Chamonix :: Col de Balme

For the first week of our summer vacation this year we decided to go to Chamonix. Usually this would be a ski and winter destination for us, but for sometime now we have wondered how the French Alps would be like during the summer. We love hiking, which Chamonix offers in plenty, so when I stumbled upon the Vallorcine Residence & Spa website, and saw that their apartment rental prices were actually not that expensive we decided to go for it.

Vallorcine is a small village about 20 mins drive from Chamonix, and 10 min from Argentiére. It's actually very close to the Swiss border. The Residence was very nice, it's close to the main road but we had an apartment facing the back (towards the mountains and the ski lifts) so it was peaceful and quiet. There's not much going on in Vallorcine, but there were two very good restaurants nearby: L'Arret Bougnette by the train station, and the fabulous La Ferme de 3 Ours up the road. We didn't try the spa but the complex had an indoor swimming pool which we used often, a mini golf course (which Sara loved), even a small playground area for children. Also across the road there was a nice esplanade/café with inflatable and poney rides, which on Saturday also featured a small flea market.and where I found some lovely old French childrens' books.

On our first hiking day we decided to try an easy route and go up to Col de Balme. We drove to Le Tour and caught the chairlifts up to the top, leaving us at an altitude of 2186 m.

:: enjoying the beautiful views all the way around

:: from the top of the chairlifts we walked first to the Refuge

:: where there was a bit of snow fun

:: and then walked on to the Croix de Fer

  :: some bits of snow here and there to walk over

:: took a peek at the Lac de Bossons

:: and finally picked a nice spot with a view for our picnic lunch

:: where someone loved picking wild flowers

:: then we decided to go down to the chairlifts again by a different route

Hike Duration: from 9:00 to 14:00, with a lot of stops in between
It's a nice family hike, very easy even with a small toddler

beautiful Vienna

A report from our mini-trip to Vienna last month.

A. had a workshop followed by a conference there so me and S. took the opportunity and joined him there for a few days.

We had been in Vienna a few years ago but my memories from that visit were not very impressive (there was a lot of construction going on) so this visit was a much more enjoyable surprise. I loved Wien/Vienna -  it's a city where I could see myself happily living in, and it was great for visiting with a toddler since there seemed to be a park (and playground) in almost every corner.

:: the famous Schonbrunn view from the palace to the Gloriette 

:: film festival at the Rathaus

:: enjoying a nice lunch at the food stalls between the Rathaus and the Burgtheater

::S. enjoying the rides with grandma at a playground near the Rathaus

:: at a park near the Votiv church

:: Volksgarten or the Rose Garden

:: Visiting the Museumsquartier - I'm not a fan of modern art in general, but we went to the Leopold Museum just to see the Klimt paintings

 :: at Schloss Belvedere

 :: making faces ... and picking flowers at the Vienna State Opera

 :: hummmm .... having tea (and the obligatory Sacher torte) at Café Mozart near the Albertina

:: having dinner at Purstner. Loved the decoration of this typical restaurant

:: at the gardens of Schloss Belvedere. We loved it here, it was a great place to spend a couple of hours just exploring the grounds

:: dinner at Salm Brau. A. loved the local beer, and I really enjoyed their specialty ribs.

On Saturday a friend took us on a tour of the Wachau Valley, known for it's vineyards and wineries.

We visited the village of Durnstein, and hiked all the way up to the castle ruins, where King Richard I Lionheart of England was held captive by Duke Leopold V of Austria after their dispute during the Third Crusade. It offers amazing views of the valley from the top ...

 We also visited Melk monastery.

And the highlight of the day - dinner at one of the many local wineries in the region.  Dinner is served outside, among the vineyards. Our friend told us that these local wineries are only open as a restaurant at certain times of the year. Usually only cold food (cheese, sausages, etc) are served, but this one actually served some hot meals too. It was the perfect ending to a really nice day (thanks Andy !)

Look for this sign outside the wineries - it means that it's open and serving food !