Day 15 -- Where Art Thou Mont Blanc?

Another unrestful night. I woke up more tired than when I went to bed and so we ended up getting a slow start. Graham had not been feeling well so I got up with Isla at 7:30 AM and brought her to the hotel lobby to allow him some uninterrupted sleep. Before long, she was ready for her morning nap and since neither of us were ready to go yet, I put her down in the pack and play for her first stationary nap (read: not in the stroller or carseat) in 16 days. And I climbed back into bed.

We had no idea what time it was when we finally made it out of our hotel room. 11:15!? Wow. We began the search for breakfast but everyone shooed us away, informing us "The kitchen is closed." I sensed a trend. Please no! Not another day spent in search of food!!

We eventually found an open cafe where we ordered cafe au lait for me and espresso for Graham and chocolate crepes (which came from their dessert menu, by the way, because it doesn't seem the town believed in breakfast).

Isla was ready for another nap when we finished so we headed back to the hotel and she napped for an hour and a half while I read to Graham while admiring the bits of the base of Mont Blanc that were visible through the clouds. This was just what we needed after our strained drive the previous day.

We had been looking forward to taking the gondola up the mountain to enjoy the view but a couple things were working against us. 1) Kids were not allowed because the air was thin at the top and 2) It was so cloudy that we weren't sure we'd be able to see anything from the top anyway. We decided to send Graham up, armed with the video camera so I could take the trip vicariously through video when he came back. We split up and planned to meet back at the hotel in a few hours. (Look closely at the picture below to see the wires of the gondola. And to think this is only half of it! It keeps going up, way into the clouds!)

Isla and I strolled the super cute streets, browsing the shops which were all very outdoorsy. The place felt like one large REI town! I treated myself to TWO scoops of ice cream and Isla and I found a Father's Day gift for Graham. We ran into Graham on our way back to the hotel. I excitedly asked him how it was only to learn that he didn't go. The ticket lady had talked him out of it, informing him that there was zero visibility and did he really want to spend 50 Euro to see nothing? Bummer! The forecast was for clouds and rain for thr next 6 days so the odds of us ever seeing the mountain was not good. Such is life.

What better to do to remedy disappointment than to EAT!? The restaurant we chose was quirky and, as it turns out, so was the food. We each ordered a menu. I had a salad to start. It had greens, hard boiled egg, canned corn, tomato and "white ham" (which i guess is basically the ham you'd find in the US, not prosciutto). For my main, I chose the local specialty, tartiflette, a very cheesy scalloped potato dish with bacon and cream-so good! Caramel and chocolate ice cream followed for my dessert (yes, twice in one day...don't judge!) Graham had no idea what he was ordering. His starter turned out to be some sort of green salad with meat jello (terrine?), marinara sauce and sweet pickles. Very weird. His main was chicken with mushrooms and some potatoes and sauteed spinach on the side. He had creme caramel for dessert (pretty much flan). I don't think this restaurant was know for their food. My main was good but the rest was questionable. We did like the merlot we selected to drink. As had been our experience this trip with all wines, it was nothing like the merlots we know in the US. It was much better, particularly given that we usually don't care for merlot.

Because we were on the final leg of our trip, much of our conversation revolved around how we would adjust to having a routine again when we got home. Neither of us were looking forward to the busy schedule that awaited.

Overall, I think our impession of Chamonix was jaded by the weather which interferred with our plans to gondola up the mountain and/or go on a hike. I'm sure we'd think a bit differently about the place if it had been sunny. There were definately a LOT more english speakers here. Actually it almost felt like we could have been in Leavenworth or some other cute mountain town in the US. It felt much more American, probably partially due to the fact that everyone and their mother were wearing a Northface.

Here are my feeble attempts at trying to catch a glimpse of Mont Blanc. I think there is a mountain in there somewhere. Do you see it?

To this day, I have no idea what shape Mont Blanc actually is. Oh well.

Following dinner, we Skyped the Senior Croziers to wish Graham's dad a very happy bday and then retired early.