Chamonix: part deux

Because the snow wasn't great, we decided that instead of a third day of so-so skiing (for me) and snowboarding (for Brian) that he would teach me how to snowboard.  He has wanted me to learn ever since we got married, but I was hesitant after growing up & learning how to ski.  When I'd pay 50 bucks or more to get on the slopes, I'd want to take full advantage of paying for that, and spending the day on my butt or with my face in the snow was a less than appealing option.  

This is the gondola that we took the second day to get us up to the top of one of the mountains.  It fit 60+ people, and was a bit scary for me, but very cool!

But, since we had the time, and the snow wasn't nice enough to really feel like I was missing out on a great day of skiing, I set to work to learn.  Thankfully, there aren't photos that exist of my more embarrassing moments... falling down right when I got off the lift, doing a crab crawl because I couldn't get to standing up, aerial 360's as I spectacularly fell down, and the time I did a huge face plant on my way to the lift that knocked all the wind out of me and made me feel like I had run into a brick wall.  

But, lucky for me, I had a great, and very patient teacher, who talked me through it all, and after about 3 hours, I pretty much had it down!  I was turning like a pro (ok, maybe not a pro, but I wasn't falling down) and making my way down the hill while using both edges, front and back.  There was this moment, all of a sudden, when I just 'got' it, which actually surprised me, but was really exciting!  I'm looking forward to trying it again, hopefully when there is better snow, and getting to enjoy it with Brian.

Notice how excited I am that I'm not doing a face plant?

That afternoon, we took some time to head up a different mountian for a bit of sightseeing.  We were close to Mont Blanc, the tallest mountain in the Alps, Western Europe & the entire European Union.  In this photo, it's the big one to the right.






Here's a little map about our trip to the top of Europe:

I could honestly tell that the air was thinner up there, and it was c-o-l-d.

Here's the view of the Chamonix Valley, with the building that we took that gondola to. 

 Liiiiiitle bridge.  See the mountaineers in the background?

I think this was taken right after I stopped myself from saying "I'm on top of the world!"  That would have been nerdy.  But almost true.  I do have a completely new respect for people who do mountaineering... I just took a couple of gondolas and an elevator to a really high point, though we saw people trekking below us.  That would take a lot of strength, fortitude and effort, and for this trip, I was happy with the easy way up :)

And, after spending an hour or so looking around, taking pictures, and having a snack, we headed back to town.  And ended the day in the best way possible :) Enjoying dinner with my love while listening to live music pouring out of the bar across the street, and soaking in everything around us.