Tour du Mont Blanc
The Tour du Mont Blanc or is one of the most popular long distance walks in Europe. It circles the Mont Blanc Massif covering a distance of roughly 170 km with 10 km of ascent/descent and passes through parts of Switzerland, Italy and France. Having already been to foot of Everest high up in the Himalayas this seemed to be the next logical step for me in my quest to walk some of the best available long distance walks the world has to offer. This is my account of a fantastic adventure with wonderful scenery and great company. I hope you enjoy it.
(Note: This walk is kindly contributed by Neal Lever)
Day 7, 29th June 2012:
Most people have gone when I decided to surface, apart from Lee that is, and the ever-present Lewis. "Coffee" says Lewis. "I don't mind if I do" says I. The day is fine enough with rays of sunshine here and their but the cloud is a little heavy on those mountain tops. After a leisurely breakfast Lee and I stroll to the camp site exit and dive on the bus into town.
Courmayeur's picturesque mountain scenery and healthy mountain air make it an attractive destination all year round. It is one of Europe's most famous ski locations, and contains the Giardino Botanico Alpino Saussurea, which describes itself as Europe's highest botanical garden. In the summer months Courmayeur is a popular destination for hikers. For me the attraction is to sit and watch the world go by. As we walk through the town we go into one of the countless coffee shops that are available but this one has been recommended by Graham and is superb. We sip our coffee and chat for ages whilst watching the stylish Italian people go by. It seems no expense is spared on their attire here and by now we are feeling a little underdressed in T-shirt, jeans and 'thongs'. Only Lee calls flip flops 'thongs' as that is what flip flops are called in Aussie. In Europe thongs are worn in quite a different place, I explain. Anyway no one seems care what we are wearing.
Is it time for a beer? I guess so. We find a fantastic bar with quintessentially bohemian furniture of some style I might add and we decide to settle down for a couple of beers. Lee latches on to the fact that there is WIFI available and we are soon typing the longest password I have ever seen into our phones. I mean, I understand they are supplying this service to paying customers but do they comprehend how difficult it is to type in this long code after several beers? By the way that Sergio behind the bar was laughing I guess they do. After about four attempts I am logged into Facebook, Twitter and I just catch up with home, it feels good.
Courmayeur
Home for the day
After several beers we decide to have a lavish meal (not that there was anything wrong with your tucker Lewis) at a nearby restaurant we spotted on our stroll through town which was full of local people. We fit right in. Bellissimo! The locals have not spotted that we have already had a few beers and that we are ready to order. Having deliberated over our wine choice for what seems like ages we allow the delightful waitress to choose a local red from the Valle d'Aosta which is home to the highest elevated vineyards in all of Europe. The wine is some of the best I have tasted but I fear it is wasted on my ever-diminishing palate (too many ales) but still it washes down a truly magnificent meal.
We stagger back to the bar and settle in for a few more beers to Sergio's amazement and before we leave we are awarded a barman's shirt. I guess he was impressed with my Italian but more likely he was impressed by the vast consumption of beer and the duration of our drinking session. We catch the bus back to the campsite as we are going out tonight to a local restaurant with the rest of the gang. I wonder if they will notice that we are well and truly, pickled.
I guess they all noticed but no one seemed to mind. Unfortunately the chair lift was closed over the Vallëe Blanche Aerial Tramway which was a shame. Dinner was good and we awarded Ted our ill-gotten gains (the barman's T shirt) which he received in good spirit. In fact he wore it on several more occasions.
I don't remember going to bed.
