Saut du Doubs, the natural wonder of Franche-Comté

I went for an escapade over the weekeend of 7 July to the Chateau of Joux in the Jura Mountains on the North East of France and later to the cascades of the Doubs River, its sources from the Jura mountains, itself being form from the limestone basins of the Jura gorges. After lunch in a typical franc-comtoise auberge (or guest house), we were ferried along the 3.7 km river basin flanked on one site the department of Morteau on the Franche-Comté in France and Villiers-le-lac on the Swiss side. Arriving at the end of the basin lake, we embarked and trekked uphill before descending to the mouth of the cascades  - 27 metres and perhaps one of the most spectacular cascades of France (not sure if it's the highest, as someone told me so...).

The rather simple and rustic decor of the guesthouse...

Entree was a salad of tuna, eggs and tomatoes...I suppose this is NOT very traditional, being in the mountains...

 Braised turkey with gratin of potatoes...

 Choice of Comté and Morbier cheese from the région.

A lemon curd tart looking lika a pizza.

 View outside the auberge.

 At Morteau, a few old-fashioned racers parked...

 The ferry that greeted us.

 Calm at the beginning of the journey.

 A heron fishing.

At the center of the chasm dividing the two mountains is a huge swiss flag dangled on steel cables (not very visible).

 The entrance into the gorges...

Clearly the other side of the river is Switzerland...

Deepest part of the basin exceeds 40M in depth...

 A cave...this has a bear statue guarding its entrance...

 A stone sphinx-like creation of nature...

 Arriving at the end of the basin...

 The passarelle takes you directly to Switzerland (with no border control!)...

 Souvenir shops...

 Wild strawberries along the path...

The cascades from the Northern vantage point...

From atop its mouth...

 Mossy banks beside the cascades...

This small path is just a few meters from Switzerland (and cross we all did...).

Dinner at a 2 Michelin-starred Restaurant at Arbois

My friend reserved a place for us to try out (for once at least in a life time) a 2 Michelin-starred restaurant in Arbois. It is a small town about 40 minutes drive from Besançon town and like all quaint little towns of France, extremely charming and rustic. If there isn't that much to brag about restauration in Besancon, this tiny little enclave has much to shout about: its famous yellow wine called "vin jaune", a wine with an interesting yellow tint and an earthy taste, another light claret wine called "vin de paille" or "straw wine" is equally famous for its sweetness close to a Sauterne...But the two biggest draw has to be the world renowned Hersinger Chocolate Maison and a 2 Michelin-starred restaurant called simply Jeunet Arbois.

 View of the town centre in the evening...

 Outside of Hirsinger, right in the middle of the town...

 A sweet toothed person will have troubles in this shop...

 Nougat in all its possible incarnations...

 and fruit candies too...

 some remaining pastries and chocolate confisserie at the end of the day...

 Chocolat galore...the price is actually not as forbiding as one would imagine from an upscale chocolatier but it is never cheap to begin with...

 The name of the shop...

 and outside...

 Across the street, at a turn and this is a rather unassuming hotel/restaurant...

 Beautifully dressed room with a brigade of service to make sure everything meets the client's expectation. I ordered the tasting menu (lowest priced) at 110 euro...the waiters are extremely competent and will be able to address any requests, big and small...however, they'll never cease to try to push their expensive wines to you...

 A small tray of tasters called amuse-gueule to get things going...the fried quail egg was interesting but not shouting...the rest is a tiny window to the taste range of the region - summer tastes are typically linked to fenouil, aneth, artichokes, and wild flowers as well as regional products like the absinthe (a strong liqueur), jésus de Morteau (a large sausage) and vin jaune... the restaurant seems to concentrate on quality regional products used in imaginative ways.

 A trio of butter was offered to go with the meal: simple salted butter, seaweed infused butter and speciality sausage-infused butter (jésus de Morteau).

 Maquereau de Ligne Juste Poché au Beurre Citronné,

Sablé & Royale aux Graines d’Aneth Torréfiées,

« Chantilly » Légère à l’Absinthe

 Truffe d’Été & Artichaut Bouquet en Salade Décomposée,

Barigoule à l’Amande Fraîche & Fleurs d’Origan,

Croustillants d’Artichaut

 The summer truffles were crispy but they only have a faint perfume. The use of raw almond to balance the saltiness of the sausage and almond parfait was interesting.

 I chose this special bread - it is really yellow in colour because of the use of absinthe as a flavouring agent...

 ESCARGOTS DU PETIT MERCEY, BLETTES & ORIGAN

Etuvés au Beurre de Gingembre, Côtes de Blette Glacées, Tuile de Lard Cul Noir,

Petit Farci de Vert de Blette & Jus mousseux à l’Origan

 There are actually only 3 snails inside, perfectly cooked and prepared without a single trace of earthy sandiness. However, this is really a light dish, even for me who doesn't eat a lot.

 Entrecôte de Boeuf « Hereford Prime » à l’ Armoise,

« Farçon » au Jésus de Morteau Révisité

Radis Confit & Girolles Clous,

Beurre de Vin Rouge

 The beef was by far the most outstanding dish but again, too tiny for my liking. I actually had 5 entries (+ 2 light tasters and a selection of cheese) but felt like I didn't actually had that much to eat...

 Les Affinés à Souhait du Pays Comtois & de France: cheese as much as you can take.

 Chose a 24-month and 18-month Comté, a light blue cheese from the Jura and a smoked cheese from the Perigord...

 Abricots Bergeron Juste Pochés dans un Sirop Aromatique,

Blanc Manger à la Reine des Pré, Un Lait d’Amande,

Sorbet Abricot

La reine des prés, Filipendula ulmaria, is a wild flower that grows in wet habitat and has a rather strong aroma that needs getting used to.

 To finish, some tiny sweet things...

 Arbois is the birth place of Louis Pasteur...

 Some famous chefs came visiting...

 and the restaurant...