After leaving our home base for skiing, Nendaz in the Swiss Alps, we drove to the French Alps! We went from warmer weather (50F) to snowfall. We spent two nights in Chamonix at the Eden Hotel, which was really very charming. Very Instagrammable! When we arrived the town was blanketed in snow clouds so we had to change our plans from going up into the mountains to shopping.
We didn’t know it at the time but this was the view behind our hotel when the clouds cleared up. So pretty!!
We happened to arrive in Chamonix on a market day. The town square was filled with mostly food vendors and we enjoyed some tartiflette. It’s potatoes with bacon, cheese and onions. So good!
We went to the shops in the town. It’s quite touristy in Chamonix with both high end shops and many other shops.
Since we were in France I had to get a macaron. Yes, they were from McDonalds 🙂
Chamonix was the site of the first winter Olympics, although at the time (1924) it was just a week of winter games and then it was decided that it should be held on a regular basis and thus the winter Olympics were born!
When we woke up the next day I was blown away with how amazing the town looked. This beautiful town nestled among the mountains was just breath taking!
The primary attraction for us was taking the train to Mer de Glace, the glacier. We boarded the little red train, which was a cogwheel train and up into the mountains we went!
There is a cave (a tunnel) into the glacier. Along the way there were signs showing how much the glacier had receded over the years. It was sad to see how much it had receded in just two years! Inside the cave was pretty cool (ha, no pun intended).
After touring Mer de Glace we were back on the road heading to Geneva Switzerland. But first, another stop in France along the way! We visited the little town of Annecy. It was a cute little town with some scenic locations!
The building in the middle of the water has been used for a few purposes, but most recently it was a prison. We took a tour of it.
We ended the day in Geneva, returning our car at the airport. The rental car garage was freaking crazy. The cars were cram packed into the garage. The drivers were angry and the employees were overworked, trying to find spots for the overwhelming number of cars being returned. Yikes!! It felt great to get to our hotel in Geneva and relax for the night!
- Nendaz, our home base
- Zermatt and the Matterhorn
- Skiing in Verbier 4 Vallees and Crans-Montana
- Geneva
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