Day 11 – Chamonix, France

By morning, The Shining Hotel had some activity going on downstairs. A few of the locals had emerged for their morning coffee. A table was preset and our breakfast was waiting for us. We were the only two people expected for breakfast and there was entirely too much bread, cheese, ham, pastry, yogurt and fruit for just the 2 of us on the table. Upon our departure, there was no one to check us out or turn our keys in to, so we just left knowing Mateo had charged both the room and dinner to my credit card the night before. There was a sign that stated a tourista tax was to be collected in cash, but there was no amount specified and no one to pay it to.

The drive to Chamonix, France took us through the Italian alps via some very expensive toll roads and incredible long tunnels. I think we may have spent more on Italian tolls than in gas at this point. After 3 hours we reached Mont Blanc. The mountain range is the border between Italy and France. The tunnel through Mont Blanc is 6 miles long, costs 40 euro ($50!) and spits you out into France. Half way through the tunnel, you officially cross the border. Once we emerged from the tunnel, we had our first glimpse of Mont Blanc against blue sky (with Matt’s car in the foreground).

Chamonix and the surrounding valley is one of my favorite places and it was nice to be back. By the time we got checked in, the clouds had moved in and were blanketing the peaks. The reward of going up the highest mountain in Europe, at 15,781 ft, is for the view into 4 countries across an incredible mountain range. For the last 2 months straight, Chamonix had received rain in the valley and snow on the mountains. This was the first day with no rain and we hoped the weather would hold for our ascent the following morning. Our hotel was nice, but we were given the basement room. Our window was at ground level, so instead of lugging our backpacks downstairs, Matt just tossed them through the window to me.

 

 Sunset in the valley is not until 9:30 pm, so we had lots of time to explore the town, have a nice walk, enjoy some gelato and find a good spot for dinner. There was a little theatre downtown showing the movie, "The Hangover 3" however, it was titled "One Very Bad Day" instead. I am guessing there are no hangovers in France, only bad days. While wandering around looking for dinner, the smell of curry wafted our way. I love the local foods, but after 11 days of it, the need for Indian food could not be denied. Dinner here is very expensive and in comparison to the surrounding menus, the Indian Restaurant was still expensive compared to back home, but not outrageous. We were both really hungry and were expecting our notions of “standard portions.” When our dinner arrived, Matt looked up and said, “So this is what $40 buys?” Actually, it was very tasty, and I considered it good portion control. It was a good day and despite the Indian food in my tummy, I was feeling very French.