Europe update, June 15
Jun. 15th, 2005 01:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eveglass"Julie," I hear my masses of devoted readers calling out from across the Atlantic, "where the hell have you BEEN for the past three days? We need NEWS! We're not doing anything interesting and need to live vicariously through you!"
Well, devoted readers, I shall not disappoint!
Since Monday night I have been in the Alps. Specifically, I have been in Chamonix. And I have just three words: oh. my. God.
The Alps are absolutely amazing! It must be noted at this point that the last time I was in capital-M Mountains, I was 12 and visiting the Rockies with my cousins. So this is quite an experience for me.
I love everything about the Alps: I love seeing the mountains, the clouds rolling across the mountainface, the food, the rustic / chalet feel of the town (despite masses of tourists), that in less than 10 minutes of walking I can be out on a forest trail and pretend I'm the only person in the world... I love it all!
I especially like the place I'm staying: The Red Mountain Lodge. It's probably the best place I've stayed all trip. It's got a great ambiance to it. It's more of a chalet than a hotel or hostel. I'm in the dorm room, but it's very relaxed and chill. Breakfast is included, and occasionally James-the-really-cool-staff-guy makes cheap and VERY tasty dinners. Even better: they have a book-exchange chest, and I found a Heinlein book in there! Sweet! So I picked it up, and will drop one or both of my French books in when I leave.
Monday night I met the other people staying at the chalet and we bonded instantly: Megan and Harry from Seattle, Tim from Australia (but working in England), Viriginie and Caroline from Sherbrooke (small world, no?). All great people! We played Pictionary yesterday and I have never been in that passionate a game of Pictionary in my life. It was insane! Tim, the Sherbrooke girls and myself went for traditional Savoie dinner last night: the food was excellent, the service was slow, and we were all slap-happy by the end of it. PLUS we got a bonus show of a 13-month-old baby doing circuits of the restaurent while his mom followed him around. So cute!
Megan and the Sherbrookers have moved on, but Tim and Harry are around until tomorrow.
The weather has been less than ideal, but that's okay. Yesterday it rained, but I (sucker that I am) went out walking anyway. In my defense, it wasn't raining when I LEFT for the trail. It only started about an hour into the walk, and I said, "well, too late to turn back now," so I kept going.
Today it's been party cloudy. In other words, great weather for hiking, but less good for the high-altitude stuff I want to do. Right now, it's a toss-up between going up the Aguille (sp?) du Midi (up to 3000 metres above sea level!) or para-gliding. Pros for the first: somewhat cheaper (50 euros as opposed to 90), very cool views. Pros for the second: para-gliding! in the Alps!
Anyway. If the weather keeps up like this, I won't do either, but will just hike more.
I was supposed to leave tomorrow morning and overnight in Lyon or somewhere in Burgundy, but I've decided to stay on an extra day and do an uber-travel day on Friday to get me to Strasbourg. (7:30 am to 5:30 pm: ick!) Thank god for the Heinlein book! The Alps are definitely worth it, though!
For those in the know: I have now officially skipped Convocation, which was Monday night. I did not get my degree, and I did not get the shiny plaque with "Liberal Arts College Prize" on it. I will pick them up when I get home. Congrats to any readers who were there and graduating (Pat, I'm looking at you).
I come home in slightly less than 5 and a half days. When I was in Arles, it seemed like the 20th couldn't come fast enough. Now I want to slow down time and be in the Alps longer!
Anyway, that's what I've been up to. Thanks to every who sent hugs after the last update: I appreciate them. There will probably only be one or two updates before I get home.
Hugs and more hugs! (Yeah, I like hugs. What'cha gonna do about it?)
Julie the mountain-lover
Well, devoted readers, I shall not disappoint!
Since Monday night I have been in the Alps. Specifically, I have been in Chamonix. And I have just three words: oh. my. God.
The Alps are absolutely amazing! It must be noted at this point that the last time I was in capital-M Mountains, I was 12 and visiting the Rockies with my cousins. So this is quite an experience for me.
I love everything about the Alps: I love seeing the mountains, the clouds rolling across the mountainface, the food, the rustic / chalet feel of the town (despite masses of tourists), that in less than 10 minutes of walking I can be out on a forest trail and pretend I'm the only person in the world... I love it all!
I especially like the place I'm staying: The Red Mountain Lodge. It's probably the best place I've stayed all trip. It's got a great ambiance to it. It's more of a chalet than a hotel or hostel. I'm in the dorm room, but it's very relaxed and chill. Breakfast is included, and occasionally James-the-really-cool-staff-guy makes cheap and VERY tasty dinners. Even better: they have a book-exchange chest, and I found a Heinlein book in there! Sweet! So I picked it up, and will drop one or both of my French books in when I leave.
Monday night I met the other people staying at the chalet and we bonded instantly: Megan and Harry from Seattle, Tim from Australia (but working in England), Viriginie and Caroline from Sherbrooke (small world, no?). All great people! We played Pictionary yesterday and I have never been in that passionate a game of Pictionary in my life. It was insane! Tim, the Sherbrooke girls and myself went for traditional Savoie dinner last night: the food was excellent, the service was slow, and we were all slap-happy by the end of it. PLUS we got a bonus show of a 13-month-old baby doing circuits of the restaurent while his mom followed him around. So cute!
Megan and the Sherbrookers have moved on, but Tim and Harry are around until tomorrow.
The weather has been less than ideal, but that's okay. Yesterday it rained, but I (sucker that I am) went out walking anyway. In my defense, it wasn't raining when I LEFT for the trail. It only started about an hour into the walk, and I said, "well, too late to turn back now," so I kept going.
Today it's been party cloudy. In other words, great weather for hiking, but less good for the high-altitude stuff I want to do. Right now, it's a toss-up between going up the Aguille (sp?) du Midi (up to 3000 metres above sea level!) or para-gliding. Pros for the first: somewhat cheaper (50 euros as opposed to 90), very cool views. Pros for the second: para-gliding! in the Alps!
Anyway. If the weather keeps up like this, I won't do either, but will just hike more.
I was supposed to leave tomorrow morning and overnight in Lyon or somewhere in Burgundy, but I've decided to stay on an extra day and do an uber-travel day on Friday to get me to Strasbourg. (7:30 am to 5:30 pm: ick!) Thank god for the Heinlein book! The Alps are definitely worth it, though!
For those in the know: I have now officially skipped Convocation, which was Monday night. I did not get my degree, and I did not get the shiny plaque with "Liberal Arts College Prize" on it. I will pick them up when I get home. Congrats to any readers who were there and graduating (Pat, I'm looking at you).
I come home in slightly less than 5 and a half days. When I was in Arles, it seemed like the 20th couldn't come fast enough. Now I want to slow down time and be in the Alps longer!
Anyway, that's what I've been up to. Thanks to every who sent hugs after the last update: I appreciate them. There will probably only be one or two updates before I get home.
Hugs and more hugs! (Yeah, I like hugs. What'cha gonna do about it?)
Julie the mountain-lover
