Chamonix

Chamonix is a 360 degree postcard! It is flanked on two sides by high mountain ranges and the town is a real life movie set with chalets, stores, and restaurants with outdoor seating. The first day we took the cable car to the top of Aiguille Du Midi ( 3842 meters). The line for the cable car was about 75 minutes long, each car fits 72 people! The pack you in like a can of sardines! The view was gorgeous!

When we exited the cable car the told us our return trip was in 2 hours! We had only planned on going to the top, taking some pictures and returning to the half way point to take a brief hike (2 hours) that was relatively flat and then take the train back into Chamonix. We did take some pictures and then decided to have our lunch while we waited. We had brought some cheese, salami, and a baguette. . .of course we did. . .we are in France after all!

We finally got our cable car and made it down to the midpoint and began our hike to Mer de Glacé. The hike was supposed to be about 2 hours 30 minutes but ended up being about 3 1/2 hours and not as flat as we had thought. I unfortunately tweaked my knee on one of the downhills so I was not a happy hiker :-(. We then caught the Montenvers-Mer de Glacé train back to Chamonix. We just made it in time for our welcome dinner to meet our fellow hikers!

We had a rest day today because of my knee. We explored a little of Chamonix, ate in a little cafe and I did some laundry! Tomorrow we leave to hike into Switzerland. I hope that my knee will be good on the steep downhill. . . We will see tomorrow!