Grand Hotel des Alpes Chamonix

Destination 405

km197'555

Not entirely shure, if I spend my last day in a foreign country, I head towards north. A stopover at Novi Ligure provides me finally the opportunity to send a notification to all family and friends about my remaining itinerary before return back home. The date has been fixed to the 29.
The ride up to Vercelly in the low lands was not that exciting like the sighting of the mountain of Mont Blanc in the far. Since my ...

... out from lack of oxygen I was able to gather myself and enjoy some really amazing views along with a packed lunch. After the mountain trek we went into the small ski town and enjoyed some of our "favorite brewage and enjoyed the surroundings" (per request of prof. Delmar).

Heading to Rome and Barcelona next week, another post should follow shortly after.

We're approaching the final week of this "bi-mester." The work load is getting steadily heavier and I combat it by ...

... worn out.



Friday


< br>Friday turned out to be a
****** day and the clouds were hanging in the mountains just above
the city buildings, so therefore I knew that sightseeing would be
wasted effort. I got up lazily and went down to the reception to
read the International Herald Tribune and around noon headed downtown
to see what was happening. I did some shopping (it had to be dreary
out for me to do some shopping) and then was getting hungry ...

... the first day
and then wandered through the old town the last day and had a great
time.




Upon returning from Spain,
two days later I then boarded a train in East Lansing for a tour that
I was leading for America by Rail, that took 44 people from Chicago
to Albany, NY and then by bus through Vermont and New Hampshire for a
fall foliage tour. The color was not quite at peak, although it was
very pretty. I had a great group of people and every ...

From there we drove from Switzerland to Chamonix, France. For all you skiers out there, this would be a wicked ski vacation. It’s a true little French ski town and the mountains looks insanely steep. The food is melted cheese, potatoes and bacon. Yes, heart attack in a casserole dish. Yummy. We also had a fun encounter with the Chamonix Gendarmerie... Jon drove up a one way street by mistake. There was construction and it was ...

... say that I have never been in the same room with so many attractive mountain/rugged looking men with light hair and eyes in my whole life!!!  We're talking Ryan Gosling hot here.  Enough said.  (If you don't know who Ryan Gosling is, I suggest you Google Image him, especially his look in The Notebook. Yum.)  AND what a contrast from the men I'm usually gazing at here in Spain!  I digress.  Needless to say, the After-ski was an absolute blast, I met ...

... turns, so he was quiet pleased, and i think i just got more confident on the harder runs. We got to know the other girls in our room quiet well and hung out with them quiet a bit off the snow. One of the girls, Kristy, spent a lot more time drinking and sleeping then the rest of us, and as a result went up the mountain about 2.5 days out of the 7. Oh well each to there own. he he It was lots of fun, we got a few good sayings going, as our instructors didn ...

... photos to prove it, It could have been the thin air, it could have been Hastie having a series of mild heart attacks, combined with the fact we were lost - but the result we turned back meaning a massive downhill ride. We hammered down this hill and honestly did about 75 to 80 clicks, it was exhilarating to say the least. So European extreme, international right now ;) Next day we took on the highest peak in Europe - Mont Blanc, well the lookout ...

... of the last word) but it is pronounced meadie, then when u get to the top ur guide will find you and will take you on a 150 ish metre walk along a norrow part of the peak to a place where you will be able to put ur skis on and get on down the hill.
this run's length depends on how much snow they get. but it took my group about half the day.
I loved it. I stayed in a very confortable motel as well. everything was great.
Definately do it.

... from the wreckage of the night before and hit the road for Chamonix, France. Chamonix is a really nice ski resort town in the French Alps. Devin and I went skiing there a few times last year and we ate at the summit of Brevent (2525 m). Its gorgeous and you get this fantastic view of Mont Blanc, so we decided to go there to have lunch and spend the day walking around the town. It was cool to see it without snow and the weather was perfect ...