April 13 - Chamonix - Aiguille du Midi 12,605 feet high - On top of the world!

An exciting day! We get up early to take the ride up to the Aiguille (needle) du Midi, 12,605 feet high, and enjoy the clear skies. Before we head out, we make sure we enjoy a cappuccino and chocolate croissant at a cafe.

I have lots of pictures here - I just wanted to post them all so you can enjoy! 

Zoomed in view of the Aiguille du Midi early in the morning from our hotel balcony - with the moonrise behind it. 

There are actually two cable cars. The first stops at what is called Plan de l'Aiguille. We are waiting for the next cable car. The Aiguille is still so much higher up! 

It's SO fascinating up here! The amazing thing is that people come up here and ski at their own risk. In this picture, skiers are slowly and carefully making their way down a roped path to the open area. They need crampons on their boots and hold on tight!
Ten years ago I was here with my sister. There were no ropes and we saw about 5 people roped together walking that skinny ridge! 

Same view more panned out

Here you can see just exactly how perilous it is for those skiers! The valley and town of Chamonix is way down on the left - so small!

Looking off one of the walk-ways up there, Rick spots some mountain climbers. I can't imagine how they got there and where they are going - it's frightening to watch! Ok, to find them, look at the white strip of snow in the middle of the picture... on the left in the white strip, you see one dot. If you zoom in, you'll see several people. Scary scary! 

Me in front of this funny rock! 

The funny rock again - with a construction site on the left!

Panoramic of the area

View west with valley down on right

There are two parts to the Aiguille, connected by a walkway/tunnel. Gives you an idea how high we are! Amazing to know there are bathrooms and restaurants up here! 

Closer look at the funny rock - see the workers on the left?

Now check out this guy chopping away at something on the side of the mountain! How much does he get paid for that job?! 

Rick in one of the ice tunnels, which leads to the top of the roped walkway out to the snow field to ski. 

The sign at the top of this roped walkway. Ski at your own risk! 

Sign says no access for pedestrians. It's only for risk-taking skiers with crampons! See them down in the distance?

Ok ok, I know I have a similar picture - but I told you I'm sharing them all! 

One of the skiers getting ready to go out. This is not just skiing - see the ropes, carabiners, ice picks and all. Yikes! He and another guy were going out with a girl, and I heard her say that she was finally completing something from her bucket list. Oh, not me! 

Breathtaking Alps

Breathtaking Alps

Mont Blanc, tall white one in the far back, from one of the terraces on the Aiguille du Midi

I did a vertical panoramic of the Aiguille - the top up there was closed due to renovations. You can see off to the right up there is a glass box - like on the Willis Tower in Chicago, where you can walk into the void!
Now here's something.... Look carefully at the line going up and down in the center of this big rock - it's actually a climbing rope that obviously some use to climb it! Part of the rope is white because it's iced over.
At the bottom of the rock (well, at least in the picture) you can see the windows of one of the tunnels inside. 

There are metal walkways to get to different levels for viewing. 

Me at the top of the world! 

Rick going down the steps

We are now back at the Plan de l'Aiguille - it is still impressively high! 

Rick at the Plan de l'Aiguille, with the valley below in back

At the Plan de l'Aiguille

Back in Chamonix, and lunch in the sun! I must say, every time we go to France, we truly enjoy eating! The food is heavenly!

This guy has been here forever, giving rides in his wagon. 

Notice the umbrella on the horse's head! 

Now we are back on the train heading back to Martigny. Even though we did this train ride the day before, it's still breathtaking and the views are different going in the other direction. This is shortly after leaving Chamonix - one of the next smaller towns. The Aiguille and Mont Blanc can still be seen. 

I try to take a picture that shows how high we are and that the gorge goes way deep below us. 

I see cables running to the little cluster of homes on the opposite ledge. Sometimes there is no other way to get supplies over there than by cable. 

Back in the Swiss side of the valley, we stopped at a small town called Les Marécottes. We explored the town after leaving our bags at the station. This picture shows a typical Swiss barn - where it is propped up and sitting on flat stones. Why? The mice can't get around those flat stones - they slip off, thus, they can't get to the food inside the barn! 

Some remote towns have old bread ovens that the residents used to use - and maybe still do! I'm sure the bread tastes wonderful! 

Beautiful spring flowers coming up in Les Marécottes. 

Les Marécottes

We came upon a small dam up high in Les Marécottes

We continued our way back into the Valais Valley to the town of Brig, where we stayed the night. The weather has been so unusually warm that we were able to have dinner outside in the square, as we did in Chamonix. As we travel down this valley, the language changes from all French, to a mixture of French and German, to German and some Italian.  By the time we arrive in Brig I'm not sure what language to speak! Italy is just over the Simplon (Sempione) Pass just up from Brig. 

I saw this menu from a Mexican restaurant in Brig. The Swiss have always told us it was expensive to eat in a Mexican restaurant in Switzerland. They are right - look at these prices! The franc and dollar are almost equal. 4 Tacos for 39 francs! 29 francs for a Burrito! Wow!