Chamonix 28 September 2012

In Chamonix we parked the bus under the cable car to the Aiguille du Midi. We were welcomed to this big parking lot by our new neighbors, a young couple from the North of France living in a big semi truck rebuilt to be their home as they traveled to work seasons. We were invited inside for some drinks and some puffs which turned into a little party when some of their friends joined the living area of their truck.We had a fun evening and the next morning as we pushed our bikes up the hill, they pulled out a four wheeler from their trunk and drove off to the center of Chamonix ;) what else can you pull out of there?!

We also rode to town but using our legs as an engine and set off to find a guidebook for climbing!! We were told to go climb in Barberine near the Swiss boarder for some nice climbing and while searching for the topo, Raffi saw a potential highline spot in a guide and wanted to go check it out.We made pictures of the topo and We went climbing in Barberine on a technical vertical wall which was sufficient to challenge us. We headed off to the Aiguilles Rouges Natural Park in Argentiere to spend the night and go search for this highline spot.

We decide to push the bikes up the path that goes through the reserve of the Aiguilles Rouges for a little run, little did we know that we would hike up, down, push, carry, climb, downhill and end up in Chamonix City drinking a 10euros pint that evening!! We pushed and carried the bikes up the trail and started traversing over in direction of chamonix, we were now on the trail to the Lac Blanc; a very nice hike up to some lakes around 2000metres high with view on the Mont Blanc chain that will take your breath away more than the hike itself! Turns out we had traversed over the towers we were looking for to set up a highline so we parked the bikes and started hiking down to find The spot... The Aiguillettes d'Argentiere were there perfectly standing and waiting to be highlinked and walked accross... We will come back the next day for rigging but now back to the bikes for some downhill! Once we had traversed all the way to the top of La Flegere above Chamonix we could get our minds into proper downhill gear because a proper downhill track was waiting to lead us all the way down to Chamonix. :=) About a 20min ride down to reach the town, awesome single track through the woods with some north shores making the ride an exciting way back down, rewarding so much pushing and carrying. We got to the bottom completely destroyed, our fingers could barely hold the handle bar and our legs were shaky, what a day!! A couple of pints sound like they will fill the gap but surprise! beers in Chamonix will make a bigger gap in your budget..Raffi freaked out when we paid 6 euros for each beer.. welcome to Chamonix :)

The rigging was a long process being that I am pretty clueless to this new sport therefore a little helpless but will get better with time and practice..

The down rigging however was quite a soaking experience: while Raffi was walking the line it starting drizzling and by the time he had gotten to the end of it, it was pouring... so happy down rigging!!!

Amazing line, some nice pictures, so worth it for sure and we can now laugh about the stress and tension the weather put us through..;)

Off to Switzerland for some wine tasting...

Annecy, France 26-28 September 2012

Annecy turned out to be a pit stop. I wanted to visit my friends before going off to travel with the bus. I have a couple adresses I can call home in Annecy and one of them is in Pringy with Muriel and Stephane. We stayed there the first night and Raffi got motivated to start working on the bus. Muriel found some mattresses she wasn't using and they fit perfectly in the sleeping area: we now have a proper bed (nicer then the 4cm thin foam covering the wooden boards making the bed...) Merci Muriel!!
Off to my second home to Florine, my good friend since high school who is now back in her home town after studying for the past few years in the wine country, it's nice to have her back in the mountains for a visit after not seeing each other for 6 months. It's a long time but for us it's like we were hanging out yesterday, good friends all the way!
Annecy is a nice town when you are on the lake side and in the old town walking through the little streets or strolling along the river going through the old town where many cafes and restaurants are. My favorite thing to do when I get to Annecy after being away from France is to make a first stop in a chosen bakery for a good croissant and a pain au chocolat and then I head to . La Brasserie St Maurice, the restaurant owned by Muriel and Stephane and enjoy a coffee with my freshly baked goods.. mmmmmm... trop bon!!!
Today, no croissant but a girls reunion in memory of the good times during high school where we would always meet Florine Anais and I at a small coffee in the old town where we would spend hours, talking over the weekend'S party, gossiping about the boys we fancied, listening to Anais's endless stories and to the songs she wrote, creating our futures; Florine in her pink pick up truck pimpin' it throughout ski resorts world wide, Anais becoming a famous Reggae Dancehall Sista to all the Jah Rastafaries of La Clusaz! And I would be wondering around the world making my dreams come true...
So here we are almost 10 years later; Florine is now a wine pro taster driving an Audi A4 or something like a nice Audi, Anais is living in Paris but remains attached to Clusaz ciy and its neighborhoods, and I wonder around in my new home on weels and when my dreams don't come true, well... I find new ones...!

Rafi had no luck with Annecy, no english speakers, no slacklining, no climbing ( there is a lot of climbing for sure but we had no time on this pit stop), no vegan spreads... Sorry Raffi, but let's go to Chamonix now.