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| Sort of ice cave leading to the glacier, I didn't venture far.... |
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| Yes, we took the lift right up there |
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| I took this pic for elf'n'safety fans - note the lack of any barrier stopping people falling onto the platform? Few feet from there its a long way down. |
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| An aerial view of the car park - Ruby is down there somewhere |
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| Thought I had better check the machinery |
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| Quite a lot of brave souls walking up the mountain! |
We got the aire at Chamonix by about 10ish, we used toll roads again, just too risky attempting anything other than main roads in this sort of country. As we were getting near to the Alps you can imagine the scenery was pretty spectacular.
The aire forms part of a very large car park, there are a lot of motorhomes here - several dozen, and they seem to be parked all over the place rather than in the dedicated motorhome bays.
So, into Chamonix, only a 5 minute walk away. Very soon we spotted a tourist train just about to leave so we got on board. This was very good and gave us a good introduction to the town. I was hoping we had got away without paying (6 euros each) but alas no. Chamonix is very much geared up to the tourist industry you won't be surprised to read. The resident population is 10,000 but this increases to up to 120,000 at busy times. According to the train commentary the railway that runs through the area is the world's steepest 'natural friction' railway.
After our train ride we went to a small supermarket and bought some bits and pieces - bread, vegetables and chocolate. Unfortunately, Lynda was drawn into a shop selling tat and emerged quite a few euros poorer.
We took our purchases back to the van then set off again in search of somewhere to get lunch. As we are away for quite a while we can't go round eating out too often otherwise it will cost a fortune but we thought we would treat ourselves today.
We were reading the menu outside a restaurant and got a cheery 'bonjour' from the woman in charge so we thought we would give it a try. Lunch was delicious, I ordered 'dish of the day' and wasn't 100% sure what I was going to get. Turned out to be some sort of chicken kebab with sauce, salad and 'stuff'. Lynda had a pizza with side green salad. With a glass of wine each, a beer, a coke, a coffee and a creme brulee each it came to 65 euros including generous tip. Considering this is quite a classy tourist hotspot I thought that price was okay.
As we walked backwards and forwards between the van and the town we noticed the longish queue for the cablecar up to the mountains. I looked at the price (as always) and after lunch we thought we would go mad and take a trip. It cost 45.60 euros each but I can tell you it was worth every penny. We queued for our tickets and were then faced with another wait of 90 minutes till it was our turn to use the cablecar. We had a drink at a cafe and bought a couple of t shirts in their shop and soon our number was being called.
We knew we were in for quite a ride because we could see the cables stretching away up the wooded hillside towards Mont Blanc. Very soon we were getting amazing views. When the cable car ran over one of the supporting towers it rocked quite a bit causing quite a lot of excitement among the passengers. Lynda, never one to hold back when it comes to exagerration, said it was the second most scary experience of her life. I wondered what was the most scary - apparently it was having the kids.
The first cable car ride takes 8 minutes and takes you to 'only' 2317 metres above sea level. The second car reaches 3842 metres!. The views from here are amazing. The day was fine and clear so we could see forever, mountain ranges stretching as far as the horizon. But we were still not satisfied. There is a lift (or 350 stairs!) which takes you right up to the summit terrace.
The photos do a much better job of describing the views than I can. There are a lot of terraces and short bridges to stand on and gawp at the view.
One of the signs by the ticket office advises you to take warm clothing with you for your cable car trip. I didn't think this would be necessary but in the event I was very glad of my warm jumper. Amazing how quickly it can go from 28 degrees (on the ground) to freezing at the top. Another potential problem is altitude sickness. Neither of us was ill at all but there were quite a few stairs to climb in between terraces and my legs were getting decidedly wobbly at times. There were plenty of people, of all ages, having to stop to get their breath back.
Super day today.
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| Fast (very) flowing stream through the town |
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| Outside the restaurant where we had lunch |
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