Leaving Arles, we set out for Chambéry. I needed to show the Freemans my “home away from home”. Plus, they needed to drop me off since they would be taking the car back to Paris in a couple days so I needed to get back to Chambéry, of course!
We arrived in town pretty early, early enough for lunch. After lunch, we just walked around the old village of Chambéry, looking at the shops and trying to find shade since we were still having the heatwave. We got a sense of what the village was like, but many of the shops were closed since it was a Monday and that is the culture of France, that many businesses are closed on Sunday and Monday after being open on Saturday (and maybe part of Sunday). We did manage to find an outdoor restaurant/bar that served Belgian style ales, so we had to stop (or rather I had to stop).
The next day, we headed for the mountains. Everyone needs to see Chamonix and that is exactly where we went, Chamonix in the shadow of Mont Blanc. And this is what I told the Freemans… that they needed to see Chamonix. I think they were a little bit skeptical of my enthusiasm.
We drove the route that goes through Megève which is a twisty, curvy road. It is a slow drive with the windy roads and slow moving traffic along the way. But it is French ski country, so it was scenic. Eventually, we arrived in Chamonix, but I convinced them that we should keep driving up valley toward the border with Switzerland. We did stop at one of the small villages along the way to get something to tide us over until lunch later in the day. We drove up to a small pass and had a short downhill drive until we came to the Swiss border. Technically, we were not allowed to drive the rent-a-car across any borders, so I parked the car in a wide spot in the road and let Lee, Mary, and Nicole walk across the border so they could brag that they went to Switzerland too. They didn’t do much except to say they went there.
Returning to Chamonix, we found one of the main tourist areas which consisted of carless streets with restaurants and shops of all kinds. One of the shops was a sun glasses shop which happened to sell Ray Ban’s. And it just happened that I had a pair of Ray Ban’s that had lost a screw on one of the frame bows (which Lee did a total MacGiver temporary fix). I asked if they had a proper screw to repair them and they said to leave them and come back in 20 minutes. That was just enough time to stroll along the tourist streets and see what Chamonix had to offer. After 20 minutes, we returned to the sun glasses place and they indeed had my glasses repaired. At no cost even. Who said the French were rude!
Time for lunch! There were a lot of choices in Chamonix as you would expect. We chose the Rose Du Pont which turned out to be an excellent choice. It was right next to the Arve River which flows right through the village. It was pretty early in the year, so the river was flowing pretty fast. We saw a few rafts go by as we ate as a matter of fact. During lunch, I think we all agreed that everyone needs to see Chamonix! and they certainly were glad they did.
Well, it was all over but the shouting as they say. We drove back to Chambéry, had dinner and went to the hotel in Chambéry for one last night. Lee, Mary, and Nicole would be leaving in the morning and I would be on my own for a while.
I think we accomplished a lot on our France Road Trip. We saw some of the most well known sights in France, and a few that were off the beaten path (which is always fun). I think the Freemans enjoyed it. I know I did, and it is aways good to see my great friends, especially on an epic vacation!