Chamonix - Hiking to Chalet La Floria

On Friday I decided to go back to the hiking trail I had done on Wednesday and try again to find the Chalet La Floria. On Wed afternoon we had set off to find it without luck. Not that it was supposed to be hard to find but but after walking for an hour had not found the chalet so had turned back. Today the weather was splendid for a hike and with fresh determination to see the Chalet, I set off again.

This time I was in luck. Somehow last time we had taken a wrong turn. This time I took great care to be mindful of the map and was able to find it.

Everywhere in Chamonix the views are just splendid, but this view was very special.

I had a fizzy lemonade and took in the view before setting on a different route.

I walked forward on the path and it descended to the next village in the valley - Lac des Praz at a golf course called Le Parqdis at the Paz. It was a quick descent with short steep switchbacks. I wished I had my hiking poles.

There was a lovely scenic route along the river on the way back from des Praz.

The glacial runoff from Mer de Glacé joined with the clear mountain stream from the other side and at that point the river was two colours. The river which originated from the glacier was milky-white/beige while the other river was clear as you can see from the photo above. The clear river was joining the larger glacial fed river from the upper right.

At a point further along some the glacial water was routed to a settling pond and they were harvesting sand from the runoff.

I am writing this as I sit at a cafe by the Train Station eating a breakfast of bacon and egg baguette. A bit much for me, but i will be on trains all day so want a full tummy as I set out. I am on my way to my overnight stop at Genoa, Italy before I carry on to my next stop Riomaggiore in the Cinque Terre. I will arrive in Genoa near midnight and take the first availble train onward in the morning. I had originally thought that I could get to Cinque Terre in one day and had planned 3 nights in each of Chamonix and Cinque Terre. I had to give up one of my nights in Cinque Terre when I found it impossible to do the journey in one day. But if I can get an early train I will have the added benefit of a scenic train ride through the length of the Cinque Terre and the 5 Villages, in the light of morning.

I must say that I am questioning the value of the Eurorail Pass, given the difficulties I have had in getting tickets to destinations and the additional costs I have incurred for tickets when I am unable to use the pass and for reservations when there are seats. I will do a cost comparison at the end of my trip to see what the tally is. In any event, if one of the main reasons to have a Eurorail pass is for flexibility but there are no tickets available for pass holders when you go to get the ticket, I can't see why one would bother buying a pass. I would have done better just to fix my itinerary and buy my tickets before my trip.