Chamonix - Geneva - Day 12 (continued)

Monday, June 24, 2019

There was just so much to say about this day’s activities that it just wouldn’t fit a single post. So here’s the part about our trip to Geneva.

At 2:30 pm we boarded the bus for our transport to Geneva, arriving about 4 pm at the Crown Plaza Geneva near the airport. However, our guide Osiris offered to help us navigate the bus downtown for dinner and sightseeing. Not knowing when I would be back, I signed up for the 5 pm departure. (Unfortunately, Sydney had an early flight so she passed.)

The bus ride was lengthy but direct and only took about 25 minutes. It dropped us in the heart of the city near the Pont du Mont Blanc. Four of us spent the evening together, Chet and Lin from Massachusetts and Jeanette from Philadelphia.

We walked along the shoreline of Lake Geneva and saw the three most iconic sites. First, the Jet d’eau (water jet), the tallest fountain in the world that was originally built in 1886 to release pressure at a hydraulic plant. It became so popular that it was soon relocated to the center of the lake. Its engines pump 500 liters of water per second to the height of about 450 ft.

Second was the Jardin Anglais (English Garden) located lakeside where we saw the Floral Clock, a large timepiece made entirely of 6,500 flowers and plants, installed in 1955 as a symbol of the Geneva watch industry.

Then we walked around old town and found Cathédral St.-Pierre on a side street. Built in the 12th and 13th centuries, its current neoclassical facade was added in the 18th century. 

But the steeples tell its history.  It had been a Protestant church since 1536 and John Calvin preached here.

We then had a lovely dinner outdoors at Restaurant Le Flore on Rue de la Fontaine.  As we walked back to the bus stop, we observed several playful additions to the Geneva attractions. One were these clever temporary swings on the waterfront. Of course, we had to try them. 

Then we had to have gelato, even though we just had dinner. Finally, at the bus stop, were these unique lounges. We had to try them, too.

All this to the tunes of a street musician playing one of several pianos placed around the lake.

It was a lovely evening in Geneva, but I feel like we saw all the highlights. The rest were very tall buildings built in second empire style in the late 1880s and sporting names of all the global corporations from watch makers to banks to retailers to tech, etc. It’s a very expensive place.

Tomorrow, back to the states. What a great trip!

Chamonix - Geneva - Day 12

Monday, June 24, 2019

We packed so much into our last day on our trip!  I am going to do this day in 2 posts since it is so long.

Our morning started with an excursion to La Mer de Glace, the largest glacier in France at about 5 miles long and 600+ ft. deep.  To get there, we took the Montenvers railway, a two-car cog wheel train near our hotel, which is at 3,396 ft. The train was built in 1908 to access what was one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Alps at that time. 

The train chugs the nearly 3,000 ft. in 3 miles in 22 minutes up the steep slope of the mountain to reach an overlook of the glacier, which is at 6,279 ft. Along the way the views are spectacular.

Coming upon the glacier is a wondrous site — until you realize that it was once, not so long ago, much, much larger.

After photos at the site, there is a cable car that takes people to a location below to reach the glacier. Thirty years ago this cable car stopped only 3 steps from the glacier. Now it is 450 ft. away.

Some of our group took the cable car, but, since it was another gorgeous day, most of us hiked down the steep slope to the cable car landing.

It is rather eerie to walk down the trail and see signs showing how the glacier has gradually retreated over the decades.

From the cable car landing, you navigate a maze of stairs arranged in a kind of switchback that take you to the foot of the glacier - roughly 500 steps. 

Sydney captured a view of the steps looking backwards.

This is the only way to reach it. (No handicap access). Along the way, more signs of the glacier’s demise.

At the bottom is the glacier which is not snowy white but grey. On the left is a beautiful “grotto.”  

Every year since 1946, a 300 ft. long ice cave has been dug out of the glacier, with sculptures of animals and living areas, including a throne room and a fire place. The gleaming blue ice in this photo was formed over two centuries ago. The cave must be carved new every year because the glacier moves about 300 ft. every year.

Afterwards, we walked (felt like hiking) back up the metal stairs and took the cable car back to the train stop.  

Since we had a few minutes, we walked to the Grand Hotel du Montanvert a la Mer de Glace, built in 1880 to accommodate the first mountaineers and travelers. Renovated in 2017, it looks like a beautiful place to stay.

We returned to Chamonix about noon and nine of us had lunch together at Josephine’s, another cute cafe and another Croque Monsieur. Afterwards we only had time for a brief walk and final photos of the village.

Now on to Geneva for our final evening!

Chamonix - Day 11

Sunday, June 23, 2019

Today is Mont Blanc day - the day we finally get up close and personal with the big mountain. And what luck! This is the most beautiful day we have had and no clouds in the sky to hide our view.

A short walk from our hotel was the station for the cable cars which take us to several levels. 

We first packed 50 people into one that took us to Plan de L’Aiguille at 7,600 ft.




The views looking back on the Chamonix valley were awesome.
We debarked from that and got on another cable car that took us to a facility known as Aiguille de Midi. 

To get a sense of high up we are going, look at this photo of Plan de L’Aiguielle as we lift off and how it looks as we elevate.

Immediately, we boarded an elevator that took us to the summit of this peak at 12,604 ft. 

From here we had a clear view of Mont Blanc. In this photo, the summit is the rounded hump in the middle.

(Mont Blanc hump is to our far right.)

This really makes you feel like you are on top of the world. There is a nice fenced lookout with views of the surrounding ranges.

From another side, we could see the Matterhorn. That is the pointed triangle to the right of the closest mountain.

We could also see mountaineers and hikers on the trails below. These are not ants but people.

We spent a little time in the museum learning about the different extreme sports that occur here, like BASE jumping (Building, Antenna, Span and Earth (like cliffs).)

We also walked through an ice cave

and heard a discussion on the effect on rocks of the declining ice cap - that they are being exposed by the melting ice with no “glue” to hold them together.

We then took the cable cars down and had the afternoon free. Sydney and I had a Croque Monsieur, a ham and cheese sandwich with the cheese toasted on top, at a little cafe.

Afterwards, I followed Sydney and 4 others up on a cable car on the opposite side of the valley where they did paragliding. This was definitely not my thing but I enjoyed going with them and watching them take off. They launched from Plan Praz at 6,740 ft. and landed down below in a field near Chamonix center.

Here are some photos of Sydney soaring.

Meanwhile, I took another cable car to another summit Le Brévent, at 8,500 ft.

The views of Mont Blanc were still very clear. I feel like everywhere I look today I see Mont Blanc and previously it had been eluding us. (It is the high hump and the Bosson Glacier is to the left going down.)

I watched some more hang gliders who came close to the mountains.

Then I headed down the mountain and took a final walk around the village. 

Tonight we had our farewell dinner at the hotel. It was a lovely occasion with toasts all around.