Chamonix, France

Bon soir (y’all)! Hey, you know I just worked out today that “bonjour” is essentially the same as “g’day” en Australie.  And "buongiorno" in Italian for that matter,

Well all good things must come to an end, and so must our “vacances” en Europe – which, you’ll note, wind up in France. My favourite.

Our last stay was at the beautiful Chamonix, a ski and mountain climbing adventure town at the bottom of the Mont Blanc massif (the range of mountains with Mont Blanc in it). Saucissons abound, as does garlic, and cheap and fine red wine.

Unlike Mürren, which attracted loads of Americans, Indians and Chinese, Chamonix seems to pull a lot more Australians and English tourists; there’s a Knight Frank real estate office here, as well as a Billabong and Quicksilver store. I wonder why? (*I was to find out later, these are glamour brands in France!  Who knew???).  But it is still “very French”, with lots of stores selling saucissons, goats cheeses, wine, etc., and it’s a town in the style of Queenstown in New Zealand; a holiday adventure get away.

Some notes from my diary of interest:

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The Alps - A General Introduction

This article serves as a general introduction to Europe’s alps and provides some brief notes and comparisons of the alpen places we visited (see Jane's fantastic planning map above!).  It covers geography, a little history, languages, diet, economics and prices, climate, best times to travel, and cultural variations.

i.e. It may serve as a general primer if you’re considering a holiday there.

Let’s go…

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