Courmayeur, 2013

The last time we did the Mt. Blanc tunnel transit, it was Courmayeur that had the awful weather and Chamonix that was sunny and dry. Just the opposite this time. But the same in one respect: Courmayeur too is shutting down. Already no bus service up to the Val Veny where we'd planned to do some hiking. Rifugio Elisabeta closes this weekend. None of the lifts is working. Well, the Funivia is, but it's not for hiking. Bus service up the Val Ferret only goes as far as Planpincieux. There are still a number of tourists around, but they are all indies, quite a few on foot doing the TMB or some stretch of it. On a hike up to Rifugio Bertone we met a couple from Alaska doing the TMB who had already had a few surprises about diminished or closed facilities. No other camping-cars at all in Courmayeur.

View from our "campsite," Parcheggio Il Forges, about 300m
from the TI and station in Coumayeur (pictured later)

Us at the trailhead to Rifugio Bertone in the Val Ferret...a new
and much better route for us

Monte Bianco from Val Ferret

Grand Jorasses

Looking up the Val Veny, the Miage Glacier and its moraine

Lots of construction going on on the Italian side; I think
this is going to rival the Aiguilles du Midi telepherique and
provide a shorter and more direct route to the summit

From the Val Ferret trail we actually had to drop down a few
hundred feet to Rifugio Bertone...where we lunched, had a
glass of wine, watched a couple of toddlers play...

In the center there is our camper, at Parcheggio Il Forges,
which on Wednesdays becomes the city market

Still blooming here and there, and a few raspberries remain,
but the leaves on the birches are starting to turn, and there
is a distinct chill on the air; people are splitting and chopping
firewood all around

Last view of Monte Bianco this year

Friday night we celebrated the 50th anniversary of our
relationship...teenage flirting at a church camp in
Miami...with an Aostan repast at our favorite Courmayeur
restaurant; above, the crepes Mont Blanc  

A sweet occasion

Chamonix South Balcony, 2013

We'd done bits of this trail before, but never all of it, nor together, nor in the proper direction. It was a glorious September day, and everything was just right.

We took the Montenvers train up to its overlook above the
Mer du Glace and climbed the trail up another thousand feet
or so for this view...looking back up the "sea of ice," more a
lake of ice these days, toward the Grand Jorasses and Italy

Climbers out for a walk

Us, before Dru, the great pinnacle climbed direct
by Walter Bonatti in 1955

Vicki builds a cairn

Now we have turned a corner and are out on the balcony
trail, Chamonix below and the Aiguilles Rouges beyond, and
all the trails we have done in previous years

A parapente on final approach at Chamonix International
Airport (landings only)

You round another corner, and there's the big mountain

And when you're not looking at it or the valley  below or the
mountains beyond, there always are the Chamonix Aiguilles
towering directly above and behind you

It's a great trail, in great shape, Vicki adds

As long as the weather stays nice

And calm

And there's a cable car waiting to take you back down the
3,000 feet to terra firma

Chamonix, 2013

From Bourg en Bresse we drove on, getting as far as St. Pierre en Faucigny and its aire. Next morning we got to Chamonix and parked among the 20 or so campers at Grepon. We spent the day walking, shopping, even riding the bus up to Le Tour or so and back. Sightseeing. It was clear to us that the place was shutting down. Apparently, there is no shoulder season here. Conversations at the TI confirmed that all the telepheriques but Aiguilles du Midi were indeed closing that weekend. News to us, since we've never been here before in September. We went to the market Saturday morning (traditional poulet roti repast) and got in one really good day's hike (next post) before the weather closed in, cooler, lots of rain, and then--what a thrill!--the first snow of the season, thankfully only down to about 5,000 feet and not the valley. Just about all the other campers left. We lazed about a few days, me mostly at the South Bar, blogging, and Vicki at the camper at Grepon, reading and relaxing; and did the wash and some final French provisioning; and then, as soon as the weather looked better on the other side, we crossed (under) the Alps and landed in another favorite place, Courmayeur. But we did have a few good days in Chamonix.

I actually prefer the other side, from the Val Ferret in Italy, but when you're in
Chamonix, it's hard to take your eyes off the Mountain

From the vicinity of the Saturday market; I know I have
posted this shot many times before; so I'll spare you all
the usual shots from the market

Aiguille du Midi peaking through

New construction in Chamonix...neo-Maginot Line?

We have never seen snow on the Aiguilles Rouges before; nor did we want to

Chamonix Mont-Blanc Chamber of Commerce: this shot is
definitely for sale!

Cloud tricks

Glacier des Bossons

One day, between showers, I walked down to Les Houches,
stopping at the very nice Les Galliands park complex, trails,
fishing ponds, ropes course, and practice cliffs; here is what
4th grade PE in Chamonix looks like

A ruin by one of the ponds

Part of the extensive ropes course

Across the valley from Les Houches, Pax

Poultry and Royal Monastery In Bourg En Bresse

Bourg en Bresse, the capital of Ain, is in the way between Burgundy and Chamonix Mont Blanc, two destinations that generally go together for us. So, after Tournus, en route to Chamonix, we stopped in B en B for lunch and a tour of the Brou church and monastery.

You guessed it, Bresse chicken

After the previous evening's over-indulgence, we opted just for the one-plate
affair; Vicki really likes this stuff; I prefer Costceaux

From the Bresse chicken restaurant row, you gaze across the street at the Brou
church, an early 16th century Flamboyant extravaganza that is part of the Royal
Monastery of Brou, which was intended to be a royal burial ground sort of like
St. Denis, but for the elites of Savoy and Burgundy; the Flamboyant is interesting,
the tile roofing is impressive

Interior

Elevation

The sculpture on the rood screen, the choir, and the tombs
is exquisite and fairly unusual in having escaped the
Revolutionary ravages most royal/noble/religious edifices
were subjected to

The tomb of Margaret of Austria, the donor of Brou, widow of Philibert the Fair,
duke of Savoy; or possibly her mother; or possibly someone else, maybe
Philibert himself

Margaret died of blood poisoning, our guide (Vicki) said, from a cut on her
foot, pictured here (right foot); always, ALWAYS wear shoes or other foot
protection; and treat even minor cuts promptly...

Chartered helicopter view of the entire complex; notice there are three different
cloisters; Margaret lived here, so one was for her private use; I bet it was nicer
than the others

One of the cloisters; a double-decker, too; nice picnic pavilion in the center

Giant sun dial outside the church

The monastery proper is now the home of B en B's municipal
museum, which is fairly formidable considering it is a small
city; above is what happens when you don't brush and floss
after every meal; I wonder if Caravaggio ever did one of these,
and if so, how he handled the lighting...

Would it have made more sense, compositionally, to have
had four angels, not three? I mean, with four, you could
avoid the juggling act of the left angel; and it still would
have made symbolic sense, 3 for the trinity + 1 for the unity
=4; am I right? 

Always looking for a Millet, one of Van Gogh's heroes

We really were looking for a Breughel, which turned out to
be a "studio of" Jan Breughel, and a Dante and Virgil that
was under restoration or on loan, but were nonetheless
pleased to see this and a couple other Gustav Dore pieces...
Vivien and Merlin