On a whim we decided to squeeze in another weekend destination before we return home to the US. (Only 30 days to go, not that we’re counting.) Several of our American co-workers recommended visiting Chamonix, France which is a mountain town in the Alps about an hour outside of Geneva. Cory and I are both like the mountains, but recently have only visited during ski season. As a kid, my family regularly went to Colorado over the summer and I remember having just as much fun in the summer as in the winter. The drive into town was absolutely stunning. I’m not sure if it’s because it was the first time I visited the Alps, but to me they are even more impressive than the Rockies. Chamonix has a great view of Mont Blanc and is generally very picturesque.
The weather forecast predicted rain all weekend, but we lucked out and only had a couple hours of rain all together and it was in the mid 70s most of the weekend. It was nice enough for us to take several swims in the heated outdoor pool at the hotel. Swimming was definitely a Brady highlight and he would have been content to spend the entire day in the pool.
So Brady was keen to swim, but you may be wondering what Cory and I were going to do in Chamonix. One word, CHEESE. We have both come to love French food. A good percentage of French meals involve cheese, bread and of course some salad. Cory and I have both always liked our cheese, but I would say we were cheese novices. I don’t feel that the typical American truly appreciates cheese nor do we normally venture beyond our standard grocery store varieties (Cheddar, Colby Jack, Monterey Jack, Mozzarella, Swiss). Sure, most Americans have heard of or even enjoy Brie and some of enjoy blue cheese, feta or goat cheese, but only the rare foodie really knows their cheeses. I still would put Cory and I in the novice cheese category and while I still love my Colby Jack cheese there is so much more too experience and enjoy than Kraft cracker cuts. Whether it be in a nice restaurant, casual café or a local meat & cheese shop, cheese is everywhere.
Our first night in Chamonix we had a raclette dinner. Raclette is something that I had not heard of before moving to the UK, but feel that everyone should have raclette within their lifetime. Typically raclette is a big huge hunk of cheese that is on a heating element. When the outside gets warm and bubbly you shave it off onto potatoes, meat, bread or whatever you want to accompany the cheese. It is simply amazing. At the restaurant they put a bit of a spin on the raclette and gave us a wood fire stove for us to heat our own raclette and serve it over meat & potatoes. Incredibly delicious. My only complaint was our little wood fire was putting off so much heat that we had to open the door to let in some cool air. The lady at the table next to us was giving us glares which I interrupted as a ‘why did you guys order a dish that is raising the temperature of the restaurant at least 10 degrees’ look.
On Saturday we woke up early with intentions of taking the Aiguille du Midi lift into the mountains. This cable car holds the record for world’s highest ascent. The views from the top are said to be simply amazing. You can even take it into Italy. However we did not get the opportunity to take the cable car as we were quickly turned away as the minimum age to go up is 4. We were a little disappointed, but then realized we may not have been able to enjoy the views as I can’t imagine Brady sitting still in the cable car for 30 minutes plus I tend to be a nervous wreck anywhere there is an opportunity for him to fall great distances (I’m recollecting climbing the Blarney Castle at this point and my near freak out as we got to the top of the castle).
The good news is just as we were leaving the cable car the town train tour showed up. Brady loves trains so we hopped aboard for a gentle city tour.
After the train tour we jumped in the car and drove to the Merlet Animal Park. It was very scenic and we were able to see llamas, multiple varieties of deer and mountain goats. Brady had fun playing in the sandbox. We were pretty amused with him interacting with some French speaking kids about their age. A little girl was talking to him in French. Brady was talking back in English. I think they were both fairly confused. We also had some great views from the park.
That evening we had another cheese dinner planned at a fondue place. For us fondue is synonymous with the Melting Pot which is one of our favorite restaurants. However, come to find out most traditional fondue restaurants only do the cheese part of the fondue and it’s typically just with bread, potatoes and cold meats. We both had amazing appetizers before the fondue, but to be quite honest missed all the ‘extras’ that a fondue place such as the Melting Pot provides. Don’t get me wrong, it was good and I would certainly go again if I was back in the region, but I would actually probably pick the Melting Pot. We both had excellent desserts as well, but I’ll have to admit the thought of dipping pound cake, cheese cake, brownies, strawberries, bananas, pineapples and marshmallows in chocolate did race through my mind a few times as I was eating my blueberry tart.
Our time in Chamonix came to an end too quickly. I am hopeful that someday we can revisit during ski season.
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