Restaurants &

Cafe Romand is a traditional brasserie in town center; hub for journalists, politicians, and temporary residents like ourselves. We stumbled in for fondue - check out the stack of bread! This kind of cuisine is still popular, but more so in rustic mountain settings associated with hearty peasant fare.

Another brasserie where we met Udo and daughter Hannah's family for lunch after church.

 

Art Nouveau-ish stained glass is standard, as is a bustling atmosphere - very warm, social.

Hannah and Seb
and Garbriela with Jack.

 

Cafe Grancy, on the other hand, is a hipper version of earlier Romand, attracting a more casual, younger crowd - moms with strollers - who come in for drinks and wifi.

Grancy's food is top-notch perfect. No fries. Healthy wheat bread. Fabulous soups. Creative, easy going with a slight air of superiority; like you just stepped into a zone of enlightened consciousness. A vibe I imagine Bay area restaurants to ooze in.

No argument with the food, however.

Another discovery is this tiny brasserie - a Lausanne institution with stunning tilework: scenes of the city fired onto floor to ceiling  blue, Portugese tile.

  On to Refuge de Frience, a rustic mountain chalet restaurant that is rare.

Wheels of raclette cheese pushed near wood fire where runners run plates back and forth to your table. We opted for fondue, with Effie, a guest from Tacoma, and Jack - a student who took Michael skiing.

 
Got chocolates from Blondel for Valentine's Day - a favorite chocolatier. 

 

 

Fish shapes are common during Lent.

 as are liqueur-filled chocolate eggs.

 From the mountains near Gryon.

 

2 weeks left of class, then finals!