Sitting on the sidewalk, having a coffee with Ruth and G at the Chamonix Café Bar, I was taken by the silence. Nestled in a valley in the French Alps, Chamonix is surrounded by soaring mountains. In front of us, snow capped peaks, behind, snow laden slopes, inviting, what would need to be very experienced skiers, to take on the all-so-steep grades. Above, cloudless azure skies let the warmth of the afternoon sun rest on us. Around us, a cobbled village square, hosting l’office de Tourisme, l’Eglise Catholique, a stone church, replete with towering spire and bell, ringing out the hours, and the local cinema, adorned with 3D-like murals of cinema makers, set the scene.
As we sat there, the silence arrested us. Chamonix does not permit cars in this part of the village. People spoke only in soft, dulcet sounds. Any conversation that did happen to be caught ‘sang’ the romantic rhythm of the French language. No large supermarket or department store beckoned for customers. Instead, the village hosted a huge variety of boutique specialty stores. Green grocers displayed rich coloured fruit on stands outside their stores, and customers strolled the promenades, in no hurry. Commercialism was so subtle as to be hardly evident, and life’s pace, easy.
Entering Italy
Driving through the 13km tunnel under Mont Blanc, we emerged into Italy. The golden leaves of the autumn trees were stunning. While only about a quarter of the leaves still adorned the trees on the French side, to give a suggestion of Autumn grandeur, Italy boasted a full show! Golden poplars reached high, as though praising their Creator. Here too, the mountain ranges were capped with snow, to crown the beauty. Our one regret was that there was no provision to pull over into a parking bay to savour this beauty. Rather, we were rushed into a series of another 20kms of descending tunnels, to quickly lose sight of this touch of Heaven. 20th century technology had provided a sharp way to cut through the mountains, to quickly arrive at the plains of northern Italy.
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