Holiday Day 8 – A High and a Low

Today started cloudy in Courmayer, but as we had breakfast the cloud lifted and we took the decision to ride the new Mont Blanc Skyway. It only opened two weeks ago, so everything is state of the art and spotlessly clean. As we started early it was really very empty. The cable car rotates as it ascends so that you get an all round view. The ascent to the midway station was spectacular as the valley dropped away below us.

As I said halfway up you swapped to another cable car that was configured in exactly the same way. By the time we reached the top we were in cloud and visibility was limited. The whole top terminus was covered in ice. There is a viewing platform although unfortunately there was no view. Strangely it was quite warm at this level even though the sun was only a dull orb through the cloud. This I think was the highest that either of us has been on land at just over 11300 feet. Indeed it made Marion feel light headed.

We headed back down and had a stroll around the midway point with spectacular views in all directions. On arrival at the bottom it was off to Provence. Unfortunately there was a problem in the Mont Blanc Tunnel so it took us an hour to get through. This is when we made our low point, as at its deepest the tunnel is 2300 metres below the surface.

It was a spectacular drive down the valley from the tunnel towards Chamonix and then over the hills to Albertville. It seemed that we were dodging the Criterium for the Dauphine. Marion discovered a fantastic boulangerie and we had superb raspberry tarts for our lunch.

Eventually we reached our cottage at around 18:00 and immediately after unloading the mini it was out to the shops for some essentials. We did this amidst an almighty thunderstorm that reduced the temperature in minutes from near 30 degrees to around 17 degrees.

Publishing the blog maybe intermittent for the next few days, as there is no Internet connection in the cottage. Don’t worry I shall keep writing it and post as soon as I have some Wi-Fi. You do not get rid of me that easily.