Our last morning in Dugny at Jeanette's farmhouse. After a good breakfast, we gather our things and pack up the car. Jeanette had bought us several cheeses which we had not the time to finish at her house so she insisted we take them back to Crest with us. There were also several vegetables from her garden we were to transport to my uncle Francois who she is also friends with. I really do wish we could have stayed and visited with Jeanette longer, but we were already giving up an extra day in Crest to visit Chamonix today. We sadly said our goodbyes. We also gave Romeo the donkey one more apple before we left.
Off we went ascending into the Alps. The scenery was gorgeous along the way. I decided this was a good time to pop in the Andreas Vollenweider music. As we approached the town, we could see Mont Blanc on our right at a height of almost 16,000 feet. It looks so close, but people had told us how very long it takes to reach the top. I was already nervous about taking the many cable cars it would take. But once we found our parking, my mom started talking about something called "Mer de Glace" or Sea of Ice. We kept trying to find where to take the cable cars, but then my mom said we should be looking for a train. Finally, with the help of some other American tourists, we found the train to the Mer de Glace that my mother was talking about. This was an electric cogwheel train that climbs the side of the Alps and deposits you at the side of a glacier known at the Mer de Glace.
Although it was my first time seeing a glacier, and indeed the view was majestic, it didn't look as much like ice as I thought it would. In fact, a lot of it looked like dirt and I just figured it had melted a great deal. We had lunch at the 1880s hotel there. It had a beautiful view from the terrace, but it was both a little cold and my mother was being affected by the altitude so we went inside instead. Another gourmet meal and we returned outside. My mother insisted that we see the caves nearby, but being a little unnerved by the altitude she chose to stay behind.
Charles and I took the tiny cable cars down to a platform where there were an additional 350 steps to descend. (Back in the 1950s when my mother last visited the glacier, there was no need to descend as the glacier was much thicker then. She was able to walk across it to the 2 waterfalls on the other side of the mountain.) It kept looking like we were getting closer to the side of a giant rock, but as you got closer, you could see the blue ice showing through the dirt. Charles kept commenting on the odd color of the "dirt" until we were at the mouth of the cave. Finally, he realized we were going into the side of the glacier. The ice cave was amazing: colored lights illuminated sculptures of furniture, rooms and animals. It was unnerving though to realize it was melting under our feet and above our heads. There was a stand where a man was taking photos of tourists with a St. Bernard dog. I couldn't resist the cheesiness of it so we had ours taken...that is, after the large dog went after a small dog another tourist had brought into the cave with them.
As we left the cave and ascended the steps, we could see signs of where the glacier's height had been in 1990 and another indicating the 1980 height. The difference between the 1990 level and now is astonishing. We've also heard rumors that they are considering closing the caves due to the human effect on the environment. We met up with Mom at one of the cafes next to the glacier where she was contently sipping hot chocolate. By the time we got back down from the glacier and into the town of Chamonix, it was already getting late. But we stopped in one more souvenir shop to try and find the toy cable car for my great-nephew. We found it and started on our way back to Crest.
Taking out my map and Google directions again, we followed the route that Benoit had suggested the night before. Instead of taking the main expressways that would have gone a little out of the way, we took another road that cut across the mountains. We started ascending again and came through the town of St. Gervais. It was a beautiful ski resort town with a very Alpine flavor. Unfortunately, we were a little concerned about reaching the main highway before dark so we did not stop. It turned out this was probably a good decision since there was also a detour after that. It led us up into very narrow mountain roads reminiscent of a James Bond film complete with drivers speeding around blind curves. I followed along on the map and realized we were approaching a very winding stretch of road. I just kept telling Charles that we were almost at the highway as he nervously gripped the steering wheel. We even saw an 18-wheeler get stuck up there, but luckily had some space to move over and let others pass. This mountain driving went on for 2 hours before we finally reached the main highway. From there we had another 2 hours before reaching Crest, but at least now we were on a wide and straight road. Note to self: don't take directions from a Frenchman.
At the first rest stop, we decided to see what we had for a snack. We discovered the many cheeses Jeanette had packed for us, but unfortunately there was no bread. At the next rest stop there was a cafeteria. Charles was afraid to eat for fear of it making him too sleepy for the remainder of the drive. My mother and I had small, quick dinners. I was sure there would be something to snack on back at my uncle's, but my mother was unconvinced of this.
Finally, we made it back to my uncle's late at night. He was worried about us. Charles was exhausted from the drive. We had some snacks and fell into bed.
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