I didn't always like hiking. I didn't start liking hiking until a couple years ago. I didn't like hiking for specific reasons that I won't mention here because they will make me seem like a wimp. Laura methodically tried out hikes with different conditions to figure out what I liked and didn't like. She figured out the magic formula after several hikes and a couple years.
Here is why hiking trips I go on are awesome:
-3 to 6 hours of hiking each day mean several hundred to a couple thousand marginal calories are burned. This means I can eat like a fat a$$ and still lose weight.
-4 to 7 days of intense hiking mean I will lose 1 to 7 pounds.
-Lots of time to think on my own, enjoy the beautiful scenery, and learn from my hiking companions.
-I don't rough it. Lodging is 3 star, if not 4 star, quality. And meals are by most people's definition, gourmet.
After the initial hiking trip to Machu Picchu last year, I did lots of planning this year to pick Chamonix. I wanted something in Europe and I wanted something luxury. After looking at all the luxury travel companies, I settled on day hikes from Chamonix, hiking around Mt. Blanc from Chamonix, or the Dolomites. I figured the simplest high end living arrangements and gourmet food would be day hikes from Chamonix. The father-in-law, whom I will subsequently refer to as "The Professor" given that is what his blog readers call him, seemed skeptical at first that I was actually going to plan this and go through with it. When it became apparent I was serious, he was in. Obviously, the wife, Laura was in. My brother was very tentative and did not come due to lack of available vacation from work. My brother was missed and hopefully he will make future hiking trips.
After spending a couple weeks in Paris, it was off to Normandy, through Paris to Lyon, then to Chamonix in the French Alps.
Over my years coordinating trips, I have figured out that eating trips are loved by all when they go, but it is tough to get multiple people to commit and spend their annual vacation on an eating trip. There is probably some judging and negativity projected when they others hear they are going on an "eating trip". It isn't as tough to get someone to join go on a hiking trip because it is a healthy activity and family/friends that like to hike don't have enough opportunity to go in their everyday lives.
The journey to Chamonix was anything but smooth. It started out with quite a large hurdle. The traveling started leaving our hotel in Lyon. When we got to the Lyon train station which was only a 2 minute walk from our hotel, the train station entrance was cordoned off by police. There was a piece of baggage left and the bomb squad was at work. We couldn't tell much more of what was going on giving the limited language commonalities we had with the policeman. One finger wagging back and forth and "tick tick tick" from the policeman was all the language commonality we needed. At first, Laura and I figured the train station was shut down. After going back to the hotel and asking, it appeared that only this entrance was shut down and the other one was open. Seemed safe enough to me as I needed to get to Chamonix.
After a 15 minute walk around to the OTHER, safer, entrance of Lyon Part Dieux, we got to our train with plenty of time for the 2 transfer + ~4 hour ride to Chamonix. After the efficient and relaxing train ride, we ended up with a 20 minute walk from the Chamonix train station through city center to find our apartment. We knew right away as we strolled through downtown Chamonix that the train ride was worthwhile though as one of our first views was this:
After walking around the city to figure out where our rental apartment was, we arrived at a beautiful apartment. However, it didn't have internet working! That was a big problem given the professor was arriving in a couple days and it was rumored that he needed internet or there would be problems. We called the apartment rental company and they solved the problem quite splendidly. They moved us from the ground floor, to the first floor. The first floor had 2 balconies and thus a better view of the mountains and internet from two separate wi-fi networks. Lucky resolution to quite a big problem.
I knew this would be a great stay when I say the view from the balcony. I had seen this view(or similar) months before when I saw the rental apartment listing, but I thought it was a representative view from Chamonix instead of the specific view from the apartment complex. Here is my view from the apartment balcony:
After a week of hiking, the trip to Chamonix ended on the same balcony with some talk on the US and world economies, wine, coffee flavored chocolate, and cherries. It doesn't get better than that.
My next couple posts will be some food and views from the hikes in Chamonix.
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