Chamonix and Mont Blanc

Well I never thought I would go to Mont Blanc in the Swiss Alps. This was a place that was in fantasy land. Home of very fancy pens and a destination for the rich, famous, and elite.
But Chamonix was on our itinerary and turns out this is where Mont Blanc is. In fact you can take a cable car up one side of Mont Blanc, the French side, and then take another one down to Italy.
So technically speaking, its not in Switzerland, nor did we actually go onto it as you need full ice treking shoes, picks, ropes and the like. But we did take the cable cars to the very highest point and then went up an elevator and stairs to the summit terrace at 3,842m for a 360° view of all the French, Swiss and Italian Alps, and even stepped into the void - a 2.50 m glass cage out over a 1000 m precipice.
We then walked from Aiguille de Midi to the Mer de Glace. A 3 hour walk at 2000 metres above Chamonix. Very beautiful!

Town village. So pretty!

Tadaa! Made it!

View from above when we reached the top of the zigzag!

Jeremy enjoying a baguette with a view

Pretty mountain flowers with Chamonix far below. This was on the walk from Aiguille de Midi to Mer de Glace. (Mid point on the cable car over to the glacier)

Susan and Jeremy half way up to the mid-point (L'Aiguille de Midi) on the tramway.

Gorgeous flowers along a bridge with a beautiful backdrop - this is becoming my signature composition on this holiday!

Donkey's up on the mountain - these were outside the Refugio and very friendly, looking for nice food from the funny people that come up to visit them

Mountain flowers

Bluebells up on the mountain

The old tramway engine

Gorgeous garden flowers that reminded me of Mum. She loved Dahlias.

Mountain valley flowers

View from the top over the French Alps

See the teeny tiny climbers at the very top!

3800m with Mont Blanc behind us

Standing in the void with 1000ft drop below us!

Almost at the top of the peak on the second cable car.

Looking across to the peak we were about to head up to on the cable car coming towards us.

Standing in the void. The first step was the scariest!

Mid way up at the top of the first cable car - town of Chamonix below and hand gliders across the valley leaping off the peaks on the other side.

Morning view from our room

Town church, Chamonix

Tadaaa! Not every day one gets to do a selfie with Mont Blanc in the background.

Italian Alps and little black specs which are people on the ice.

Panorama of the Alps, French side.

Panorama of the alps, Italian side.

View from out back window. I think I had the posterised filter on my camera on, but its kinda cool - like a vintage postcard.

Mongolian yurt at the back of the place we were staying at. There were two and they are one of the room options you can choose. They made it easy to spot the place 2000ft above when we did out walk!

We got to go inside the glacier, though it was very wet as its right in the middle of Summer.