ravine, the usual trickle of a brook is now raging with formidable volume, thundering across the rocks. The mountainsides are shimmering with new green, and white blossoms are coming to life, finally, under the new warmth of the sun. The town is deserted, stores are closed, restaurants are dark. It’s the end of another amazing snow season.
This one is different of course, as we probably won’t be back. We’re packing up our things into boxes, deciding what we can and can’t live without in the months to come. Most everything will go into storage, and our accessible possessions will be reduced to whatever we can fit into two suitcases.
I went on a run tonight, feeling as free as I could ever hope. The Arcade Fire is excellent to run to, and Antichrist Television Blues probably the best song Bruce Sprinsteen never wrote.
As we leave this lovely place, I have been trying to think of things that I love about this part of France. There are many.
1. The cheese: There are many kinds from this region alone, including Abondance, tomme, Beaufort, and Reblochon. I love the fact that Abondance village is just over the hill, and you can see big wheels of tomme ripening in the sheds here in Montriond.
2. The bread: not original, I know, but put the two together, and you have fondue. There are many kinds of fondue – the one here in the haute Savoie tastes delicious, but, the cheese is so gummy below the layer of wine that you can choke you if you’re not careful.
There are some fondue rules, which might be a bit nutty, but they make a little bit of sense – - like, only drink white wine with fondue (something about digestion), and, only stir it in one direction. Of course, do only eat it with bread that is a bit dried out.
3. The fresh eggs, and butter: even in the grocery store, these products taste better than I’ve ever had them. The best eggs come from our backyard though – there are chickens clucking around outside, and when they’ve laid extra eggs, the neighbours give them to us. We are lucky.
4. The history: even right here in the neighbourhood. I learned for example that there was a fire here in the 1898. This very chalet we are staying in was burned, as were many around it. I also learned that people kept their most precious commodity — food– outside in a separate building, so that is wouldn’t get destroyed in fires. These were common, as all of the chalets are built of wood.
5. The beauty and peace. Not much more to say about that.
Ok – on to have a 1999 1er Cru Gevrey Chambertin. Hey, we can’t pack it.
