The rest of the holiday....

And here's some more about the rest of our holiday.

Our first week here seemed to go very slowly – we had lovely weather and spent a lot of time lazing about. Which was a bit of a mistake, because by the weekend the weather had turned yucky – cold, grey and rainy – not so good when you want to go out sightseeing in the mountains. We should have made the most of the good weather whilst we had it, but how were we to know it would change so dramatically?

So here’s a general recap of our holiday so far:

The whole purpose of this holiday has been a “running camp” for Warren in preparation for the Warsaw Marathon in about 4 weeks time – thus every day has incorporated running of some description, and gaining the benefits of training and living at altitude. We’ve been to Annecy (about an hour from here) a few times so that he could run on the flat alongside the lake – very picturesque. It’s a very tourist oriented town with lots of people around, sailing or on pedal boats on the lake, or cycling or rollerblading along the lakeside. We’ve discovered a nice little beach which is handy to have a quick dip in the cold waters after a run, and then wander through the old town of Annecy, and maybe have a nice ice cream to reward yourself for the good run!

Similarly, we went to Geneva one day so Warren could run at the lake there. It’s even busier than Annecy, very multi-cultural and I swear that everyone seems to be dressed in beautiful clothes, dripping with jewellery and with perfectly coiffed hair (except us in our sweaty running clothes!). The lakeside is a good example of what Perth could look like with a bit of good architecture and town planning – lots of cafes, public gardens, children’s playgrounds, outdoor concerts and buskers. Although I suspect a lot more people visit Geneva than Perth.

One day we went to the St Bernard dog training centre - they’re lovely big friendly dogs, but so sad looking with their big eyes and droopy faces. As per usual with animals, they loved Warren and he was convinced after visiting there that we should get a St Bernard when we get back to Perth, but I’m not so sure – too much drool for my liking!

The whole Chamonix valley is well equipped to support hiking (and skiing in the winter), with cable cars and telecabines or tourist trains up to the main peaks. The most impressive of them is the Aiguille du Midi (3842m), which is reached by two very impressive telecabines and an elevator at the very top. There's a great view of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe and you could see a number of climbers heading off on their climbing attempts.

We also took an old style train up to the Mer de Glace glacier, where they carve an ice cave each year into the depths of the glacier. The other mountain areas we visited were the Prarion peak, Le Brevent and Le Balme - all beautiful areas in their own way. We also enjoyed lots of good food - I've certainly overindulged in cheese, sausage and croissants and pastries - and have a few extra kilos to show for it!! Oh well, we were on holiday and we certainly don't get good food like this in Ghana.

You always hear other travellers say that the French people are not very friendly. I've never found that myself, however I was thinking the other day that whilst no-one here has been rude to us at all, they haven’t been overly friendly either – you only ever get a basic conversation “Bon jour, merci, au revoir... etc” to get things done, but nothing more than that. For example, we’ve been to the same cafe almost every day and the girls there haven’t even cracked a smile yet! If we were in Konongo and went to the same shop every day we would have been best buddies, and they might have even named their first-born after me by now!! I guess its just a different perspective – in Konongo white people are considered very highly, whereas in France anyone who looks or acts remotely English is treated with disdain. I feel like yelling out “I’m Australian, I’m not English!” I definitely miss the friendly people in Konongo, and always having someone to talk to – who would have thought I would miss Konongo while holidaying in France!

Overall we've had a lovely time in the mountains, and it will always have a special place in our hearts now after getting engaged here. Warren's back off to Ghana, and I have a few more days in Paris where I'm meeting up with my parents. Some more photos of that to follow.