CHAMONIX

Thursday we had organised to go to Chamonix in the French Alps to visit Leila who owns a bar there and has been living there for roughly the last 4-5 years.  I had been there once before in summer 2008 and absolutely loved it, so I was really keen to take Anna there and hopefully see a bit more snow than last time.
We flew from Firenze to Geneva in Switzerland on a small 80-odd seater plane, Anna was shitting herself, it was quite amusing.  It was a picture perfect day and the view out the window flying over the Alps was ridiculous!

We had a minivan take us from the airport to Chamonix, which is just over the border in France.  It was great to see Leila after a long time and great to finally meet her boyfriend Olivier.  They are living in Olivier's parents chalet just to the north of Chamonix, about a 5 min drive from the town centre.  It is a perfect place and had amazing views up to the Mont Blanc.

We had a nice dinner at home, accompanied with some French wine and almost half a bottle of Olivier's favourite French liqueur which instantly made us ready for bed.

The next morning we woke with the plan to take the cable car upto the Aiguille de Midi, but we were advised that it was too windy and hopefully it would be ok the next day.  Instead we walked around town, did some shopping and bought a bunch of supplies and made lunch sitting out in the sun.
The town of Chamonix is absolutely beautiful, all the buildings look like ginger bread houses, we loved it.  It also has a river that runs right though the middle of it, so cold as it is the result of glaciers melting from higher up the mountain.

No matter where you are in Chamonix, provided it is a good day, you can look up and see where the cable-car takes you upto the Aiguille de Midi (3,842m) and also the Mont Blanc (4,807m - the tallest mountain in Europe).

the Aiguille de Midi is the highest peak in the middle and the Mont Blanc is in the distance to the right

That night, Leila and Olivier took us out to their favourite restaurant Atmosphere (above).  We were lucky enough to have a table right on the river.  The great seats were accompanied by great food.

The next morning we arose and got ready for a really great day!  Although I had been up before, I was really excited to take Anna in the cable-car upto the Aiguille de Midi, the highest accessible point in Europe without getting out and hiking!
The cable-car starts off from Chamonix (1,035m), crossing the forrest above the treetops, reaching an altitude of 2,317m in 10 mins. We then got out and had a walk around in the snow and looked up at where the second cable-car was to take us........

The second part of the trip takes you over glaciers and up the north face of the Aiguille de Midi to reach the summit at an altitude of 3,842m or 12,602 feet!  There are various platforms and terraces and bridges etc where you can look out and as you can see, the views were spectacular!

catching the Mont Blanc!

Many skiers take the trip upto the Aiguille de Midi to ski the 'Valley Blanche' - A 23km run that takes you through incredible glacier bowls, around crevasses and seracs and when the conditions are great, you can ski right back into town.  This is at the top of my bucket list!

After a pretty hairy ride back down the mountain, it was back to Leila's bar for a few refreshments.

Anna and I went out for dinner that night as Leila had to work.  We decided we wanted to try some traditional cheese fondue.  Stupidly, we ordered the wrong thing and ended up with beef bourguignonne, which is basically pieces of raw meat that you cook in your own pot of hot oil.  The boiling hot oil kept spitting out onto Anna, it was very funny........

Sunday morning we were greeted by another perfect day.  Pretty amazing to wake up and look at this out your window......

Leila knew that I was more excited than a fat kid in a candy store to go skiing, so whether she actually wanted to or not, it was greatly appreciated that she took Anna and I skiing for a few hours.  After getting our outfits organised from their basement which holds more ski gear than a ski shop, we were off to hire boots and ski's.  Then some tasty French pasties for breakfast and we hit the slopes.  Unfortunately there weren't many lifts open because we were nearing the end of the winter season, but we still had a great time.  As you can see from the photo, the weather was so good, we didn't even need jackets!

After a nice big lunch, it was back home to relax and read our books out in the sun.  Just as I was getting comfortable, Olivier propositioned me with a "couple of beers" with his mates down at one of their locals.  3 pints later and Olivier's mates called it quits.  We decided we were having fun, so it was onto the next bar for more beers before meeting the girls for dinner.  A few pre dinner drinks at a really cool bar and Olivier and I were starting to talk dribble.

burnt schnoz 

Dinner was great and still holds a spot in our top-5 of the trip so far, although Anna had to remind me the next day what I actually ate.  We fixed up the bill and by this time it was almost midnight.  Olivier suggested one more drink, so Anna and Leila went home and Olivier and I went out for one more drink, which turned into a lot more.  I had a fantastic night, but getting home at 3:30 and being picked up by the airport transfer at 6:30 is not a good idea and I spent the whole trip home with my head in a paper bag.