November 13, 2023
My weekend in Chamonix was one for the books. If you’ve never heard of Chamonix before, maybe you’ve heard of Mont Blanc. Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe. Chamonix rests at the base of Mont Blanc and near the junction of France, Switzerland, and Italy. I was itching to escape the big cities and get lost in the mountains for a couple days. My goal was to hike as much as possible, and I was not disappointed. Actually, I may have gotten more than I bargained for… Parents and grandparents, kindly skip the following paragraph.
Anissah and I took a bus Friday night from Lyon to Chamonix. We were headed to meet our Australian friends who arrived earlier that day. Our Airbnb was in the next town over and the city bus stopped running at 11:00 p.m. With an ETA of midnight, we resigned ourselves to taking a taxi – or so we thought. We ended up sitting on a cold bench in Chamonix cursing all the “unavailable” Uber and Bolt drivers. After about 20 minutes, we found a nearby hotel and asked the lady at reception if she could help us find a taxi. This saint of a woman individually called every taxi service in town. Unfortunately for us, they were all closed for the night. She gave us a sympathetic look and said, “Good thing you’re young. Better get walking!” She actually suggested hitch-hiking if we could find a passing car. Hitch-hike? Was she serious? I had to mask my incredulity. Needless to say, hitch-hiking was out of the question. Instead, we walked for over an hour in the dark while our friends sent encouraging texts from the Airbnb. They were also tracking our location for safety (I know you’re reading this, Mom). While not ideal, it was actually kind of fun walking through sleepy neighborhoods next to babbling brooks. Anissah and I chatted happily and watched our breath form misty clouds under the street lights. Our friends stayed awake until 2:00 a.m. for us to arrive. Barely conscious, they fed us warm pasta and hot chocolate before getting some much needed rest. We weren’t far behind them.
The next morning, I woke up to a mind-blowing view from the Airbnb balcony. I’ve seen my fair share of beautiful mountains, but the Alps take the cake. You can see the snowy outline of Mont Blanc in the background if you look closely! We had a cozy morning of cereal, coffee, and crosswords.
This Chamonix trip was organized in honor of Rhoen and Jayde’s back-to-back birthdays (we call that a Nelson-twin birthday). Rhoen and Jayde are two lovely gals from Australia and the most adorable best friends I’ve ever seen. We waited for their other friends to arrive from Vienna before heading off on our first hike!
We started at the base of Aiguille du Midi in the afternoon and decided to hike for a couple hours. Fitness gods Caitlin and Mikaela were leading the pack. For lack of a better term, they were hauling ass up the trail. We eventually split into two groups to avoid inchworming up the mountain. My legs were on fire but I decided to forge ahead. This trail was reminiscent of western Oregon with its fern frenzies and mossy mosaics.
Even though we were racing against nightfall, we pushed our luck and decided to finish all 16 kilometers of the Plan de l’Aiguille trail. I was in heaven between the breathtaking October colors and Mont Blanc’s nearby glacier. Here are some noteworthy views from the ascent!
Shivering and surrounded by clouds, we were pleasantly surprised to find Refuge du Plan de l’Aiguille at the summit. We warmed our hands and our hearts with homemade fruit tarts inside the cozy cabin. When the clouds lifted, the heavens quite literally opened up above the valley. I took a mental snapshot of this once-in-a-lifetime view.
I’ve been incessantly complaining about the lack of “autumn” this month, but the Alps finally shut me up. Somehow, the changing leaves became more vibrant as the sun started to set. We almost avoided hiking in the dark (some flashlights were used at the end). By the time we reached the bus stop, I was exhausted, mud-covered, and soaking wet in the pouring rain. Nevertheless, I was perfectly content after an incredible day.
Following warm showers, we had a family-style pasta dinner. I nearly finished eating before the girls started exchanging travel stories about food poisoning and vomiting on the streets of Rome.
Anissah and I opted for a shorter hike Sunday morning before our afternoon bus back to Lyon. We hiked to la Cascade du Dard and let the waterfall mist our happy faces.
Then we walked back into Centre Ville for some last-minute exploring. You can’t find streets more cute and cozy than those in a mountain town. It felt like a mini Breckinridge or Aspen, but with a much greater croissant selection. We passed by Eglise Saint Michel, thumbed through postcards, and sipped on homemade hot chocolate.
Soup du Jour: le chocolate chaud (hot chocolate)
When heading back to the bus stop, the clouds dissipated and we got our clearest view of Mont Blanc yet. Please enjoy this rather low-quality photo of a high-quality landscape.
I had a near-perfect weekend in Chamonix. It was, dare I say, my favorite trip so far. But I hadn’t had my fill of the alps just yet!
While I was away, autumn finally arrived in Lyon. My friends and I were feeling seasonally inspired after Chamonix: following class on Wednesday, Rhoen and Jayde hosted a fall themed soirée at their apartment.
We sipped champagne and apple cider and nibbled on sweet treats in the candlelight. The evening’s gastronomic highlight was Rhoen’s baked cinnamon apples topped with vanilla ice cream and Biscoff cookies. I’m drooling just thinking about it.
It’s my personal tradition to watch Fantastic Mr. Fox every autumn, so that was our main event of the night (If you’ve never seen this movie, watch it ASAP. It’s on Netflix). Here’s our family photo!
This was certainly a Wes Anderson week! Thursday night, my friend Ellie and I visited the Cinéma Le Lem to watch The Darjeeling Limited. The showing was part of Lyon’s annual film festival, the Festival Lumière. Wes Anderson actually came to Lyon for the event! He wasn’t at my showing, but he was there in spirit.
Soup du Jour: le cinéma (the movie theater)
And guess what folks? I finally did it. I finally met a French friend! Her name is Anouk and she’s from Lyon. Anne invited Anouk and her mom over for dinner on Friday night and we chatted over drinks and hors-d’œuvres. Anouk is my age and she’s studying English and Spanish at university! She’s super cool and we made plans to hang out again soon.
Saturday began with an early rise and return to the Alps. This time, I was visiting Grenoble with my friend Emma! We arrived before 9:00 a.m. and wasted no time hitting the trails. First, we had to make the ascent up to Fort de La Bastille. The Bastille has overlooked Grenoble since its construction in 1592.
With stairs, stone tunnels, and winding pathways, getting up to the Bastille is it’s own adventure. Once at the top, we continued past the téléferique (cable cars) and ventured through the Grottes de Mandrin.
Soup du Jour: une grotte (a cave)
Finally, we reached our trailhead and started our hike of the Mont Jalla – Mont Rachais Loop. Situated in the Chartreuse Mountains, this trail offers incredible views of Grenoble and the surrounding mountain ranges. The beginning was rather steep and we quickly worked up an appetite.
Around the halfway point, Emma and I found a peaceful clearing for our picnic lunch. While we relaxed on the grass, Emma told me our view was reminiscent of a German TV series called Heidi. I agreed with her after she showed me a video of the title sequence. After that fateful exchange, we were singing the theme song for the rest of the afternoon (I was mostly just singing “Heidi” because I forget all German words 10 seconds after Emma teaches them to me).
We leisurely made our way back and encountered some glorious mushrooms along the way. Then, our hike turned into more of an obstacle course. If the start of our trail was steep, then the end was downright dangerous. Here’s Emma doing some parkour down the mountain.
Emma and I had a lovely crêpe dinner before heading back to the Airbnb for some much-needed sleep. The next morning, we picked up pastries for breakfast and ate them along the river. Then we walked to Parc de Fiancey and sat beside the lake. Another day, another picnic, another magnificent view.
Eventually, we took the tram back into town and found ourselves in the Italian district. We strolled through a street market, had an afternoon drink, and finally ate a pizza beside the river as dusk settled around us. The only picture we took together was for Emma’s BeReal, but I think it accurately portrays how much we enjoyed Grenoble (and each other’s company).
I apologize for the radio silence – it’s been a busy month! My blog consistently fails to keep up with daily life. I also recently encountered some technical difficulties with my photo uploads, but I’m learning to troubleshoot. If you know me at all, you know I don’t have a tech-savvy bone in my body. C’est la vie. Stay tuned for upcoming updates about my fall break trip to Spain and England! As always, thanks for tagging along with me.
A la prochaine!
6 responses to “Alpine Adventures”
Kera this was simply wonderful, you captured our hiking and autumn bliss perfectly <333
Love this post…after regaining control of my blood pressure.
In France and still stealing my clothes …
Which clothes ??
I read the paragraph anyway. Thanks for the warning. Love all your writing and pictures but LOVE YOU MORE
YAYYY these fall mems are everything!!! I’m looking forward to hearing about your Spain and England adventures soon!! <3