Hiking the GR6, GR5 & Tour du Mont Blanc 

DAY 29: Saturday June 30th - Les Contamines REST DAY: 0k, 0hrs: Blue Hazy skies, hot, 18°C to 32°C

Today is our first rest day in 3 weeks since leaving Donna and Milton's villa at Fombeton.  It gave us a chance to do lots of washing, sort out a bag of stuff to leave in Les Contamines so we can pick it up when we finish the tour de Mont Blanc, and buy a few extras like gloves for me and night shoes for Ian.  All carried out in the magic of the valley of Les Contamines.

We almost sleep in - til 7.30am - do a bit of phoning home, then stroll dowstairs to a beautiful breakfast buffet of meusli, hot bread, jam, yoghurt, juice and really hot tea.  I eat too much considering we're doing nothing today.  Again we are the misfits in the dining room but the staff are really nice and obliging.  We stroll downtown to buy a few things - tomatoes, honey, nuts and bread - the bread in this part of France has a hard crusty outside with thin bread inside - that's how they like it here.  In other parts of the country they like it soft and sour doughy.  We like soft squishy bread.  

I also want a pair of shorts - I left mine behind to save weight, preferring my 3/4 tights, but it's been so hot the past few days, I need my legs to breathe instead of feeling clingy.  Ian also wants a pair of night time shoes - his Nike Pegassus that he wears at night time take up 1/4 the volume in his backpack, so there's no room for all the cheese I buy. We'rein luck.  I try on 3 pair of shorts and choose a pair ofColombia - khaki colour, light and lots of pockets.  Ian finds a pair of light squashable shoes - they're a cross between soft slippers and snow shoes.  He didn't want a pair of crocs like everyone else - someone might think he's copying them.  

Back at the hotel, it's time to boil the billy on the bathroom floor for a coffee. It's now midday and I'm bored already.  Ian's happy to sit and play with his Samsung tablet all afternoon and watch the start of the Tour de France which is just a Prologue but I decide to go shopping in Chamonix - I don't really need anything, but if I do find something, I can leave it here in Les Contamines.  I catch the 1.20 bus -  it descends 500 metres down a winding mountain road to the SNCF train station in St Gervais.  Then catch the train, the Mont Blanc Express into Chamonix.  It's getting really hot - already past 30°C, and the streets are teeming with tourists.  Normally you can see Mont Blanc from every street in Chamonix.  Today it's shrouded in dark ominous thunder clouds.  The weather forecast is for storms tonight and rain the next few days. I ope I'm back before the storm hits.

Chamonix is familiar - we've been here several times before - I head straight for the sports stores - North Face, Colombia and Snells, the local sports store - It's worse than Christmas in Myers.  Tourists, wannabe mountain climbers, hikers, all wanting new gear - and of course there's nothing on special.  I wander around just enjoying the business of Chamonix - all I buy is a black shirt to wear home in the plane in case I don't have anything clean, 2 black rubber knobs for the end of my trekking poles (for next time we come), a pair of waterproof gloves for when my hands freeze in the sleety rain, and I also check out some shorts - just to make sure I bought the best pair back in Les Contamines - I'm happy to find there was nothing better.  I catch the 5.11pm train o St Gervais, then the 6.05pm bus to Les Contamines.  There's still no sign of a storm.  A check of France Meteo tells us teh storms have gone further north - we might be lucky tomorrow.  

While waiting for dinner, we do a collection of about 4kg of stuff we are going to leave behind - Ian's Nike Pegasus alone weigh 850grams, extra Tee shirts we haven't worn, maps now not needed, and a flannelette shirt I lived in last time but now prefer my Exofficio because it has much larger pockets.  The dinner bell rings, it's the old guest house way of announcing dinner and I'm starving since I missed our picnic lunch.  Piping hot spinach soup, cheese on toast with lettuce, followed by chicken and chips, with a large platter of cheese.  Stuffed again.  Time for a walk down the village to check out where the bus leaves from next Tuesday week when we return to Les Contamines to leave for Culoz to see the Tour de France stage.  We've been told it's not the normal spot because Tuesday is market day and the streets are closed.

We find the bus stop easily, but the night air has a coolness compared to the heat of last night - we'll see what the weather brings tomorrow.  It will be an exciting time for the next 10 days to do the Tour de Mont Blanc - the map at the left lists the 10 or so major stops on route.

I'm not sure how I managed to type so much on a rest day, but every day in France is exciting.