Unwinding

Chris decided to hire a car today, for tomorrow. So, todays mission was to find one. We were also due to move to another chalet as today was the last day of our Icicle contract. When we told Sarah where we were due to go she had a fit of laughter, which wasn’t a good sign. Apparently the place is a nightmare, so we inquired about extending our stay in our current apartment. Sarah sorted it for us and it actually worked out cheaper, she also organized our airport transfer on Monday.

With all of that sorted we went back upstairs much relieved that we didn’t have to pack up. Steve decided to take a picture of Chris in his pants, with a fag hanging out his mouth, an Icicle T-Shirt, climbing helmet and cooking sausages, for Kingsley. This caused much mirth. While they were out I grabbed a couple of hours to myself, the first in all the time we had been here. It was good just to chill and try and take in what we had achieved.

The guys returned with a framed picture of Chris on his pants and the news that we were to pick up the car at 6pm. It was great to not have Mont Blanc, or the mountains in our heads anymore. The had been offloaded for the first time in 6 months. I guess it was today when thoughts of home really started to kick in.

We picked the car up at 6 and drove up to the Mont Blanc tunnel with the intention of going to Italy, just to have a look and maybe some pasta. When we arrived at the toll it was 34 euros, far to expensive for just a quick visit, so we headed back up the valley onto Switzerland.

We drove passed Les Drus which looked amazing. A real forefinger shaped mountain with the moon nestled on it’s shoulder. Switzerland looked no different than France, though we never stopped for long enough to mingle with the locals. The trip was more of a practice run, so Chris could get to grips with driving on the wrong side of the road.

We returned to the flat and went to a local Japanese restuarant. It was Chris’s idea to get some fresh and ‘clean’ food. Both Steve and Chris ordered some beef dish while I had Sushi.

On returning from the toilet, Chris had a particularly satisfied looking cheesey grin on his face. He gestured to the toilet saying that we had to try it. A bit bemused I wandered down into the most sofisticated latrine I had ever seen. The seat was heated and a rather impressive control panel allowed you to set temperature and oscilation. It also had a button for both front and rear wash cycles. A function that simply stated ‘wand wash’ will remain a mystery, until we come across that particular model again, who knows maybe one day all cludgies will be like this?

Chris had arranged to meet Jodie, Anne Marie and Liam for a pint afterwards, so we headed down to where they were at.

On the way down an old cobbled street we passed an open set of shutters where a young girl was standing and singing the most beautiful aria. She was singing to no one and yet to all who passed under her window. It was do French that we all smiled at each other as we passed the moment like it was a secret.

Jodie hadn’t made it to the summit due to some nugget called Terry getting altitude sickness 250m from the top.

We had a pleasant evening with them, witnessing a bizarre stag night in the process. There seemed to be a bit more than a passing attraction between Chris and Jodie, she was lovely and the two seemed well matched. Phone and emails were exchanged and we stumbled off home, full of beer and memories.

Anyone for a wand wash?