Monday in France

Today was a long day.  By 6:45 we were on a city bus headed toward the train station in Martigny.  The bus was full...so full we had to stand.  Apparently every teenager in Martigny rides the bus to the train station where they take trains to whatever school they may be attending.  I have no idea where they go, but probably some other town.  Having the students nearby gave us some quality people-watching time.  We noticed that the girls wore absolutely no makeup of any kind, even lipstick.  There was obviously no dress codes to speak of, and as soon as they got off the bus or train, most of them lit up a cigarette, especially the girls.  Ugh!

The reason we were headed toward the train station so early is that we have learned that our wonderful Swiss Pass also covers one route in and out of France, and that is the connection to Chamonix, France, where visitors can view the famous Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps, and, in fact, the highest in all of western Europe at 15,780 feet.  Mont Blanc is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the world.  Chamonix itself is a high-class touristy little town.  (Think Gatlinburg with no funnel cakes.)

The morning air was clear when we arrived about 9:15, so we bought tickets for the lifts to take us to a viewing spot high...and I do mean high...in the mountains near Mont Blanc.  The viewing area is called Aiguille de Midi, and is reached by taking two different lifts to frightening heights.  This did give us a fantastic view of the famous mountain, however.  

In this photo, notice the group of people viewing the site from another angle to get an idea about the size of the mountains.

We viewed it from a platform at 12,600 feet in elevation.  At that height the air is extremely thin, and we moved very slowly.  It was also cold, slightly below freezing, but with the sun out and no wind, it was not a problem.

After taking an embarrasing number of photos, we took the lift back down to Chamonix and took what they refer to as the "red train" to Montenvers Mer de Glace.  This is said to be the biggest glacier in France.  While we were there, a group of high school students were on a geology field trip.  When the teacher pointed out sites in the area, some of the students took notes, some pretended to listen, some talked among themselves, and others just soaked up some rays of sunshine.  As it turns out, maybe high school students are somewhat the same the world over.  

We have seen many cars on the streets that are not like those we are familiar with in the United States.  Today we saw one we have not noticed before...a Twingo.  When did the automotive world completely run out of names for automobiles?  A Twingo sounds like a cellophane-wrapped treat, not a reliable automobile!

So, tonight we are back in Martigny, Switzerland.  We have plans to leave early in the morning also, so I need to get this posted.  And, those of you who are reading it need to get back to your required activities of the day.  It is still difficult to imagine that all of our friends and loved ones are in the middle of their day's activities and we are ready to retire for the day.  So, from the other side of this beautful world...good-night.