CLICK ON CHAMONIX IN TITLE FOR MORE PICTURES
July 16, 2009
We are zooming along at 180 mph on the train to Chamonix. We left Paris at 7 am - and have two stops - one at Bellegarde - and the other at St Gervais.
Today was the start of our train week in France and Italy. Lulu got us 8 days first class train passes for $400 per person. They allow us to ride any train at any time. The train we are on now is pretty empty. We have crossed the Rhone River and the Jura Mountains. The GPS gets a very strong full signal and show that we are at 1500 feet.
Chamonix - our destination for tonight is at 3400 feet at the base of Mount Blanc which towers to 15,700 feet. There is a cable car that starts at Chamonix goes up over the mountains and comes down in Italy. We plan to do that tomorrow - it will provide some breathtaking views for Lulu and some white knuckle moments for me..
Our last night in Paris was spent with Lulu's students. First we went to the Notre Dame Cathedral - then a cruise on the Seine - followed by a beautiful French dinner party. After that we all said our goodbyes and went on our way separate ways. From our hotel room we could see and hear some of the students gathering in the courtyard for a little afterglow.
In the town of Bellegarde - the police with a sniffer dog came on the train. All of our trains have been on time - so we expect to be in Chamonix at 1 PM. Lulu got us a hotel downtown for 70 euros over the computer.
Our train has slowed down a but for the climb up the mountains to about 40 mph. We are rising through chalet country.
July 17, 2009
Chamonix is a cute little town nestled in a valley at the foot of Mount Blanc. The first Winter Olympics were held here in 1924 - and the town is generally for well-heeled European ski bums. Lulu told me that Doris Molinaro's son was killed here by an avalanche last Christmas. She was on the school board with me back home - and her family did everything together. What a place to lose a son - not that there is any good place to lose your child.
Our hotel is really nice - outside pool - hot tub - sauna buildings - and internet. We quickly freshened up and went to the cable car station. It was $60 a person to the top and back. We had planned on taking the cable car to the top and over to Italy - but alas there was no train station over there.
There was a bit of a crowd at the cable car station - and we considered buying tickets for the next day - but after some quick thinking decided to go to the top at 5 pm. What a glorious ride we had. I must tell you I did not like the tipsy cable car - but figure with 50 people on it - they had some safety features on it. The views on the way up were breathtaking - and at 15,000 feet at the top - the air made you tipsy because it was so thin.
After coming back down from the mountain - we shopped and had supper in town. There are a lot of mountain climbers here - you will see some neat pictures later.
During the night we had a tremendous rain and thunder storm. It even knocked out the power to the room. I got up around 1 am - and was stumbling around the pitch black room - for a moment I thought they were just trying to conserve power. When we awakened in the morning - it was pouring outside - we had no internet - and we were very happy we scaled the Mount Blanc the first day.
I am typing from a tiny train station that looks like a school bus stop. It is foggy - but at least the rain stopped. The train should be here in 20 minutes. It is a narrow gauge train track and the train runs by electricity - but has no overhead wires. It gets its power thru the rails and if one touched the left rail and the rabbit rail - one would die. I can't imagine them allowing this in America - exposed high voltage for maybe 40 miles.
Because of this track going into Switzerland - we must back track through France to to Italy - around the mountain. Out train pass is for France and Italy - so we will go back to Lyon - then take a high speed train to Milan.
After different trains to St. Gervais - La Rouche - Annesy - Chambery - Modane - we finally got on a TGV high speed train to Milan. It was difficult getting trains thru the Alps.
We boarded the TGV high speed train in Modane around 6 pm. It crossed under the Alps in a long train tunnel - I am guessing 10 miles. At 8 pm- we are speeding across the flatlands as the Alps fade in the distance. We should be in Milan soon - we have passed through Torino. Milan is the richest city in Italy and many think it should be the capital. Torino grew after the war as poor people from the south moved north to find work in the factories. Today - they produce many things but at the top of the list are - medical products and computer technology.
We have a nice private compartment and Lulu's is napping at the time. It is pouring like crazy right now - making this train sound like a tin can.
Tomorrow - we plan to take a special high speed train from Milan to Venice. It is a train that leans so that it can go at high speed over regular train tracks. It should be fun. After spending one night in Venice - we plan to travel to Pisa (the Vespa plant is near there) and Florence (FSU has a campus there). We already have booked a fancy 4 star hotel for the last two nights of the trip in Rome.
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