Chris’s Blog entry:

Last week was a week to remember.  It was our school’s trip to the Savoie Region of France.  There are a lot of beautiful towns and cities in this area (Chamonix, Chambery, Grenoble).  We stayed in a small village called ‘Lescheraines’, which was fairly close to Albertville, France (Winter Olympics host in 1992).  Savoie would probably be classified as a pre-Alps area.  Most of the elevations are under 2000 meters; however, towering close by are the snow-capped peaks of the Alps and Mt. Blanc (tallest mountain in Europe).

It was an incredible week filled with kayaking, canyoning, via corda (rock climbing), and swimming.  The highlight for me was an overnight hike that we took to a mountain refuge.  We took a long, winding bus ride to a drop off point, then proceeded to hike another 5 hours to our destination.  The scenery was absolutely breathtaking, and we were never very far from the sounds of cow bells.

When we finally got to the refuge we were greeted by our hosts and invited in for a comfort
dinner of pork stew with polenta, homemade wine, and a selection of local cheeses.  The refuge was very rustic inside.  No running water, lots of candlelight, and a huge, stone fireplace. After dinner we went outside to stargaze, and later sat by a bonfire making s’mores (S’mores in the Alps!). We woke early the next morning and packed up quickly so that we could hike to our bus which was 3 hours away.  Along the way we passed a meadow filled with horses that were grazing.  The kids started taking pictures, and before we knew it, we were surrounded by about 20 horses.   When we continued along, they walked with us for about 30 minutes, and wouldn’t leave our sides.  Very cool experience.

After saying goodbye to Savoie, we headed back to Paris.  The weather is still hot here (29/30), and the workload at school is beginning to fill every second of the day.  But I’m very grateful that I have the memories of my time in the Alps to recall if I ever need to take a short mental holiday.

CW