I am resting here a bit in the hotel when i spot a device that was not there when i left the room. someone broke into the room and left this laptop, a camera bag, shoes that stepped in cow poop while i was roaming the city. good, now i can continue updating you on current events,
btw- i was in the room for over 5 minutes before i even noticed these additions, great perception skills.
I asked the hotel people to set a wake up call for seven am, a call that never came and i am awoken at 8, by a hungry moti. quickly i get ready and head to our usual morning place, for fresh baguettes and hazel nit spread. soon we leave lovely grenoble and head north east along the Rhone river , in between two mountain ranges. and hour later we were parked in chambery. this city also has an old center and on sturdy morning, the market was busy. it was a farmers market plus some arts and crafts. we obtained a map at the tourist info and walked around for an hour or so. Chambers is nice, but lacking the grenoble magic. we drove up the mountain to a little ski town and began our hike. this mountain is huge when seen from Chambery. it is a massive granite hill at around 1500 meters compared with around 200 for the city. this hike too goes next to ski slopes, but not as steep as the previous day. on the ridge the path meanders in the forest. i don't recognize the trees here, there are some cedar , but the main tree i do not know. the tree has multiple stumps, some five or more. the forest is pleasant with wild flowers along the trail, but the ground is very rocky and i pay careful attention not to snap my ankle. on occasion, view points display a beautiful lake below and sheer cliffs way down.after an hour and a half we reach the end. on the top edge of a hill there is a huge cross that is visible from Chambery below. from here, several mountain ranges are visible including the Alps, but the skies are not as clear as yesterday. still the views are terrific. after a little rest i present moti with options. go back the way we came from, go back via a steep trail or go back via a loop around. he chooses the loop around and we walk along the edge of this huge cliff then we have to descend a section that requires ropes and several metal rings placed against the rocks. this is a short section, but takes us 5-10 minutes to come down. then the trail continues in the forest, but at the bottom of the cliffs. we pass by a very busy deer poop station, but no deer in sight.the forget on this side of the hill feels different, same trees but a bit taller, much older feel. the trail here is not rocky but much narrower as we pass close to lots of wild flowers. at one point i don't look ahead and literally step in it. cow poop... it takes us an hour and a half to return to the car. the drive to Geneva is not long, an hour and twenty minutes, but i fight the urge to sleep. almonds, snacks and slapping my face helps. we drive pass cute villages on the mountain side and green is dominant.
we check in in geneva , and after a restorative shower we take the tram to the city. the goal of evening stroll includes finding the following i n no specific order. good ice cream, lots of interesting things to take pictures of and a shawarma. since we are starving, we start with a shawarma hunt and after 10 minutes give up and head for a tourist trap. the food is good, but very pricy and the fish is quite small. but with a little bread i am full. i escort moti back to the tram and begin my solo tour. I walk all over the old center and no Shawarma in sight. how can this be? in grenoble i passed 4 places in my 2 miles walk. here i walked for six miles and not a single kebab place to be found. I did stop of a nociola and straticella ice cream which was good, then walked along the waterfront of lake geneva. the swiss are everywhere here in droves. this is saturday night and the promenade is full. well passed nine PM, people are swimming in the lake and basking in the sun. i just keep on walking to some lights at the end. i pass a restaurant and almost head back and decide to go a bit further and stumble on a science fair. it is 10 pm and lots of tents have various science demonstrations, well suited for kids , and plenty of them are here, and also telescopes are available. i enjoy seeing many craters on the half full moon this night. the science fair is quite large but all displays are in french and i don't stay long and begin waling back, stop at some snack shop for a water bottle and after six miles i get on the tram. i am sleepy and fail to notice that we reached our stop and see it just as we leave it. i get off at the next stop and see the train will be here in six minutes and decide to walk some more. this is not in the pretty parts, i pass by a car dealership and the airport. this section is dark. with my dangling camera, cap, a water bottle and my pouch i cannot be mistaken to anything but a lost tourist. i run some of the way, the unlit parts just but the airport. of course as i walk back i arrive at the next stop a minute after the train does. these trams are very good, very frequent even late at night. i get back to the hotel, take my sweaty clothes off, open TV where Alien is playing and then i see a lap top... how did it get here?
cheers from Geneva, flying back home tomorrow.
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