chamonix : into the mountains

oh boy, oh boy, was i pleased as ever to join such an international group
on such a majestic and wonder-ful little expedition into these french alps.
this is life. this is my pulse. this is pure bliss.
ceej and i both feel like this trip was such a teaser...there's so much to do here,
and we didn't have near enough time to even scrape the snowy, glacier surface.
we shall indeed return some day in the future...hopefully sooner than later.

sweet dreams, and have a wonder-filled weekend.

chamonix : the village

we were in chamonix during the off-season, which made for a beautifully quiet town.
not every shop or restaurant was open, but there were enough places filled with
yummy food to keep my sweet-tooth and my belly quite satisfied...seriously,
how can you go wrong with cheese, pastries, and sparkling water at your fingertips?!
i took full advantage.

the buildings are old, nothing to go "wow" about because this place is not about the buildings,
it's about the mountains...but, still, the buildings and homes are quite charming, and i could
easily move right in tomorrow and feel that i had entered a dream world.

in summary, i loved feeling like we had this quiet mountain village all to ourselves
and the scenery everywhere i looked was fantastic...and my belly was content.

chamonix : down in the valley

while ceej was in meetings i had the luxury of exploring the area.
initially, i was confident, and bought a map so i could find trails to hike,
and i bought a chocolate croissant for a snack...

well, i wandered and wandered and couldn't find any trails that didn't
require a long train ride or a long tram ride or that wasn't still covered in snow.
i returned to my apartment, pouting. how could i be in such a scenic place,
and not figure out how to actually get up into the mountains?!

luckily, ceej had discovered a little walking path that went right through
the valley, and on one of his breaks showed me on the map how to get there.
so i got there. with my chocolate croissant. and it was all beautiful.

chamonix : aguille du midi

i've decided to start documenting my european extravaganza in the middle, with our visit to chamonix.
before i arrived in chamonix with ceej i had explored a bit of norway, meandered through the continent via train, and wandered the streets of rome...those photos will come later in a lovely little package.

chamonix was such a lovely respite from the busy cities. that mountain air was just what i needed...
i almost just wanted to find a bit of earth to lie upon forever and not move,
but, luckily, i got my feet moving and saw some amazing views. the alps are incredible mountains.
seriously alive.

the second day we were there we took advantage of a short break that ceej had between meetings,
and we ran to the tram to make the journey up the aguille du midi. thank goodness for the tram:
it was a fast way to see so much of the area...even mont blanc, which we could also see from below from our hotel balcony. we're definitely going back, and next time we're bringing skis and/or climbing gear.

let the photo flood begin...