4 days in the French Alps
Mont Blanc amazes me. We arrived Chamonix last Tuesday afternoon on the bus. Fortunately, the sky was blue and the alps were clear. Surrounded by needle peaks and massive snowfields, Brewster declared right away that he liked Chamonix. Matt and I smiled. Great minds think alike.
The name of our Airbnb was The Love Cocoon. Located on the pedestrian main street in Chamonix five minutes from the bus station, it was perfect. The UTMB, a long distance running race was happening so the streets were filled with extremely fit men and women with sleek camelbacks and windbreakers strapped to their backs. Also walking around town, were climbers, mountaineers, and long-distance hikers with hiking poles attached to a backpack. Chamonix is a sporty town!
The four of us dropped our bags and grabbed our cameras and started exploring. Flags, flowers, bars, restaurants and gear boutiques line the main street. So much action!
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We were starving, so we found an Italian restaurant with a table for four and happily shared pizza and pasta. Sadie and Brewster ditched Matt and me after dinner in search of gelato. We savored the end of our meal and walked slowly back to our tiny apartment.
We knew we wanted to hike in the Alps the next day. The Aiguille du Midi Lift was closed from the Plan de l’Aguille to the top so we opted for Le Brévent gondola across the valley from Mont Blanc. Right out of the Chamonix, our view of the massive Mont Blanc was fantastic. We loved watching the hand gliders launch from the cliffs and soar down valley. From the gondola, we transferred to a tram and went straight to the top of Le Brévent.
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The view was absurd! I felt so small in the presence of such greatness. We took our photos and soaked it in. Mont Blanc made our beloved Alta seem quaint. At the summit, there were other families, climbers and hikers. Everyone was in awe.
We hiked from the top of Le Brévent to the Planpraz about 1200 feet down. We boarded the gondola just as it started to rain. We rode down with a French couple form Normandy who had been hiking for five days. Matt and I agreed that our group was not quite ready for the hut-to-hut trek but it was something to work towards. It’s been 14 years since I was pregnant with Brewster. I wouldn’t have wanted to know in 2004 that we’d be pushing pause on our adventure travel for 14 years, but now that Sadie is nine and is old enough to travel, hike and enjoy some of the places we love most, we are entering a new chapter. And our adventures will become greater over time.
The rain was coming down hard when we landed back in Chamonix. We ducked into a local favorite, the Poco Loco for a couple crêpes-to-go for the kids. We darted back to the Love Cocoon and changed our clothes and Matt and I went next door for some Nepali food - cuisine near and dear to my heart. We ordered lamb vindaloo, dal bhat and beer enjoyed our authentic meal under the awning, staying dry despite the rain. About half way through our lunch, the staff started scurrying around. Clearly something was about to happen. Matt asked our waiter what was going on and they said an Indian tour was coming through and 125 people would join us for lunch. The restaurant was quite small, so in no time we were surrounded by Indians talking, laughing and eating their food with their hands. A couple basically sat down at our table with us. Something Americans typically wouldn’t do….It reminded me of the Indian's small sense of personal space. I felt like I was back in Nepal and I loved it.
The afternoon dragged on in a rainy day way. At dinner time, I convinced everyone to go out for fondue. We found a place which was like the Buca di Bepo of the Alps. The kids rolled their eyes and declared they did not like Swiss cheese. So they both had steak and frites which really was a burger without the bun and fries. Matt and I stuffed ourselves with delicious cheese and wine and decided that it really would have been more apropos if we had hiked uphill rather than down. Oh well. I thought of my dear friend Christy Foran who brought her fondue tradition to San Francisco after college and all of the good times the girls shared over a bubbling pot of cheese. Christy, your fondue is as good as it is in the Alps!
Feeling like I need some exercise after that meal, I googled Chamonix yoga before going to bed. I found a studio that offered a self-practice everyday from 6:30-8:30am which sounded like exactly what I needed. Not wanting to set an alarm on vacation, I left it up to chance to wake up. In the morning, I looked at the clock: 6:40am. I was happy. I found the studio as one yogi was staring his ashtanga series. I joined him for an hour of yoga. It was serene and felt great.
The Cocoon was quiet when I returned from yoga. Matty was just waking up so we laced up our shoes and went for a morning walk. Runners from the UTMB race were finishing and we stopped to clap for each one. We kept thinking about our friend, Dom Layfield who is a long distance runner and wondered if he was there….we’ve since seen on Instagram that he was! There were a few different races. But the runners that we saw finishing started in Courmayeur and ran 120 km around Mont Blanc. What an intense race!
Clearly, the Hutchinsons are not nearly as hardcore but we loved the energy! After waking the kids, we packed up and planned our last few hours on a train up Mont Blanc to check out the Mer de Grace Glacier. The ride was 20 minutes straight up the mountain and we were dropped off across from raging waterfalls and the largest glacier in France. We first checked out a crystal exhibit filled with quartz and amethyst and then walked down to towards the glacier. About half way down to the ice cave Matt looked at his watch and discovered that our bus to Annecy left in an hour. We all agreed to bail on the cave, take a gondola back to the train and head back to Chamonix to go to catch our bus. It was perfect timing as we boarded our bus to Annecy with only a few minutes to spare.
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An hour and half later, we arrived in Annecy, a city nicknamed the “Pearl of the French Alps”. We conveniently stayed a few minutes from the bus station and again, we dropped our bags and went out to explore. I had never been to Annecy and wasn’t expecting such an idyllic, picturesque town. Three canals flowed through the old medieval town and there were bridges everywhere. The canals all lead to the large lake at the tip of town. The city looks like Disneyland, but it is real!
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We had dinner on the canal. Brewster ordered beef tartare not really knowing it was raw. I give him credit for trying it, but I don’t sense he’ll be ordering it again. There was no shortage of ice cream shops to chose from for dessert so everyone went to bed with a full tummy.
The next day, we rented bikes and rode down along Lake Annecy. Our family is not quite ready for a Backroads Bike holiday, but we had a blast! The bike path was flat and wide and I loved riding past the lake chalets, luscious gardens and rural castles. About 10km down the road we stopped in a tiny village, Duingt for a little picnic. On the way back, I was so proud of Sadie for her biking efforts. Undoubtedly, she was exhausted and sore. We were riding side by side, very, very slowly. I shared some thoughts on mental grit. I told her that her body in fact could ride but it was her mind holding her back. Shortly after our chat, she put the pedal to the metal and cycled fast all the way back to town. I couldn’t even keep up! My heart was happy! And the quiet was as delicious as the pace.
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We relaxed at our apartment in the afternoon. Matt and I drank a tasty 5euro bottle of white wine. We found a delicious Cambodian restaurant for dinner and clearly Matt and I enjoyed the cuisine more than the kids. Over dinner we talked about our next family trip. Matt is coming back to France late October and the kids have a two week school break. We thought traveling to the French Riviera, Corsica and Florence sounded like an adventure. But no rush to that trip when we are still on this one!
Matt and I work up early this morning and went for a morning stroll and coffee on the canal. I needed a little more sweat, so I ran along the river before waking and packing the kids up.
I write from the TGV heading to Aix-en-Provence via Lyon. I think our train is going over 100 mph. The French have this train travel down. It’s the way to go!
We’ll be back to our Aix-en-Provence apartment in a few hours. I am excited to share our French pied-à-terre with Matty!