Nashville Tennessee - 26th May 2012

Nashville Tennessee - 26th May 2012

Chamonix France

Chamonix France - 6th April 2012

The 6th of April we drove from Annecy to Chamonix along the 'Autoroute Blanche' (White Highway). This is the main route into the Chamonix ski resorts.

Flor - Our new GPS!

Chamonix is a commune in the Haute Savoie Rhone-Alps region of south west France. The population is approximately 9,800, however it has 60,000 tourist beds available.

Map of the Region

Chamonix is near the massive peaks Aiguilles Rouge, and shares the summit of Mont Blanc with Courmayer in Italy.

Mont Blanc is 4,810 meters above sea level (15,781 feet)

Our Rental Car

 

Montenvers Railway is a rack railway line from Hotel de Montenvers Station to Mer de Glace (Sea of Ice) at 1,913 meters (6,276 feet), and is 5.1 kilometres long (3.2 miles). It rises 871 meters (2,858 feet) from the station to the Glacier, with a gradient of between 11% and 22%. It was opened in 1909 and was steam operated until 1953 when it was electrified.

 

  

The Mer de Glace is on the Northern slopes of Mont Blanc, and is 7 kilometres (4.3 miles) long, and 200 meters (660 feet) deep. It is the longest glacier in France, and moves 90 meters (300 feet) per year, or around 1 centimetre (1/2 inch). It has lost up to 150 meters in depth since 1980, and this has been attributed to Global Warming.

Fresh Cheese and Cut Meats

The Best Raclette Ever

 

Annecy - France

Annecy France - 4th & 5th April 2012

Annecy is a small town in Haute-Savoie in France, around 35 kilometres south of Geneva Switzerland.

The 'Palais de l'Isle', also called the "old prison", was built from the 12th century. It is the symbol of the town and is among the most photographed monuments in all of France.

Palais de l'Isle

 The Basilique de la Visitation, built in the 20th century, contains the tomb of François de Sales and Jeanne de Chantal, and offers a magnificent view of the town and surrounding mountains.

On the drive to Annecy you pass an old bridge 'Pont de la Caille' that used to be part of the main road to the town. It is nice to take a small stop an admire the views of the mountains and small river below.

The old town of Annecy is dissected by a river, and either side are period buildings that contain numerous restaurants and curiosity shops. The food is fantastic, and the river idyllic.

 When you walk along the river, you come to a huge lake surrounded by mountains - Le Mont Veyrier, Le Semnoz, La Tournette and the Parmelan. This is an area of France which is visited by many sailors you like to talk yachts out onto the lake in the summer.