Kitchener in November

Last month me, my mom, and Vicki went to Kitchener, Ontario to watch Skate Canada International, an ISU Grand Prix event. We lucked out and stayed at the same hotel as the skaters, which meant we saw them all the time. It was one of the highlights of the weekend. We lived at the Memorial Auditorium (The Aud) from Thursday to Sunday for the practices and competitions. We went to the Market on the Saturday and browsed the different restaurant places ... Moroccoan, Egyptian, German, etc. Yummy! The assortment of fruit and veggies were exceptional. It was another great weekend of viewing skaters and coaches, one of them being former Olympian Artur Dimitriev. It's funny how quickly the weekend flies by when the tickets and hotel were booked a year ago.

Cottage weekend in Consecon

I took a couple days off from work so I could have a 4 day weekend to visit my sister D and her family at their cottage in Consecon, Ontario. The weekend before was really hot and humid and I was hoping for this kind of weather while I was at the cottage, but alas, it was not meant to be. The weather was very strange over the weekend with dark, gloomy clouds and a hint of rain, and then the sun would come out and sometimes hide behind white, fluffy cumulus clouds.

My 2009 visit to Wolfe Island

Vicki and I spent this year's August long weekend on Wolfe Island visiting Lady M. It started with our bus trip from Ottawa to Kingston, and then lunch at the Pilot's House for fabulous fish and chips ... it was much better than the fish and chips we ate in Dublin, which was rather disappointing. After the Pilot's House, we did some errands and took the ferry over to Wolfe Island, where Lady M was waiting for us. On our ferry ride, we were provided with a view of the Windmills that have been recently were erected on the Island. They look very elegant with their clean lines and long stury base.

My TMB Ice Cream Log

Here is a list of my ice cream consumption and flavours from this trip.

1. June 24th, Montreal Airport - Wildberry
2. June 26th, Chamonix - two scoops, one each of Creme brulee & Cassis
3. June 27th, Les Contamines - Lemon with Vodka poured over top
4. July 1st, Courmayeur - two scoops, one each of Italian Vanilla & Chestnut
5. July 1st, Courmayeur - Lemon
6. July 2nd, Courmayeur - two scoops, one each of Tiramisu & Bacio
7. July 2nd, Courmayeur - Coconut
8. July 3rd, Chamonix - Lemon with Vodka poured over top
9. July 3rd, Chamonix - a berry flavoured drumstick (cornetto)
10. July 4th, Chamonix - two scoops, one each of Green Apple & Apricot
11. July 6th, Chamonix - Lychee
12. July 8th, Chamonix - Banana
13. July 9th, Chamonix - Mixed berries
14. July 10th, Geneva - two scoops, one each of Jamaica (Rum & Raisin) & Pineapple
15. July 11th, Flight from Geneva to Montreal - Vanilla Caramel Duet

Okay, now it does seem like an awful lot, but I truly love ice cream. I'm not afraid to admit it. :) I was tempted to go for the 9 scoops on Wednesday, but decided it wouldn't be good for me. I should have had the 9 scoops of ice cream for supper that night instead of the Tartiflette.

Geneva to Ottawa

I didn't have a good sleep last night because I kept getting tangled in the massive duvet. Also I kept hearing noise down below on the street and kept wondering when the bars close. My wonder was soon answered as we left our hotel at 8am, turned the corner to the street that our room faced and walked up the street. As we were walking down the street, I noticed a pair of clear plastic stilletto platform shoes and as my gaze continued up, I see legs, a short mini skirt, then white lingerie and a woman displaying her chest out to everyone. She had a friend with her and two other ladies were on the other side of the street. They keep long hours.

Chamonix to Geneva

This morning we went to our usual breakfast place and had our last tea/cafe au lait with pain au chocolats in Chamonix. After breakfast we did another quick walk through Chamonix and took in the mountains, streets and stores. We went back to our hotel and waited for our bus to Geneva. Once we arrived at the airport, we put our big bags in the lockers and took the train to the city centre. Our room in Geneva, is so palatial compared to where we've slept the last two weeks. Big, fluffy duvets and big double beds. We watched the Tour de France, took a walk around by the Jet d'Eau, which was on when we drove in the city, but was off on our walk and was later turned on (I guess they shut it off for certain periods of time), had some ice cream, walked along the shops and peered in through the windows, and finally, had supper. Before bed, we watched some crazy British movie called "Viva Blackpool" with David Morrissey. It was a comedy, crime, musical piece. We didn't catch the very beginning of the movie and when I started watching, I couldn't figure out what was going on as some of the characters were wearing period clothing, but it was set in current time. It was bizarre, but it also had some funny lines, which Vicki will remember.

It's sad to be heading back home and to work. Tomorrow we fly from Geneva to Montreal, wait a bit, then take the train from Dorval to Ottawa.

Beer/alcohol consumption: none

Our last day in Chamonix

Well we had another late start to the day because of our previous late night out, which was a lot of fun.

We went for breakfast, walked around, ate some ice cream, and took a train to Argentiere. We walked around the main street (not much there, really), I bought some earrings, and Vicki bought a bracelet. Took the train back to Chamonix and went to our hotel to relax a little before our supper out.

Paragliding

Today, I went paragliding and it was fabulous! I've been thinking about it all day and I want to do it again. I felt weightless as I glided next to mountains. The view from up there is stunning!

We ran into 3 of the boys from Israel on our way to the train station to check out the times for the train to the Mer de Glace. We never made it to the train station. We ended up having beers and supper with them and the other guys once they showed up. After supper, some of us went out for more beer. The boys seemed to had a great Tour du Mont Blanc. Most of them will be returning to Israel on Friday while 3 of them will travel through Switzerland.
Beer consumption: 4 to 5 (not really sure)

Lac Blanc

Yesterday, we did a 3 hour round trip hike up to this zoo called Merlet, then hiked back down. It was a nice day and great weather. We saw a young fawn ... it walked right next to us. Very cute!

Today, we took a train from Chamonix to Les Praz, took a cable car up to La Flegere and hiked from there to Lac Blanc (2352m). It was grey outside, then the fog rolled in, and with it dark grey clouds and rain. It was so dark and wet and we couldn't see where we were going and thought about giving up. We stopped for a bit and the rain stopped somewhat. We ran into other hikers and they said it wasn't much further, so we continued on to Lac Blanc. Eventually, the clouds dispersed and the rain disappeared, but it was windy up at Lac Blanc. We went into the refuge and paid 7.00 Euros for two teas (3.50 Euros each) and it was one of the best teas we had that trip. It helped with warming us up. Unfortunately, the clouds covered Mont Blanc and the range.

We also ran into a couple of the boys from Israel at Lac Blanc. They said it was their first day of rain and didn't have the rain we had in Chamonix on Sunday. They said they would be in Chamonix tomorrow for the next two nights.

Views of Lac Blanc:

A young Ibex:
An older Ibex, who posed for us:

Beer Consumption for July 6th: None

Beer Consumption for July 7th: 2

Martigny, Switzerland

Saturday, turned out to be a waste of a day because of our late night on Friday. So no post for yesterday, since there's nothing to write about.


Sunday, we took a train from Chamonix to Martigny, Switzerland. We didn't realize that it being a Sunday and all would mean the stores would be closed for the day, which they were. We walked around town and went to Museum and saw some St. Bernard dogs.



Not sure what this was about, but they must be the biggest bananas I've ever seen (Martigny):

The Tour de France will have a stage in Martigny this year. There were many TdF flags and posters in town.

Some more views of Martigny:


We thought of doing the last 3 stages of the TMB from Trient, but there's no bus from the nearest town and it would mean we would have to go all the way back to Martigny. So we thought of starting it up in a closer town, however, it started to rain today and then it poured. It rain all night too. So we decided to do some day hikes instead.


Beer consumption for Saturday, July 4th: none (had too many the night before)

Beer consumption for Sunday, July 5th: none

Courmayeur to Chamonix

Today was amazing! In total, we took 5 cable cars: two from Courmayeur to Punta Helbronner, one over the glacier du Geant from Punta Helbronner to Aiguille du Midi, and two from Aiguille du Midi to Chamonix.

Views from Punta Helbronner (3462m):

We were on top on the World with our heads in the clouds, literaly and figuratively. It was amazing. We saw mountaineers, tents, and climbers up there. Stunning views all around.

Views from our little cable car from Helbronner (Italy) 0ver the glacier du Geant, which is 5km long, to the Aiguille du Midi (France):

Mountaineers backtracking on a certain section of the glacier du Geant:

Views from Aiguille du Midi (3842m):

In Chamonix, we went out for a beer, which led to many more beers at a place called "The Pub".

Beer Consumption: Lost count

Another day in Courmayeur

So we decided to shorten our Tour du Mont Blanc to here in Courmayeur. We've called it the "Demi Tour". We've been hearing about how spectacular it is to take the cable car from Courmayeur to Helbronner, take a cable car over to Aiguille du Midi and down to Chamonix. So we will be doing this tomorrow.

We originally planned to spend an extra day in Courmayeur and really, you're not missing much. It's very different than Chamonix, where as Chamonix is a mountaineering town and is popular all year, Courmayeur is a skiing town and appears to be popular in the winter time. The clothes are geared towards skiers, rich skiers I might add. I don't know where the locals shop. In my observations, the Italians like to wear their clothing tight, a little too tight. The women seem to be afraid of wearing supportive bras, which they desperately need. Lastly, the Italians have the weirdest knick-knack crap I have ever seen in their souvenir stores. However, they do make good ice cream. We had gelato twice yesterday and twice today.

Great gelato at this place (I don't remember the name of the place):

This morning we saw the boys from Israel leave the hotel and continue with their hiking. We told one of them that we'll probably see them in Chamonix. One of their friends joined them today until Chamonix. We ran into Anne and Bob in the afternoon (they're having a rest day) and decided to meet up for supper. We went to a place just up the road from out hotel and had the Table d'Hote, which was a bowtie pasta with zuchinni and a nice herb sauce, chicken and warm spinach, and a tart for dessert. We wished Anne and Bob well and a safe trip. I hope they had a great time. Anne said they've met a lot of people on the trail, who wished they had spent more time (days) for the hike so they could stop and smell the flowers.

Beer/wine consumption: 1 (beer for me and wine for Vix)

Refugio Elisabetta to Courmayeur

Happy Canada Day!

Today, our hike takes us from Refugio Elisabetta (2195m) to Courmayeur (1226m). We walked down from Refugio Elisabetta to a nice road for a little bit, then instead of crossing the bridge we took the variante trail and hiked up to the spur of Mount Favre, which provided a stunning lookout of the southern range of Mont Blanc. From here we had a nice walk down to Maison Vieille where we stopped for beer, Popsicles, and a blueberry tart. Yesterday, we found out the cable car into Courmayeur doesn't operate until July 11th, which means a deep descent. I cursed the author of the guide book for not mentioning that the cable car only operates for a certain time in the summer and for not really describing the steepness of the descent.

We made it to Courmayeur and went out for pizza. The pizzas are huge, thin crust and not loaded with all the toppings like at home. We split one pizza and it was very yummy. We were shocked to see so many locals eat an entire pizza for themselves. We also went for gelato twice. The Italians know how to make good gelato.

We were wondering why there were so many kids in Courmayeur and were surprised to discover that the Italian under 16 National Chess Championships were held there.

Views from the Spur of Mount Favre (2430m):

Vicki skiing down to Courmayeur:

Beer Consumption: 1 (with our lunch at Rifugio Maison Vieille)

Refuges des Mottets to Refugio Elisabetta

Another short day today from Refuges des Mottes (1870m) in France to Refugio Elisabetta (2195m) in Italy. It also meant a climb today ... a climb up to the Col de la Seigne (2516m). The Col de la Seigne was turning out to be a mythical place as every time we reached a new height, we discovered that we still had another climb ahead of us. Finally, we reached the top and were provided with a great 360 degree view of the mountains around us. From here we walked down and crossed snow patches, streams and walked on uneven rocky paths and road. We finally saw Refugio Elisabetta and made our final climb of the day up to the refuge in time for a shower and lunch. We have a room with 3 bunk beds, 6 of us in a room tonight. Refugio Elisabetta is very nice and classy compared to Refuges des Mottets. Supper was another 3 course meal, which was soup, pork, mashed potatoes, and salad, and a nectarine for dessert. Finally, fresh fruit! Anne and Bob and the boys from Israel also stayed here tonight. It's great getting to know them. A couple of the boys walked up to one of the glaciers to take a look.

We saw more crazy mountain bikers on their way down as we were going up to the Col de la Seigne:
Views from Col de la Seigne (2516m):

Beer/Wine Consumption: 3 (two beers each, and Vix had wine at supper)

A good-sized beer at the Refugio Elisabetta is 2.50 Euros. Not bad indeed!

Les Chapieux to Refuges des Mottets

In the guide book, stage 3 of the TMB is from Les Chapieux (1554m) to Refugio Elisabetta (2195m), however, the Elisabetta was booked for this night. We stayed at the Refuges des Mottets (1870m), which is halfway between Les Chapieux and Elisabetta. This means we have two short days in a row. It was nice to know that we wouldn't have a super long day a head of us.

A sweet little calf in Ville des Glaciers:
We slept in and left a little later than usual for our hike (mostly walk) to Refuge des Mottets. Most the walk was on a paved road, and it was nice to walk on a flat surface after yesterday's climb. But the pavement reflected the sun and it made for a very toasty walk. We saw more cows today with their bells ringing up in the hills. We even stopped and relaxed for a half hour staring at the countryside. We were the first to arrive at Refuges des Mottets and guess what, it's dormitory sleeping style. The dorms are in two old barns with beds side by side.

As we were enjoying our afternoon, more people started to arrive, these boys whom we had seen the previous day. We thought they were Italian or Spanish, turns out they are from Israel. We spoke to a couple of them and they seem to be very nice and friendly. After we finished our lunch, we met a Canadian couple (Anne and Bob) from Toronto. They were funny and charming. They tried to do the TMB years ago, but Anne's knee gave out. So they're back this year and are planning to do the TMB in 17 days. They have given themselves extra rest days and have shorter days.

Villes des Glaciers (1789m):

Refuges des Mottets also has squat toilets. Remember those Nina?!

Beer/Wine Consumption: 1

Les Contamines to Les Chapieux

Ahh, stage 2 of the Tour du Mont Blanc from Les Contamines (1167m) to Les Chapieux (1554m). What was supposed to be a 7 hour day turned out to be a 10 hour day. Yes, a 10 hour of day of climbing, climbing, climbing, and more climbing. It started out a pleasant walk and then we're hit with a steep incline. We passed an old Roman bridge. I looked for an inscription and could only see Altitude 1425 metres. I'm not sure what that is in feet measurement but you can figure it out for yourselves. Some of you may think that's high and at the time so did I until you go higher and higher. Our highest point of the day was at Col de la Croix (du Bonhomme) - 2483 metres.

The Roman Bridge:

I have to admit that this stage was ass-kicking and not in a good way; it was much more than I expected. Oh sure were there spectacular views, from Col de Bonhomme, but this was also one the scariest parts of the trail from Col de Bonhomme to Croix de Bonhomme. The trail is mostly shale rock and right on the edge. I wish I could capture how far up we were and how far down it was to the bottom. That would be a scary fall and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I can't imagine ultra-marathoners running this at night time. They're insane!

See the little tiny dark speck, it's a chalet and we hiked all the way from their up.

We finally made it Les Chapieux and stayed at the Auberge de la Nova. We had a private room and so far we hadn't had to sleep in a dormitory. My big toes feel like they have pins and needles going through them. I was pooped! At supper that night, everyone we talked too said it took them longer than the book says. For most people, it took them 9 hours.

For supper we had diet coke (Coca-Cola Light in Europe) and a 3 course dinner, which was a pea soup, square pasta with rabbit stew and creme brulee for dessert. The food was very yummy. I wasn't expecting that much food and was very surprised, even with the dessert.

Beer-Wine consumption: 1 (no, not me; Vix had wine after supper)

Les Houches to Les Contamines

Today, we did stage 1 of the Tour du Mont Blanc from Les Houches (1007m) to Les Contamines (1167m). We took a bus from our hotel in Chamonix and it dropped us off in front of the Telepherique (cable car), which we took to Bellevue. It saved us a climb and they're fun. From here, we started hiking and it was a nice road that had a gradual descent. We saw a bunch of cows meandering the hills and they were all wearing giant cow bells, which can be heard from a distance. We passed a bunch of men who were mountain biking and most of them were walking their bikes up the hill. These guys are crazy for mountain biking around here. It's serious mountain biking! We also saw donkeys and horses in the valley and tiny villages. The chalets on this stage are too cute for words. They look like they are straight out of picture book and they have perfect scenery. Our lovely walk would turn to a steep climb into Les Contamines.

Highest point of the day was Col de Veza at 1653 metres.

We cleaned up, then went to the grocery store to buy our lunch for the next day. We went to this place called the Creperie Restaurante, but it was also called the Pub-Creperie. We each had a crepe with chicken and veggies. For dessert, we shared a Colonel, which was 3 scoops of lemon ice cream with vodka poured over it. Sooooo Good! We had a couple of beer and the bartender gave us a shot of something that was powerful. Phew!

Beer-Shot Consumption: 3

Mountain men: some and includes bike boys

Michael Jackson dead

Sorry to hear MJ is dead. I just heard about his death. Earlier today, I heard a teenager listening to MJ's music and thought it was weird. Now it makes perfect sense. Kitty it's time for you to wear your MJ socks from high school (I know you still have them even though it's been almost 20 years).

He produced a lot of great tunes, and was the biggest artist in the World.

What's cheaper, a Big Mac Combo or 2 large beers?

After many hours of waiting in the airport to leave, flight, waiting two hours to get luggage, finally travel to centre Geneva to walk around, get some fresh air and eat at McDonald's. A Big Mac combo cost 12.50 CHF, which is around $13.00 CAD. Ridiculous! We went to a patio bar at the airport to wait for our bus to Chamonix and had two large Heineken, which was 12.00 CHF (yep, 6.00 CHF each), so beer is cheaper than a Big Mac.

Jet d'Eau in Geneva:

The marina in Geneva:

One of the many swans in Lake Geneva:

We took a bus to Chamonix, France and walking around aimlessly looking for our hotel. Last night, as we laid in our beds watching Jaws in French, we decided we were too tired to go anywhere.

We slept in late today and went to some place for our breakfast/lunch, which was the plat du jour (fish, potatoes, veggies, and bread) and a large beer. Everything is closed during lunch time. We walked around and stopped for ice cream. Today's flavour were creme brulee and cassis. We walked around and thought of taking the gondola up to the Aiguille du Midi, but decided it was too expensive, perhaps at the end of the tour. We bought water bottles and have just come from spending time on a patio. I couldn't tell you the name of the place but we each had two large beers and crepe with bananas and chocolate. It was the perfect place to watch men walk by. I must say I'm feeling pretty good at the moment ... on the way to being drunk.

Ice cream place in Chamonix - can get up to 9 scoops in a cone:

One of many picturesque streets in Chamonix:

Beer Consumption thus far: 3

Good-looking mountain men: a hundred