Chamonix--local color

Saturday, September 7, 2013             

It is 10 p.m.—we just got in from the street.  We had a mediocre dinner inside a small café (it was raining), where we enjoyed a conversation in English with a British hiker from London, who sat almost beside us.  We had a spunky server who knew little English.  I asked for water in three languages, and she tried to hand me the salt and pepper.  Somehow we ended up with two glasses of red wine that we didn’t order.  She just didn’t know what we were talking about.  For wine, it wasn’t bad, and it was cheap, and the water, when we finally got it, was free.  That’s the first time we’ve had free water at a meal since we arrived.  The Brit ordered a pizza with a fried egg over light in the middle of it!  Even though the meal was not that good, we had a great time.

When we went back out on the square, Robin insisted we go looking for the German band again—even though it was raining.  I waited at the corner and was surprised that he found them, just as they were setting up at an outdoor restaurant with an awning, so we listened to their excellent music again tonight.

 

They are so boisterous—taking about five minutes in between each song to laugh with each other, sing some songs in German, and make a lot of noise.  They were dressed in costume—grown men in lederhosen (sturdy suede shorts with wide cloth suspenders that are embroidered in flowers.)  They wore either felt hats or some other type of hat with a big, furry plume on top. 

As they finished and were walking away, I noticed that they all had the same black leather shoes with some sort of tab on the top and their legs were bare—except for something like a leg warmer about 10 inches long on the upper calf and part of the knee; the leg warmers had a houndstooth-type pattern.  Two women, who were dressed in costume—not the same as the men but long skirts—played trumpet and clarinet in the band.  We didn’t even notice the rain and chilly temperature much-- we just had fun being there!  We were almost sitting in with the band.  Plus the brass players, especially, were great.  Robin and I both like brass instruments. 

We spent part of the afternoon today at McDonald’s, trying to post yesterday’s blog and check our email.  It really took longer than we intended because the internet speed was so slow—but they did have ice!  While Robin worked on downloading the pictures, I went across the square and shopped a bit, which is not my favorite thing to do, but it turned out to be fun and interesting.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, Mont Blanc, Europe’s highest peak, looms behind us—the glacier part of the mountain is called “La Mer de Glace” (The Sea of Ice).  What a remarkable glacier on this over 15,000-foot peak!  Also, behind us is a gondola traveling up the side of another mountain, Aiguille du Midi.  Supposedly, it is the world’s highest cable car at 12,000 feet.  We’re not doing that.

 

 Chamonix, this great little village almost buried among the mountains, is a happening place.  It is teeming with restaurants, alpine-like hotels, saloons, stores that cater to mountain climbing and skiing, lots of hikers and travelers, lots of people walking around with trekking poles and wearing hiking boots.  We learned today that Chamonix hosted the first winter Olympics back in 1924, although its history goes back to the 1700s.

 

Tomorrow (Sunday) we reluctantly leave the Alps and head for Lyon, France.