Chamonix

Yesterday we went to Chamonix. By the time we got home, ate and watched the soccer game I was too tired to write about it. Brian was very excited for us to take a trip to Chamonix. He went in college and loved it. Obviously it was a little different this time. Chamonix is a super cute ski town about an hour and a half from where we're staying. We arrived a little car sick from all the twists and turns but ready to explore. We stopped for lunch before heading up to Mont Blanc. Brian wanted to go back to this burger place he remembered from his last trip. It was good but I don't think it lived up to his memory.

One of the big things to do in Chamonix is to take the tram up to the top of the Aiguille du Midi. We've already talked about my fear of heights, right? Worse than my fear of heights is my claustrophobia. So being smashed into a tram with a billion people going straight up to the top of a mountain is basically my version of hell. As soon as the doors closed I thought I was going to lose it. It took everything I had not to start banging on the doors to get someone to open them and let me out. Thankfully I was able to calm myself down. I closed my eyes and hoped it was at least a short trip. We arrived at the first stop and boarded another, equally terrifying tram to go further up. Of course after that tram there was an elevator to go even further up. The top of the Aiguille du Midi is 12,602 ft. Once you arrive at the top you can go out in this glass box. They call it Pas Dans Le Vide, Step into the Void. You can see from the pictures I wasn't super thrilled about being there. It was scary but not nearly as bad as the tram.

When we got back to the ground we set out for souvenirs. The kids can't go anywhere without getting a stuffed animal. We are going to need a stuffed animal suitcase to get them all back. While we were searching for the perfect stuffed animals we came across a real life one. This giant St. Bernard!! He was too cute. Don't tell Klondike but we all fell in love with him. We couldn't leave Chamonix without trying some macarons from Cote Macaron. This place was amazing. Everything in there looked almost too good to eat. That didn't stop us from eating all of it.
Our great day was almost ruined when Reilly stepped onto a manhole cover that wasn't properly secured. He fell halfway in. Brian and I thought for sure we were going to have to take him to the hospital. Luckily he just ended up with some cuts and scrapes. Unfortunately in the commotion the macarons got a little smashed, but they still tasted fabulous.