Day One - Novel to La Chapelle d'Abondance - Cowbells and Ice Cream

The weather was excellent as we set off after a leisurely breakfast - a big blue sky but still cool for our first climb. The path initially climbed up beside the road, cutting the switchbacks, but then left the road and then the trees behind. We reached our first col (Col de Bise) after a couple of hours and started tucking into our excellent picnic lunch (including a boiled egg and dried fruit) before saying goodbye to Lake Geneva. The cheese from the Abondance valley is famous and, as we headed down the other side of the col, we soon encountered the cows that provide the milk. Presumably, there's a relationship between side of udders and the amount of milk provided...

Pleasant descent, with the second climb ahead over the col

After the initial steep descent, thing became very pleasant - walking gently downhill on grass, surrounded by contented cows with huge bells. We reached the Chalets de Bise and stopped there for some home made ice-cream (made from the milk the cows provide) - very refreshing. But then we had the second col of the day (Pas de la Bosse) in the heat of the day - a bit more like hard work, though it was fairly short. Then a long descent to Chapelle - with views of the Abondance valley - and our gite (Le Feto). There was noticeably less enthusiasm for raclette (basically potatoes, cheese and ham) after we had eaten the same sort of 'regional specialty' the previous evening!