Friday, August 23, 2019

Day 2 in Chamonix, France (Friday, August 23rd)


We slept until 7:30am this morning – wow! We had breakfast at the hotel which was very nice – cheeses, meats, breads, fresh fruit, yogurt, cereals, eggs, jellies, pancakes, etc… all for 12 CHF (Swiss francs) per person.  Now this was the first day we had a traditional European breakfast and we thought it was great……yet a week or so later, we were actually getting tired of the same breakfast day after day….and (you might want to sit down for this) – after a week of the same, Suzanne was getting sick of cheese (shocking!) and Brad was getting sick of ham (more shocking!)


We spent some time separating our hiking clothes that we would need for the next segment of our journey from the “cute clothes” (Brad would prefer they are referred to as “city clothes”) that we didn’t want to carry with us, but would want in Zermatt and Paris at the end of our hiking. We decided to mail the aforementioned “cute clothes” to our hotel in Zermatt, which was the least expensive of our options of getting our clothes there (i.e. we could have hired a transfer service). Now it was the least expensive option, but that doesn’t mean it was inexpensive. We got to the Chamonix post office and after an hour (no exaggeration) of figuring out the least expensive way to mail our clothes, we ended up sending two pre-paid boxes to Zermatt, at a cost of $125 – ouch! (And once we got to Zermatt, we had to pay a “customs tax” of another $40!) There really were not a lot of clothes – things are just WAY more expensive in Chamonix and Switzerland. After filling out a lot of paperwork (customs and all….), Brad started chatting with the one English-speaking guy that worked at the post office and was helping us – come to find out that the guy is a HUGE Seattle Seahawks fan (Brad’s team). The guy (who we nicknamed Russell Wilson after the Seahawk’s QB) knew everything about the Seahawks – recent draft picks, player injuries, etc…. and wakes-up at odd hours to watch the games live (France is nine hours ahead of Seattle/Portland). Brad was in heaven and Suzanne bored out of her mind.
 



Eventually we got out of the post office and decided to walk to along the river to Les Praz, which is actually the first 2.6km (1.5 miles) of the Haute Route. (We took a bus the next day to start our hike in Le Tour as the first 11.5km (7 miles) is along road and not all that interesting.)





Once back in Chamonix, we had lunch at Café Valentino – salads and margherita pizza – good, not great. After our second margherita pizza a few days later, we realized that margherita pizza in France and Switzerland is not what we know it as in the US (basil, tomato, and fresh mozzarella), rather more of what we think of as just cheese pizza. 

We walked the other direction than the one we went to Les Praz for a while and eventually ended up at a bakery called Fournil Bakery where we shared two pastries. This is where Suzanne was scolded by the woman behind the counter – she was asked if it was for “here” or “take away.” Well, we were taking it outside, so Suzanne said, “take away.” We went outside to the tables, but didn’t have a fork, so Suzanne went inside to ask for one. (Note – Suzanne learned a little French for this trip, so was pretty much the one interacting with everyone. Brad just stayed close to her side.) The woman was not happy, reprimanded Suzanne, and our punishment was no forks, but spoons. 😉 The pasties were quite yummy!






We continued walking back to Chamonix and purchased some “provisions” for the next couple of days lunches. We stopped at a meat/cheese shop and worked with a great guy (no scolding here) who spoke a little English, Suzanne used her little French, there was a lot of pantomime, and when needed, the Google Translate App! We ended up with a mild sausage coated with Herbs de Provence and a couple big chunks of cheese. We learned that as long as hard cheese is vacuum sealed, it does not need to be refrigerated and it will not spoil, so we had one chunk of cheese vacuum sealed and one just wrapped, and along with our Herbs De Provence sausage and a baguette, we were ready to snack along our hike for the next couple of days! (We also brought some Pro Bars and RX Bars knowing that we’d want some other snacky foods while we hiked.)

 















We went back to the hotel, showered and relaxed, and eventually had pasta at an Italian restaurant – Neapolis – good food and nice service. (Oh, we were surprised at the number of Italian restaurants throughout all of our travels. In fact, one of our favorite Italian meals was in Paris!)
 


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