Sunday Sep. 29 - The Final Leg of the Journey

Caught our shuttle to the airport about 6:45 and after stopping at several other hotels to fill up the van (all eight of us) we arrived at CDG.  Got all checked in and through security in record time (although for some reason I got patted down - must have been the rivets on my jeans).  Grabbed some breakfast at the terminal, got on the plane and were ready to be pushed back when they discovered a low tire which had to be changed (which took an hour).

Although the flight was about 10 hours it went by pretty quickly (lots of video entertainment and a few short naps).  We said our goodbyes to Jim and Judy in Seattle (they still had to fly to Portland and then to Medford).  We then picked up our car and had to drive home in the wind and the rain.  We got home about 6PM and were glad to be home and back to our house and the dogs.

Now for the tough part - recapping the trip.  It was great to have Jim and Judy join us.  All of our lodging was clean and comfortable (we just need to remember if we are staying in town to ask if the apartment is right on a busy, noisy road).  We did some hiking that we would never have done by ourselves.  We saw some sights that were absolutely amazing.  We accomplished some personal achievements and were able to cross some items off of our bucket list.  The weather was incredible (just a few days of rain) and we met some great people and were able to see some old friends.  We faced a few challenges (usually driving related) but that is part of the adventure.  We biked 20 miles, we walked and hiked well over 100 miles and we drove over 3,000 kilometers.  We ate some great food and drank some good wine (and some Belgium beers - thanks Denis!).  To sum it all up - it was a great vacation!

Saturday Sep. 28 - Paris

We took the Metro to Luxembourg Gardens and walked around a bit.  We then walked by the apartment where we stayed in 2007, grabbed some goodies at a local shop and took the back streets to the Pantheon.  Had lunch on the steps and then headed towards the Seine for a river cruise (which is a great way to see many of the main sights along the river).  We then headed back towards the Latin Quarter and had an early dinner.

 

 

 

It is hard to believe that our time in France has drawn to an end.  Tomorrow we head home.

 

 

Friday Sep. 27 - Off to Paris

Grabbed a quick breakfast, packed the car and headed off the the Geneva airport to drop off the car.  While we had what we thought were good driving directions there were clearly some differences between the signs on the road and the signs and instructions in the printed directions.  It got a little stressful to say the least but we were able to make our way to the French side of the airport and finally get the car dropped off (for some reason not an easy task with lease cars).  Took the bus to the main Geneva train station and had plenty of time to catch our high-speed train to Paris.

 

After three hours we arrived and were able to find our hotel quite easily.  Got checked in and headed to Notre Dame and the Latin Quarter.  Had a good dinner and then headed to the Eiffel Tower for an after-dark experience.

 

 

Tomorrow we will spend more time exploring the city.

Thursday Sep. 26 - Our Last Day in Chamonix

We all decided it was time for an easy walk/hike for our last day.  The weather has turned a little gray today with some showers in the forecast.  We took the train to Argentiere, checked out the church there, grabbed some treats for lunch and found the trail back to Chamonix.  The trail went along the river and it was a pretty easy walk.  After several hours and 9 miles we were back at the B&B.

 

 

 

 

Spent a little time in the hot tub and had another great dinner prepared by the owner of the B&B.

 

 

Tonight we got packed up so we can make an early exit to Geneva tomorrow morning.

 

Wednesday Sep. 25 - What Shall We Do Today?

After another hearty breakfast at the B&B Jim and Judy headed out by train for some more walking and hiking and Steve and Charlotte took the car towards Switzerland to look for an easy walk and to kill some time before the afternoon activities.  We checked out a few of the smaller towns outside Chamonix and took a short walk through a nature preserve.

 

 

We also stopped by the area where some of the paragliders land at the end of their flight.

 

 

At 2PM we met a father and daughter who are staying at the B&B at the bottom of the main cable car here in Chamonix for the afternoon activities.  We made our way up to the middle station where we met our "pilots".  All three of us (with Charlotte there for moral support and official photographer) strapped in and headed out on our paragliding adventure.  It was an amazing experience.

 

 

 

 

Our "chef" took the night off so we had dinner in town.  Things are much slower during the week, especially since everyone is back in school.

 

 

 

 

Tuesday Sep. 24 - Time to Rest the Knees and Ankles

Because the peak summer season is over most of the lifts for the tourists are now closed.  We headed a short distance east to Prarion and took the cable car to the top of the lift.  We walked around up there for about 2.5 miles.  Towards the end of the walk we spotted a cog train.  After some research we decided to head back down the hill and drive to St. Gervais to catch the train.

 

 

Had a quick bite to eat and caught the train.  It is about an hour to reach the final destination at Nid d'Aigle at 2,380 meters (which is used as the starting point for those hoping to reach the summit of Mont Blanc at 4,810 meters).  The tramway is 100 years old this year and it travels through the forest and then hugs the cliff as it rises at a very steep angle.

 

 

When we arrived at the top there were quite a few people, including some who were coming back from reaching the summit.  We walked around a bit and caught the same train back (only two trains can run on the single track).

 

Today is my mom's 91st birthday so gave her a call to pass along birthday wishes.

 

We had another great meal prepared by the owner of the B&B (he prepares dinner for those who are interested and he is a very good cook).  And it saves the hassle of trying to find a good restaurant and then pick something from the menu.

 

That's all for now.  Until tomorrow - au revoir.

 

Monday Sep. 23 - To the Top

The weather forecast for the day looked good so most of the folks at the B&B decided to head out and take the cable car to Aiguille Du Midi (3,842 meters - 12,601 feet in elevation).  We started at the station in Chamonix which is just a short walk from the B&B (at 1,035 meters - 3,395 feet).  The first leg takes you up to Plan de L'Aiguille (at 2,317 meters).  You then catch a second cable car which rises the remainder of the distance with no towers in between.  At the highest point you are almost vertical with a sheer rock wall in front of you.  Once you reach the top the views are absolutely incredible.  Pictures cannot capture the scale, beauty and grandeur over the 360 degree views.

 

 

 

 

Yes - that is the Matterhorn past the larger mountain on the left (on the first picture).  We took a lot of pictures up there and we were getting ready for the next leg of the trip and we both started feeling the effects of the altitude (as did most everyone else we talked to later in the day).

 

We then headed back down to the first station and set off on what was supposed to be a 2 1/2 hour hike over to Montenvers and the Mer de Glace glacier.  Not sure who came up with the time estimate but it took us closer to 3 hours and the hiking was quite difficult with a lot of rocks and quite a bit of up and down hiking.  We got the 4:30 cog train in Montenvers back to Chamonix.  We were all pretty tired at the end of a long day.