It was
really nice catching up with Fredric and Stephanie in Lyon. It was a fun visit
with plenty of laughs and good stories. Fred’s Yoga studio is small with a couple
of mall lofts for living. It’s quite nice and comfortable. Fred had a small
futon for me to roll out and made a comfortable spot for me to sleep in a
corner nook. In the morning I packed my stuff and put it aside so the space
could be used for classes. After two nights early Tuesday morning via train for
Les Houches located in a deep valley at the base of Mont Blanc near the famous
alpine village of Chamonix.
The last
half hour or so as the train climbed to Les Houches was absolutely beautiful
with mostly clear skies and slopes of Mont Blanc in the background. Pretty much
the entire high alpine ridgeline extending from the valley of Chamonix, with
the tower atop the famous Aiguille Midi, was visible at over 3800 meters, jagged
and saw-toothed.
Deb, my
friend from England who I visited a couple of week ago, planned to meet me at
the campground in Les Houches. Deb arrived by bus via Geneva a little before me
and we easily found each other.
Les Houches
reminds me a lot of Colorado except the mountains are higher and more rugged
with glaciers. The campground is set up on some grassy benches that
look to double as parking in the ski season. The whole valley is known for its
skiing in the winter and hiking/climbing in the summer. Plenty of people walk
the streets with backpacks toting camping and climbing gear. The familiarity of
having lived in Colorado mountain towns makes me feel like I’m halfway home
here.
I lived in
Aspen Colorado for a number of years and Chamonix is a sister city with exchange
programs for ski instructors, patrollers, etc. Whereas Aspen is notoriously
expensive the Alps are ridiculous. I splurged on Fish and Chips with a Pint
that set me back $28 usd with the exchange rate. Oddly though, super market
food is very reasonable and cheap at times. A Pint of the cheapest beer runs
around $8 in a bar but a 12 pack of cans in a store costs around $10.
Camping
costs around $8 - $10 (usd equivalent). Boulangerie’s for baked goods and super
markets are fair if not cheap. Hotel’s etc. are generally expensive but reasonably
priced, yet not cheap, accommodation can be found. Trains are expensive but
very good. If I stick to camping and cooking my own food, with stops at the village
boulangerie, traveling on 20 to 30 Euros a day is possible. A euro costs me
around $1.38 USD right now. Step outside of the rules I’ve outlined and Europe
gets very expensive in a flash.
The best
value for eating out in Les Houches is a Pizza place. I know because Deb and I checked out
every restaurant before making a decision. The Pizza place was about 1/3 full.
Deb asked, in the best French she could muster, if we could have dinner. The woman
replied in English that they were completely booked. It was early and not a
place you should have to have a reservation. The pizza looked great but it was
not possible for us to eat there. I couldn’t believe they
would turn down business like that. Claiming to be full and booked was a total
sham. Deb was convinced that we were declined service because of her poor
French. We left for another restaurant but walked past the Pizza place a couple
of hours later on our way to the campground. It was still open with just a
couple of people eating.
Or, maybe it’s
just another quirky French thing, about having a reservation whether it’s
necessary or not. For example, I inquired at the local Gite (hostel) about a
bed when I arrived yesterday. The first thing the woman attendant asked me was
if I had a reservation. I said no. She then said they were totally booked but
asked if I was sure I did not have a reservation. I told her I was sure. She
asked again and I replied I was positive. The Gite appeared completely empty
and I have a hard time imagining all of the bunks and rooms were full on a
Tuesday in a village that appears very quiet. She said if I wanted to stay on another
night I would need to make a reservation. The woman was very nice about it while speaking
good English but really seemed to be hung up on the reservation thing.
When I
arrived in Les Houches yesterday the weather was beautiful but this morning it’s
not. It rained all night and the high peaks are getting snow. It’s 11 am and
Deb and I are drinking coffee watching a low ceiling drizzle between dumps of rain. The chamber of
commerce weather report says clearing this afternoon. Three other weather sites I checked
say rain all day but nice tomorrow.
The plan is
hike the 100 mile Tour Du Mont Blanc which circles Mont Blanc via low and
high routes through villages and alpine tundra. We both have plenty of time so
what can be done in a week may take 10 days. We’ll see. Our approach is to take
it easy on bad weather days and go big when the weather is nice. Right now the
weather is crap and the rain is coming down pretty hard.
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