7/24 Villers du Lac to Vieux Chateleu

Our room was situated above a busy street which kept me from a restful sleep. The air was already warm as we ventured out - Nick was outside ready to go but we made another quick stop at the grocery before hitting the road. I bought a straw hat to replace the one I lost- cowboy style at that! The GR starts climbing into the sun heading east up roads mostly before some really steep segments up the hill crest. The occasional views  below to town continually improve. We reached an auberge du Rocher where Nick rounded up some cool drinks as we sat in the shade. Tammy had fun with a playful kitten. When we left it followed us quite a ways until Nick dropped his pack and jogged back to the auberge with the kitten then ran like mad back to leave it behind and  to catch up. A funny scene! Gaining altitude moderated the temperatures and in the shade of the woods it was perfect for our efforts. We passed along Swiss border stones as we gained the crest. Near a telecommunications tower we past an enthusiastic young walker out for a few days heading north. He seemed excited for our walk and we gave him a blog card. Further on the woods opened onto a rural plateau and we past some magnificent farmhouses in an idyllic setting. Here we crawled under an electric fence to sit in the shade of a tree as cows moved closer in curiosity, their bells clanging. Refreshed we moved onward using road and trail undulating along. We stopped at a spot to hike downhill a ways to the Grand Cave . Ditching our packs made this easy - the cave was interesting but the views down the valley more so. Nick scraped his foot retrieving the packs which gave him some trouble. But just a bit further on we walked by a beautiful farmhouse with people about and stopped for a chat. A beautiful chapel built by the mans great grandfather was well decorated. Nick had some foot care offered and while we stood there a young family of 4 walked by - 2 small children with ambitious parents. It flashed me back to times with my girls. We finally got going again and passed the family on hot road. Eventually we reached the Auberge Vieux Chateleu our stop for the night. There was a great bar / dining area with old photos and memorabilia. Apparently a man from this farm crossed the border to warn the allies of V1 production in WW2. We sat on the pick --nick tables in a warm breeze before going in sipping cool drinks. Inside the room was amazingly upscale even with a kitchenette. Laundry hung out in the hot air , I joined Nick awhile before he moved on further down the road. Our dinner was massive - steak in a mushroom sauce while I had duck with mountain morels. We shared a good salad and ended up uncomfortably stuffed. So I slept sub optimally a second night!