Chamonix

The morning was uneventful and led to a 1 pm arrival at Chamonix , the French ski town crawling with international tourists.  I never cease to be amazed at the older hikers, men and women seriously in their late 60's or 70's with their packs and hiking poles.  The tourists seem to be a mix of French, Germans and Italian, a few Americans with a health dose of Japanese thrown in. The main street is a cacophony of languages. There is a building with a painting of all the historic guides on it.




Lunch was more soup d'oignon, this time with ham, potato and onion mixed in a cheese sauce.  Chamonix is a very typical mountain town and a rather stereotypical Alpine version so the afternoon was shop to shop, a combination of massive outdoor stores, the kind east coast Americans go crazy for and French chocolate and pastry shoppes uniquely European.
Finally it was back to the hotel where our room has a view of the mountain to rest before our welcome dinner.  We both already have our packs ready for morning!
Night time ps: Although the summit stayed in clouds all day it cleared at nightfall. The view from the balcony is breathtaking!