| Aug 15, 2007 - Chamonix
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| This morning I said goodbye to the tour members and hopped a train for Chamonix. I should rephrase that, I hopped several trains. In fact, several more than I had expected. The trip was supposed to take 6 hours and involve 2 train changes. The longest part of the trip was on the high-speed TGV train from Paris to Bellgarde. Then I was supposed to catch a train to St. Gervais and from there, another to Chamonix. When I got to Bellgarde, which is a pretty small station, things were a bit confusing. They are doing construction at the station and the monitor wasn't working so I didn't know which platform the connecting train was departing from. There were some signs on the platform with the name St. Gervais, so I figured, it's gotta be the this platform, right?. Just to make sure I went into the station and asked and the ticket agent said, Oui, platform A. So as the train is approaching a voice comes over the loudspeaker in French saying 'Blah, blah, blah, something, something, train for St. Gervais platform A, blah, blah, blah'. With my limited understanding of French I think, ok, this is it. Well, I get on the train and about an hour into the trip the conductor comes by, looks at my railpass and asks where I am going. I say Chamonix and she shakes her head and starts rattling off a buch more blah, blah, wrong train, blah, blah, blah. I understand enough to know that I need to get out at the next stop, Evian on the French side of Lake Geneva (famous for its bottled mineral water) and catch another train back in the direction I just came from. She was very nice and wrote down the connecting towns and arrival/departure times for me. I had to change trains 3 more times and would get to Chamonix at about 7:30 pm. My 6 hour train ride just turned into an 8.5 hour train ride, crap...
I was thinking, I work as a rail travel advisor, this shouldn't happen. While I was waiting at the station for the next train I met an English family who had done the exact same thing. Evidently, the train we caught in Bellgarde split into 2 parts and we got on the wrong half. Now I know what all the blah, blah, blah, was about on the loudspeaker. The wife spoke pretty good French and heard this, but it wasn't really clear which cars went where, so they made the same mistake. There was a group of Italians who had done the same thing. Ok, now I don't feel so bad. They were really nice people and we sat together for the rest of the trip. I got to Chamonix pretty wiped out. 5 weeks of book research and assistant guiding has worn me out. All I wanted to do was take a shower, eat something and go to bed. Chamonix is very pretty, with Mont Blanc towering over the town but it's also very touristy and a lot of these toursists seem to be British. I think nearly everyone I have ran into so far is English. But where there are English people, there is also good Indian food, so the first thing I did after checking into my hotel (which is run by Brits) was to ask them if there was an Indian restaurant in town. It turns out there are several, one really close to my hotel. So I gorged myself on chicken Tika Masala and some English draft cider and am now ready for bed.
The only thing I really want to do in Chamonix is some hiking and to ride the lift up over the mountains into Italy. I have wanted to do this for some time and get a lot of travel questions about it at work. My gudebook says it's best to get the early lift up (6:00 am) to avoid the crowds. After getting up early for the last 10 days I am really looking forward to sleeping in at leat until 8:00, so I will have to play it by ear. The weather forecast says tomorrow will be nice, but then a big front is moving in, so it looks like its tomorrow or not at all.
Chamonix Day 2 - My big, exciting day
Today I took one of Europe's most spectacular and popular lift rides. I just couldn't bring myself to get up at the crack and decided risk the crowds and take the lift up a little later. The lines weren't that bad at 10:00 when I got there and since I was alone, I got a reservation on the next gondola up, just as several busloads of Japanese tourist arrived. First you take a gondola up to "Plan de L'Aiguille" about half-way up. From here you transfer to another gondola that whizzes you up to "Aiguille du Midi" at 12,600 feet, where the air is thin, clear and cold. The lift station is perched on top of a rock, with cliffs on all sides. There is a restaurant, observation decks and ice tunnels leading down to the glacier where mountain climbers and skiers come and go. From the station, you can cross a bridge and take an elevator up to the pinnacle of the rock for some amazing views of Mont Blanc and the surrounding Alps. It was a gorgeous day and the views were incredible. From Aiguille du Midi, you can then take a small 4-person 'telecabine' and cross over to Helbronner point, the Italian border station. These little gondolas cross a large glacier field on one, long 3-mile cable. It's a vinter vunderland up there. It was crystal-clear until I passed into Italy, which was shrouded with fog.
From Helbronner, you can continue down into Italy on another gondola, or head back to France the way you came. I opted to go back to France, as it would take too long to take the lift down to La Palud in Italy and then take a bus through the Mont Blanc tunnel back to Chamonix. As I said, the air is pretty thin, so I was sitting down catching my breath and reading my map when an Italian family sits down next to me. The husband is huffing and puffing and immediatley lights up a cigarette. As I get up to move, he slumps over and falls right into my lap, nearly taking me down with him. He is a big boy, almost my height, but well over 250 lbs. His wife starts screaming, then their little girl starts crying. I was stunned at first and just stood there with the guy at my feet for a few seconds, then rolled him over and checked his breathing, which was faint. He was alive, but out cold. I tell the wife that she needs to give him mouth to mouth but she either doesn't understand me or is too hysterical. I try to tell her in Spanish, thinking she might understand and use body language to show her what I mean. It's obvious she is too upset to do anything so I think, ok, I've got to do something. Just as I tilt his head back and bring my mouth toward him he coughs and spits a big lungfull of stale smoke, rancid breath and phlem right in my face. It was totally disgusting and I nearly puked all over him. I helpled him up and told him to just sit back and relax. By now several other people had gathered around and someone gave him some water. He seemed to be alright and was very thankful. I told his wife that it may be a good time for him to give up the smokes. I started to leave when he grabbed me and gave me a huge, sweaty, hug. I wouldn't have minded if he looked more like Mario Lopez than Tony Soprano, especially with his lovely aroma of B.O. and slale cigarettes. Well, at least I did my good deed for the day (or year). As I walked to the bathroom to wash off my face, I could see him lighting up another cigarette, nice.
Since it was foggy and I couldn't see anything, I didn't linger at Helbronner and took the lift back to Aiguille de Midi and the sunshine. I rode up the elevator up to the pinnacle, then had a hot cocoa on the observation deck and had to suppress the urge to yodel. Then I took the lift halfway down to Plan de L'Aiguille and hiked 3 hours to Montenvers, which overlooks the "Mer de Glace" glacier, and took a cogwheel train back to Chamonix. When I got to Montenvers, there were mobs of people waiting for the train, so I decided to visit the ice caves first. The snow level was pretty low this year, so the caves weren't very impressive. Basically, just a lot of steps down into some dripping tunnels for views of the dirty glacier. The crowds at the train station weren't much better when I got back so I joined the herd of tourists and got on the train back to Chamonix, feeling like a sardine packed into a small tin. It was a pretty long day and I was beat but it was well worth it. Even if I did nearly make out with Tony Soprano. Today is gray and raining, so I am glad I went yesterday. |
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