Alpine adventures, and Italy!

St-Gervais-les-Bains was even more charming in the daylight, when you could see the encircling sunny, snowy mountains, and the river in the gorge below that we could only hear at night. And the cafe and boulangerie we found at the entrance to our car park was a bonus - we bought pains au chocolat in the one, and ate them in the other, in the fresh sunshine. 

After a walk around the town and a stop off in the Tourist Office play area, Jemima snoozed early after her late night, so Kevin and I made the most of it with an al fresco lunch in the main square, surrounded by French families. Then Kevin and Jemima headed up the mountain in a cable car for the main event: playing in the snow! There was snowman building and sliding down hills and sitting in deckchairs on a mountain top: proper Alpine fun. (I wimped out due to my cable car fear; I drank hot chocolates in the sunshine in the town instead, one of my favourite mountain experiences.) 

And then we were off again. Only half an hour later, after the lengthy Mont Blanc tunnel, we emerged in Italy! And it doesn't feel like that long since we left the UK. A spot en route for the night, then dinner in Beatrix, and I'm ready to practice my first Italian tomorrow. Goodbye snow, ciao Italia!

(I can't add photos for some reason, will do it tomorrow. In the meantime, we are in a place called Chatillon.)

St-Gervais-les-Bains to Chatillon: