I woke early this morning with the noise of the early morning traffic through the open windows, having got very little sleep overnight. I wondered why Rita was still sleeping peacefully, until she eventually woke and I realised that she had been wearing earplugs. So I borrowed a pair from her and then got a couple of hours sleep. Around 0900h, we went down for breakfast on the terrace overlooking the River Grosne. Like dinner last night, the restaurant was quite good, unlike our room - such a contrast!

Having explored Cluny last night, we decided to leave immediately after breakfast to make our way to Switzerland. While our final destination would be Bern, we were taking the opportunity to catch up with good friends (from barging) Judy Lynne and Peter Vizzard who have a apartment in the mountain village of Anzere over the Rhone Valley in Valais. Since we last visited them there in 2012 (with Emma and Rhianna) they have moved to a 2-bedroom apartment in the same building, which gives more room for guests. Judy was also very proud of the little garden area to the side of their unit; not very big by Australian standards, but has the makings of a beautiful little wildflower area, complete with squirrels.

After arriving in late morning, we had some lunch and a catch-up with what has been happening in our lives. Peter and Judy are still very active in hot-air ballooning, and were heading off on Friday to participate in a big meeting in Switzerland over the weekend. After selling their barge Zee Otter a couple of years ago, they have missed barging and so earlier this year they spent time with other friends on their boat on the River Doubs near Besançon. They now plan to be co-owners of a boat in future years.

Since it was a mild clear afternoon, we decided to go for a walk along one of the Bisse (water channels) that wind their way down the mountain. The one we walked was the Bisse de Sion, which runs from the dam at the top of the mountain down through Anzere and on to Sion in the valley. The walk along the bisse was very relaxing (much like walking along a canal), with some great views over the Rhone Valley below.

But there were some interesting high bridges over gorges (don’t look down, Rita!), and the old wooden bisse attached to the side of the cliff was something to behold. Legend has it that these works were done by local prisoners, and if they got the job done and survived, they were released from prison!

The old wooden bisse are rarely used these days (and the wood shrinks when not continuously carrying water), and so the bisse now runs through a tunnel carved through the mountain (to the right and just behind me).

That evening, we went over to the neighbouring village of Crans Montana (where all the really rich people live) to watch a Concert given by the Tennessee State Schools Band, as part of an ongoing program where USA State Schools Bands are formed to do tours of Europe. Last time when we were here in 2012, we saw a similar concert performed by the Washington State Schools Band. This time, there was a choir of about 20 people, followed by a big band of about 100.

This year the concert marquee was set up on top of an underground carpark in the middle of Crans-Montana. We were lucky enough to find a space to park in this carpark, and as an engineer I was interested in the “safety first” precautions they had taken to ensure that the weight of the marqee, band and audience above would be sufficiently supported by the carpark structure below. Peter was very careful not to back into any of the struts as he reversed out of the parking spot after the concert.