I Went INSIDE A GLACIER ... Chamonix-Mont Blanc, France

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After class today Marc and I decided to hop in the car and go on an adventure! We ended up in Chamonix-Mont Blanc, France. As border control was "closed" today it was easy to drive right across the border without a glance from the dark customs unit. We knew Mont Blanc was a famous mountain in the Alps but unfortunately, we were both pretty uneducated as to what it looked like or which mountain we were looking for. Alas, we came upon the town of Chamonix, a charming little village at the base of Mont Blanc. The tourist office gave us directions to Mer de Glace and we hopped on a train that took us straight up the side of the mountain. A lovely French man explained to us that the glacier is actually moving at about 1cm per minute and will most likely not exist at all in 20 years. A gondola ride straight down the mountain (and about 200 stairs in the process) led us to this amazing glacier cave! We were able to walk right into the glacier and touch the ice. It was such a sight to see all these people clad in hiking boots with packs and gear, and me in my flip flops, Prada sunglasses and tiffany jewelry. Oh but I kept up and passed half of their lazy bums even in my summer attire. We were definitely a bit chilly, but the awe of just being there, in a glacier cave on the side of Mont Blanc, pretty much took away the cold from the air.

After we returned back to Chamonix we had dinner and embarked for Leysin. I have to admit that although I am proud to say that I can drive in Central London and in NYC, this was the scariest drive I have ever taken. There are no lights along the windy mountain roads connecting Switzerland to France and they are lacking quite a few barriers along the route. It seems as if they are pretty content just having a road and will not scar the natural beauty with misfit light fixtures. Border patrol of course was still closed and we drove right on over the border, only to stop and take a picture of the closed down station.

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