Sunday,
June 20 1999 : Final Weekend
As the end of
the Program nears, we have been very busy trying to complete
our schedule of excursions.
On Friday, we
took our last full-day trip, going into the nearby city of Albertville
to see the walled city of Conflans.
On this day the
weather was sunny and cool enough that the steep climb into Conflans
was an easy one. Built on a hillside at the confluence of the
Arly and Isère rivers, the city existed already in Roman
times, and grew in importance over the centuries. In the XIXth
Century King Charles Albert of Savoy ordered flood-control channels
to be dug for the two rivers, ending the periodic flooding of
the valley and allowing the settlement of the flat ground below
Conflans. Construction was begun on the new city of Albertville,
which then replaced Conflans as a commercial crossroads, with
the happy result that Conflans was not modernized, and retains
its ancient fortifications, streets and buildings.
  
Students are
seen below high above the Isère river, resting from the
walk we had had up and down old Conflans. The second picture
shows the old town hall, which now houses a museum (which we
visited).
 
After leaving
Conflans, we headed west along the Combe de Savoie valley
toward the town of Cruet, where we visited the wine coöperative.
The photos below show students leaving Conflans through one of
the city gates; the other shows the tree-lined Route Nationale
so typical of roads throughout France.
 
At the coöp,
we were greeted by a guide who led us first into the vineyards,
where we met one of the hundred growers who raises grapes for
the coöperative. He enumerated the various varietals grown
in the region, including Pinot, Gamay, and Mondeuse, which are
used for red wines, and Chardonnay and Altesse, which are used
for whites.
 
The grower explained
the difficulties of raising grapes, not the least of which is
the danger of being poisoned by the chemicals. He told us of
his own near death owing to chemicals, which led him to a more
judicious and finely dosed use of insecticides and fungicides.
We then went into the coöp building, and saw the machinery
used in the elaboration of wine, from the crushers to the fermentation
tanks, to the storage vats and bottling machines...
 
At the end of
the visit came the wine-tasting, ably directed by our guide,
Raphaël Saint-Germain. The photos below show the group standing
in the middle of 15,000-gallon storage tanks, of which there
are many... The second photo shows Mr Saint-Germain showing the
students how to gauge the wine, first by sight, then by smell,
and finally by taste. He encouraged us to use the spittoons so
that our palates --and minds-- would remain clear throughout
the tasting!
 
We tasted three
reds, three whites and a rosé. The differences were clear,
and we all gained some interesting cultural insights into the
appreciation and selection of wines that day.
From Cruet, we
headed back east to Miolans, an impressive fortress which overlooks
the Combe de Savoie. While there was already a settlement in
this place in the first millennium BC, it is in the Tenth Century
that a medieval fortress was placed on the cliff by the Miolans
family. Later, the castle was taken over by the Dukes of Savoy,
who turned it into a prison. Although over a period of 200 years
it held only 192 different prisoners, it was a famed and dreaded
place, known as the "Bastille of Savoy".
 
The most famous
of its "guests" was the Marquis de Sade, who managed
to escape from the fortress. Some graffiti dating back to the
17th Century bears witness to religious persecution during the
Counter-Reformation.
 
The visit of
the castle's prisons and dungeons ended with a walk through the
gardens and climb up the guard towers. We could see the miles
of vineyards stretching in either direction along the foot of
the mountain, though Mt Blanc, supposedly visible in the distance,
was obscured by clouds.
We returned to
Faverges over the Tamié mountain pass, tired but pleased
by yet another beautiful excursion. There were no activities
planned for the weekend, as students wanted and needed some free
time after twenty days of nonstop classes and visits...
Saturday, a number
of students went into the mountains to see the sights, meet the
cows, visit the cheese cellars... others went into Annecy, or
stayed with their French host families for their last weekend
in France.
 
Saturday evening,
we met for dinner in a fine little restaurant in the heart of
Faverges. L'Eterlou, which opened this year, has a bronze-medal
chef who prepares very fine meals at a reasonable price. The
students had planned to do "dinner and a movie" but
dinner did not end until after midnight...
 
Sunday was a free day...
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday,
classes as usual. Monday evening, farewell dinner/barbecue with
all students and families, weather permitting. Tuesday, visit
of the Staübli factory.
The Program officially ends on
Thursday, and students returning to the US at the end of the
Program will be given a bus ride back to Geneva Airport.
Next report on Wednesday.
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