Geneva-Chamonix


We arrived at the train station in Geneva bedraggled from the metro and train station in Paris.  I would not suggest renting a hotel in Montmatre.  Geneva trains are not as well marked as the other cities we've been to, we had to catch a bus to the airport, then a shuttle to rent our car.  That proved difficult because they did not have our paperwork.  Once that was finished we drove an hour to Chamonix which is actually back in a France, the home of Mont-Blanc.  It is a touristy Swiss Aspen nestled in the valley beside the Alps.  It turned out that there was a festival going on and half of the main streets were blocked, it took another hour to find our hotel.  After having a frustrating day of traveling we toured the streets, had some fondu and some genepi beer, and tried out the outdoor hot tub covered in snow.  (grandma scored us some nice places to stay)

In the morning we walked through the city to get our tickets on the cable car going the top of Mont-Blanc, the line was enormous.  We got our tickets and waited for our car to come for about an hour, trying out a hot chocolate at a café nearby, which was probably the best I've ever had.  I do not suggest the trip to Mount-Blanc if you are in anyway claustrophobic or afraid of heights.  It is basically a sardine can, roller coaster ride climbing, dropping and swinging as you go up 12,500 feet.  When you get to the top after two stops you feel tired and shaky because of acclimatization.  But when you go outside the sight is amazing.  Many skiers bring crampons, harnesses and a guide to ski down the mountain, they need a guide because there is a possibility of falling into an ice crevasse.  It's the most cold (bitterly cold and windy), stark, quiet, potentially scary place I've ever been to, but it is also breathtakingly beautiful.  James Bond music was playing in the back of my head when I was walking through the observation decks.  

After taking the cable car back down, we got into our car and drove to Geneva.  We visited CERN and hassled with returning our car, taking a train to the city.  Bref, we only had 2 hours to see the city and it was dark.  Earlier we had seen the jet d'eau and lake Geneva but since it was windy and raining we only walked around for a few hours.  We walked around the lake a little, went to the old town, saw the English gardens and the flower clock and walked back to the hotel.  On the train this morning to Avignon we talked with a young couple who live there and they said there isn't much to see in the city.  I bet summertime around lake Geneva is gorgeous though.  My grandparents are ready to stop traveling and it will be nice to unload our luggage when we get to my appartment.  

After this trip I have to say I love trains; they are hectic but fast, simple, and you can bring whatever you want as luggage.  We also haven't had the best meals and/or we've been eating food that's very heavy ( pastries, pancakes, beer, fries, fondu...) so I'm actually excited to be able to cook when we get into Avignon, and it will be nice that my grandparents are going to rent a car here so we can see some of the cities nearby especially to visit some markets.  I hope that they will enjoy the south more than they enjoyed Paris, it's frustrating for them that people don't speak English.  They'll be staying for one more week in my tiny appartment.  Overall the trip has gone well and we've had a good time, I know a little more what to see and not see in those cities, and I had a blast being able to explore them on my own, and I didn't even get into an bike accident in Amsterdam!  I'm already thinking about what cities I would like to see next.

Keep checking allthingsnederlandse.blogspot.com for posts about Amsterdam.   





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saint Jacques de Compostelle

Image
Hitchhiker, vagabond, drifter...pilgrim?  That's not a word you get to use every day.  In the very religious land that is France...psyche!  France although very catholic is not very religious anymore but do you remember the old French adage assume to never assume?  Every year pilgrims, not the buckle mayflower ones, make a trip to north western Spain.  The goal of the pilgrimage is the Catedral de Santiago de Compostela where supposedly lies the final resting place of St. James also known as James the son of Zebedee.  Spanish tradition goes that after preaching in Spain, James was subsequently beheaded in Jerusalem where apon his fellow disciples returned his body to Spain.  With the muslim moorish invasion of Spain the tomb of James was kept miraculously safe there apon beginning a pilgrimage to the very cathedral.   Its one of the 3 major pilgrimages the other two being Rome and Jerusalem starting in the 10th century.  Along the marked pathway the pilgrims find boarding houses wh
Read more

Chitis Cuisine

Image
 Just some pics to make you start drooling. La Carbonade Flamande La celerirave rapé Un Welsh La biere   Les endives (les chicons)  with ham and cheese, as a raw salad, or carmalised   Le maroille-and anything it touches Spéculoos   La chicorée   Les Frites
Read more

I'm on welfare, what!?

So I've mentioned a little thing called 'CAF' in the past, it's a little way to get some of your rent paid for by the government.  What hit me this time while I was filling out some of my paperwork was the differences between American welfare and the French social welfare systems.  In fact welfare isn't even the right word.  Welfare is what happens in the US, it's looked at as being for people in DIRE need and it isn't seen in the best of light, it's great if you can figure out some good programs but France is very different.  It's looked on as a sign of being savvy if you can figure out how (and the patience and diligence it takes to jump through bureaucratic hoops) to get reimbursed by the government, because in basis that's what it is.   Taxes in France are much higher than the United States, somewhere in the 40% income tax range and France loves to add on other taxes as well.  In your taxes you automatically have CAF, work accidents, care for
Read more