It was whilst we were going round in circles (literally) looking for the car park that we found the old spa building. What a beautiful edifice. The old lady sitting on the opposite side of the road must have thought we were mad when I stopped in the road and put my hazard lights on so that I could get out and take photos, but it was well worth it!
The centre is pretty compact with really only 2-3 main streets forming a little one way system. The church and pretty town hall are probably the main attractions, but unlike the ski stations, Saint Gervais really feels ‘lived in’ and it was great to see people out and about enjoying the sunshine.
We spotted a scrummy looking Patisserie selling local pastries such as Delices de Niege and Linzer tarts, so it would have been rude to pass by without giving them a try! We ate them in the sunshine on the steps of the Parochial house next to the church – bliss.
We’d spotted a sign for the Pont du Diablo (devils bridge) which sounded interesting, so as we had some time before our next meeting we decided to have a peek. The lane down was narrow and VERY steep and I knew I’d need to do some serious motivational complaining and perhaps even breathing exercises to get back up again!
The bridge itself wasn’t all that impressive once we found it, and I was already grumbling about the benefit v. effort, but the colour of the water was amazing. We did spot a little suspended walkway like they have in the Gorges of the Ardèche, but it was all closed off to I think it was just for the people looking after the dam.
We were booked into the Residence les Arolles, which turned out to be about 1.3km out of the village centre. The apartment itself was great – not as super impressive as the Alpages de Champagny, but we’d been spoilt there. We also had a fab view of the mountains which surprisingly still had loads of snow.
It did have a sauna and Jacuzzi which would have been great had we remembered our swimming cozzies as it started to snow not long after we arrived. After the freezing temperatures outside, it was great when we opened the door and the warm air hit us – bliss!
We asked at reception for restaurant recommendations and Virginie, our receptionist, suggested the Restaurant 4 Epices which served a range of different options as well as local specialities. As it was snowing and I was the only one with a hood, I reversed the car under the porch – probably not one of my better ideas as I was so busy watching one side that I nearly rammed the column the other side. I suspect if I’d knocked their building down with my car, the working relationship may have soured somewhat...
Dinner was delicious; tartiflette with salad and locally cured meats with a jug of local wine. I have managed to get a full blown cold since leaving Corsica which has resulted in much sniffing and sneezing throughout the day, but no a single sniffle in the restaurant so we had to assume that the wine was having a medicinal effect – what great luck!!
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