So it's been a whirlwind of activity since the parents arrived. The girls have just loved having their gran and papa captive in the chalet, ready for lots of games, songs and stories, and I've enjoyed playing 'tourist' with them for a week.
After some very nice hikes on the week-end (including one up to the Bosson glacier), we tootled off to Martigny, Switzerland on Monday. We had Anna with us because her teacher was on 'strike' on Monday (more on this amazing aspect of the French school system later - but it seems that teachers can just choose to, unilaterally, go on 'strike' and not come to work, and the parents of that class are asked to keep their kids home. At home we would call it 'not going to work', and I wonder if I could get away with it at John Abbott...). It was lovely, actually, to have her company and we enjoyed the spectacular drive there (up and over two mountain passes and lots of hairpin bends with fantastic views), a lunch out and then a visit to the St Bernard Dog Museum. We wanted to visit the Museum of Earth Sciences which is supposedly a 'not-to-be-missed' museum that explains how the Alps were formed and has a recreated mine that you can work through, with lots of information on the rocks and geology of the region, but sadly that was closed (only open on week-ends now, part of the problem of coming in off-season). So we chose to learn about the dogs instead, and it was a lot of fun, even though we didn't actually get our hands on any of the dogs. You could see them in their kennels, but it was strictly hands-off. Still, we learned more about their history, and also the history of the pilgrims who came over the Alps on their way to Rome (the poor souls the dogs and monks often had to rescue). Now, of course, the mountain rescue dog of choice is the lighter and more agile German Shepherd (easier to fit into a helicopter) so the St Bernards have been 'retired'.
Then on Tuesday we headed off to Italy for the day. I had originally just wanted to go to the closest Italian town, just through the Mont Blanc tunnel, called Courmayeur, another ski resort, but this is 'construction season' in the Alps, as everyone takes advantage of the off-season and lack of snow, so the exit was closed, and the detour too long, so we ended up going further down the valley to the old Roman town of Aosta.
It was the first time any of us had been through the Mont Blanc Tunnel, the full 11km through the mountain. I can't say I enjoyed the experience - knowing there was a whole mountain on top of you - but it was interesting. The rest of the drive was even more tunnels - eleven in total (Dad counted on the way back) so we didn't get any good views, but Aosta was fabulous. It was market day, so parking was a nightmare, but once we actually ditched the car we really enjoyed our walk around the town. The old city is closed to cars, so it was really pleasant strolling around the old streets in the sunshine. But if I thought the French lunch break was bad (everything closes here between 12 and 2pm), it's even worse in Italy! I stupidly didn't do my shopping before we stopped for lunch, thinking I'd purchase all my lovely Italian goodies (fresh pasta, olive oil, foccacia etc. after lunch), but the shops didn't reopen until 3/3.30! So I guess I'll just have to go back, and shop EARLY next time.
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