Pruzilly to Chamonix Mont Blanc

DAY 18 - Pruzilly to Chamonix 22/10/2007

Triumph! I managed to order a cheese burger happy meal, with wedges and Fanta. However, I am not sure that raw apple and grapes were my choice of dessert and why do I have some disgusting UHT milk drink? I guess my theory to provide the man at the counter with pre-rehearsed answers sort of worked. We went to Geneva, Switzerland today to check on our Swiss bank account, not. Geneva is a big city, not quite as polluted as Basel. The lake was large and choppy; no wonder Team Alinghi did so well for a land locked country.

The wind was too strong for the two America's Cup sailors so their Dad tied them to the deck...

We passed through for all of twenty minutes, enough for a photo and a foot on the ground to say we had been there. The wind was so cold we drove on to France. Not back the way we came, but on to the Mont Blanc area which is bordered by so many countries. Chamonix, the town at the base of Mont Blanc is a giant version of Ohakune with very steep tree covered mountains. Mont Blanc was already a white mountain and the skiers were flocking to the village for the new season. We, however, just did the tourist shops and escaped lightly with a St Bernard dog and NZ$16 of Swiss chocolate.

I have now eaten Swiss, Belgium and French chocolate in a fortnight, but nobody makes it quite like Cadburys of Dunedin. An English couple passing the van stopped to kindly give us directions to the free campsite and when I spoke he said “...not more bloody Kiwi’s, you are everywhere”.

My feelings exactly! There were even some at Mont Blanc.

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