Day 1 - June 28, 2024 (Canada/Germany/France, Toronto to Frankfurt to Geneva to Chamonix)

We did not get much sleep on the plane from Toronto to Frankfurt. I made the mistake of asking about the ingredients in the meal (chicken cacciatore or truffle macaroni & cheese) to ensure there were no hidden eggs/nuts for Miles' allergies, which led to prolonged, earnest attempts to find answers (none forthcoming in the end - it is hard to believe there wasn't a list of ingredients handy on the plane). Finally, I said to give one of each kind of dinner to me and Miles (Mark, across the aisle, had already been served), and that Miles would test and eat whichever one seemed fine, so we were at least 30 minutes later getting to eat than everyone else. But, finally, we ate and then did our best to sleep. Miles figured he got 2 hours; Mark and I got none.

Frankfurt was stressful. We knew it would be a tight connection (only 1 hour) but an Air Canada agent had reassured us we would not need to go through passport control until Geneva, and that our connecting flight was close by in the same terminal. The first was wrong (both passport control plus security, where we got diverted to a different room with a sloooow line, after which we got permission to switch back, then directed to the crew's line for passport control, but the couple at the front took so long that we were overtaken by a crowd of crew members with priority), and the second was both wrong and right (we had to get from gate B to gate A, which was a 10 minute walk that we partly ran, then a shuttle bus ride on a winding route amongst many buildings, that took us back... right near where we had disembarked from our first flight!).

Miles fell asleep so quickly on the second flight to Geneva (only 40 minutes) that when we woke him to get off, he asked what was wrong with the plane, and were we going to have to take a different one, not realizing we had already both taken off and landed!

We found our suitcases without any trouble, then found the Mountain Drop-Offs counter. After about 20 minutes we were on our way with the rest of the full van. We all slept for most of the 1.25 hour ride.

We were pleasantly surprised with how impressive our hotel, La Folie Douce, appeared. It was just after noon, and we would need to wait 4 hours for our room. We got lunch at a nice, shady patio nearby (named Irish Coffee): Pizzas for me and Mark, chicken tenders and fries for Miles, which was decent, but not spectacular. Miles did, however, have fantastic raspberry sorbet for desert.

By this point we were very tired, since we had been up for almost 22 hours. It was also very hot - 30 degrees Celsius. And it was busy - it was the weekend of the Mont-Blanc Marathon, with the finishing line in Chamonix. We lounged on the grass in a shady area by a church, then visited the Musée des Cristaux. They had an incredible collection - both crystals and minerals from the Alps, as well as other international locations. Some of the large crystals were welcome for visitors to touch, which was a bonus.

At 4:00 pm we finally got our room. It was tiny (1 single bed plus 3 bunk beds), but we were all grateful to have a rest. After a nap, we headed down to the terrace which had lots of lounge seating, drinks, and the Kids' Palace - a giant trampoline subdivided into 8 sections. Miles enjoyed a lot of bouncing before we walked through town to the Super U grocery store to pick up some food for dinner (both because we felt the need for something healthy after all the airport/plane meals, and also because they had warned us at check-in that restaurants would be packed with all the marathon visitors): Apples, cucumbers, and Comté cheese, along with some leftover pizza and fries from lunch (Miles: "All I want is a cucumber"). We relaxed and ate in our room, while rewatching the Barbie movie. 

Then we went back out for a leisurely walk through town, more sorbet (mango for Miles, gingerbread-lemon for Julie) and cheering on the marathon runners (who were completing 90 km, having started at 4:00 am - how did they do it in the incredible heat?). Then, more bouncing! When we went to bed at 9:30 pm, we all fell asleep promptly.


Lunch at Irish Coffee

Beautiful flowers surrounding the bridges and walkways around the Arve River

Paroisse Saint Bernard du Mont-Blanc

Musée des Cristaux

Crowded streets along the final stretch of the marathon route

View of the nearby Mer de Glace glacier

Miles and Julie enjoying the cool air wafting up from the Arve River - like a natural air conditioner in the hot, summer sun

Spinning, climbing playground equipment


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