Fascinating Chillon

It's been a while since I last posted a blog. I spent two weeks in Pinehurst and two days after coming back to Geneva we had a visitor, cousin Karen from California. What a treat to be able to take someone to the wonderful sights and share the experience we are having here. We went to Chillon on Friday. Chillon is a few kilometers past the town of Montreaux (home of a great summer jazz festival). The castle dates from the 1100's and has been beautifully repaired and restored. Some of the inside wall painting is original. The House of Savoy occupied the castle and used its ideal location to be able to see anyone coming into the area. They were big on levying taxes and didn't want any traders to get by without paying. The Savoyards occupied the castle until the 1500's when the Bernese took over. Detailed records had been kept of every aspect of life in the castle and the Savoyards took all the records back to Italy with them. The Savoyards are the same which attacked Geveva unsuccessfully in 1603. Having these few facts now when I see the word Savoise as it refers to a type of cuisine, it means something. We really hope a few more of you will jump on the visitor bandwagon. Our first guest said that she would call the Michelin travel guide and recommend us for a four star out of five rating. I think having to share a bathroom had something to do with the deduction of a star.

Love to all
Mary
Interesting chimney vent. This shot illustrates how the castle sits right on the water.
This is the fireplace in the large dining hall of the castle. They would roast whole animals such as wild boar or deer on the spit. The chevron design on the walls is painted on and is the ancient equivalent of wall paper. That red and white chevron design is found all over Switzerland.
If you click on the picture you will see me and Karen in the tower window. Steve's cousin Karen has been our first house guest and we had a great time going to see wonderful places.
The castle sits on a small rock island at the edge of Lac Leman. This is the same lake that Geneva sits next to only at the far end of the lake which is 45 miles long.
A view from one of the castle towers. The mountains are on the right and the lake on the left.