My favourite things

At the beginning of summer, many of those running accommodations in the village, including myself here at Vert Le Mont B&B, met with Mont Sutton to discuss ski packages for winter 2007-08. We started in early July to give us the time to review what worked well last season and to share ideas as to how we can improve things for the future. One thing that was common to us all was the desire to make the two-night package as appealing as possible. Two nights makes a lot more economic sense for us innkeepers while also enabling us to connect for long enough with our clients to ensure that they enjoy Sutton to the full. Really, two days is barely enough to start to discover the winter delights of skiing or boarding Mont Sutton, let alone the snowshoeing or sleigh rides.

Increasingly, however, summer and fall are becoming very important seasons for us all, though given the state of rue Principale this summer, it’s been all too easy to want to just forget the warmer seasons and look forward to the winter. Nonetheless, I was just as keen to encourage visitors to not only visit but also to stay at least two nights, as despite the roadworks we’ve still had more than sufficient to offer them. Do you doubt me? Well, if you remember the movie The Sound of Music you may recall a song where the chorus goes “… when I’m feeling bad, I simply remember my favourite things and then I don’t feel so mad”. So if you are feeling depressed about your business try to remember your favourite things. To get you started, here is a very personal selection of mine, from right here in Sutton, many of which I share with my clients and also the world in general on such sites as boo.com and tripadvisor.com:

Enjoying a warm almond croissant and a café au lait at Café L’International whilst doing that day’s sudoku in the Gazette (a type of puzzle to which I am addicted).
Hiking the village-mountain trail but stopping to dangle my feet in the stream.
The choice of cheeses at La Rumeur Affamée as well as the Black Forest ham to which I am also totally addicted.
The ambiance and the salade Nicoise at Le Cafetier.
A cold beer on any one of our village terrasses.
The adrenalin rush I get doing the Tarzan swing at the start of level 3 at d’Arbre en Arbre.
Wandering around the Saturday flea market where I always manage to buy something I don’t need.
Sitting in my garden with my boyfriend Jay enjoying a glass of wine and the late afternoon light on the sculptures by Don Davidson

Lynda Graham