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

Trixie and Vix's Itinerary of Tour du Mont Blanc - June 24-July 11, 2009

Vix and I will be tackling the Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB), a 170 km trail, this June and July. Our hike around Mont Blanc will take us thru three countries: France, Italy, and Switzerland.

The TMB is typically done in 10-11 days, however, we might take longer depending if we decide on having an extra rest day here or there, or take day trips to Milan, etc. Stay tuned!

• June 24th: train from Ottawa-Montreal; flight from Montreal-Geneva
• June 25-26th: Arrive in Geneva, travel to Chamonix, France and relax for 2 days
• June 27th- July 9th: TMB and to quote Vicki “Hike, eat baguettes, cheese, and chocolate and drink coffee [tea] and wine [beer] ... oh! and talk to lovely European men.”
• July 10th: Geneva, Switzerland
• July 11th: Flight from Geneva-Montreal; train from Montreal-Ottawa

Map of the Tour du Mont Blanc:

Some readings:

• Alpine hiking: Tour du Mont Blanc - Telegraph
• Walking the Tour du Mont Blanc

Check out Vicki's posts on her blog: http://inallkindsofweather.blogspot.ca

The Dynamic Duo - Trixie & Vicki

Camping, Lac La Peche - 1996:

It all started on our first day of class of our library tech program at Algonquin College, which was almost 14 years ago, yes, 14. I remember entering the class of 30 students and me being the youngest of the bunch was scared because the majority of the students had prior university/college degrees, were stay-at-home mom's returning to work or some were changing careers. At the time, I only had one year of a three year program, which I didn't like all that much and had been off for while. I remember sitting next to a tall girl with almost shoulder-length dark brown hair and she appeared to be shy. Hmm, what to say to my new class mate? A-ha, tall girl was wearing an ESQ watch that had a black face with gold accents and black leather straps. At the time, I was working part-time at Consumer's Distributing, a catalogue store, and was working in the jewellery department. We carried ESQ watches. The watch was very nice. I don't remember what I said exactly, something like "that's a nice watch, or I like your watch". To which the tall girl replied, "Thanks, I bought it for my boyfriend but decided to keep it for myself", which is typical Vicki behaviour. :) And from that moment I discovered tall girl’s name was Vicki and from there was the beginning of a great friendship.

Still excited from our ride in the bobsled, Lake Placid Olympic Park - 1997:

Our friendship grew as we discovered we were both huge figure skating fans and watched all the events faithfully, then we learned we each loved watching the Olympics and cheering for all athletes not just the Canadians and feeling happy to witness their achievements.

Annecy, France - 2000:
We also have mutual love towards camping and food: McDonald's, Swiss Chalet, combo #4, Pilos, candy, diet coka ... we'll pretty much eat anything. We both like to try new things from bobsledding, kayaking to snorkelling, ziplining around the jungle, surfing in the Pacific, to hiking the West Coast Trail and now we’ll tackle the Mont Blanc.

We can find humour in the most stupid things, by being our silly selves around one another, or from her cat Elvis’ “Ha-row’s”, and watching Dirt Bag with a ghetto blaster on his shoulder walking around Wellington with a big grin on his face, chatting up the ladies and running away from the cops, etc. I wonder what ever happened to him. We always thought he would be a good fixer-upper once he was showered, had dental work and a decent haircut and a nice set of clothes. Long live the dirt bags!

Dangriga, Belize - Christmas 2000:

Banff - 2001:

Then there's the notion of travel. I've always wanted to travel, but had never been outside of North America, where Miss Vicki had spent 6 weeks travelling around Europe. I was so envious and in awe of her. My first "trip" outside of North America was with Vicki and her friend Anne from university, we went to France in April 2000. That was a great trip and really opened my eyes to what I was missing in life. It also made me realize that I needed to make some decisions when I returned home. But most of all I think that trip created a monster in me. I always think of trips, look at flight deals, and potential destinations.

Yurt, Algonquin Park - Christmas 2001:

Over the years, our friendship has grown and prospered as we have seen each through new relationships and break-ups, going back to school, and encouraging one another to try new things although they might be scary. Vicki has been my support, my devil’s advocate, my encourager or eggs me on, and she’s been my nope, can’t do it person. Everyone needs someone like this in their lives to keep you in check and to help you realize your dreams. Now, it's like I don't have other great friends, because I truly have awesome friends who are there for me and are there for laughter and fun, but Vicki is truly my best friend (we see each other at least once a week), we're each other's H.E.L.P. (Hetersexual Life Partners).

West Coast Trail - 2002:

Thank you Vicki for being such a great friend over the years and to many more years to come. I look forward to our trip around Mont Blanc surrounded by lovely European men and can’t wait for the crazy stupid things to come our way. One day we’ll be zipping along the corridor in our wheel chairs, when suddenly I will move out ahead of you and will laugh when you scream out “There you go again with your dirty Michael Schumacher move. This isn’t a competition Trixie”.

Dublin - 2009:

Nina and Trixie's San Francisco Treat

I know it's been a while since I've posted anything, but as the saying goes "better late, than never", so here it is.

In March, Nina and I went to San Francisco for a much needed break to get away from the winter blues, work (news of upcoming changes), but mostly to visit with our Turkish friends, whom we had met in Goreme last year and happened to be in the States during the winter for work.

This was our first time to San Francisco, and I always had this mental picture of rain with dark grey clouds and lots of mist especially around Alcatraz. Boy, was I wrong! We picked a great weekend to visit as it was sunny and warm during the days, and a little cool in the evenings. It was a short trip, 4 days in total, and we managed to do quite a bit. We walked down the Crookedest Street in America, tasted chocolate and ice cream from Ghiradelli's, cupcakes from Kara's cupcakes, and dranks pots of tea with a light lunch at Crown & Crumpet. All this within a couple of hours ... okay we bought the cupcakes (6) for later, which were inhaled the next morning. They were so good. We walked around Fisherman's Wharf, where you're hit with all kinds of smells: water, baked goods, and salt water taffy.

We even hung out with the baddies at Alcatraz. We took the last tour trip out to Alcatraz and returned to the city in the evening. I recommend this time slot as it provides a great view of the city in the evening with all its lights and looks quite sparkly. There is also a demonstration of the cell doors opening and closing and different talks. One of the talks we went to was on one of the inmates who had escaped and lived to tell about it. He was one of the last inmates at Alcatraz when it they closed as a prison. He was The solitary confinement cells are very creepy and I can't imagine spending any length of time in there.

We went to the Financial District or Union Square to shop. Well, we shopped at one store because lets face it, neither one of us has that kind of money to shop at Burberry, Saks Fifth Avenue, etc. I could barely afford to look in the windows or in the stores themselves.

One day, probably the nicest day of them all, we walked from our hotel to the Golden Gate Bridge (GGB) and walked across the bridge. On our way there, we stumbled upon the Planetarium, which has fabulous architecture with a man-made lake. It's a great spot to spend the afternoon reading a delicious book. ;) The GGB is enormous and very powerful with its thick beams and heavy cables. I felt like a wee little fish in the big ol'pond. Our friend met us on the other side of the bridge, he had no interest in walking across it, and he drove us along the coast providing us with spectacular scenery. We went to Berkeley for a Turkish dinner, which was delicious and brought back many fond memories of Turkey.

The Planetarium:

It was a short and sweet trip, but well worth it for the location, weather, food, and hanging out with our friends. I would definitely go back there again. Maybe this time, we'll schedule extra time so Nina can visit her mecca, the Cheesecake Factory.