Our Raclette Introduction

Our first full day in Italy was our first rest day, and we celebrated by having a lie in and doing some washing.

Our priority though was to explore Italy, but to do so by cable car, rather than on paw, as it was supposed to be a rest day. We didn't want to be too lazy though, or lose hard earned physical condition,  so we walked the couple of kilometres or so, down to the cable car station.    

The Funivie Monte Bianco took us on an interesting journey, and took us so high that it felt as if we were going to the top of Mont Blanc.

The top was actually the Rifugio Torino, which was at a pretty high altitude of 3329m. This is well into the altitude sickness zone, but fortunately we weren't there long enough to suffer any ill effects. The refuge is one used by serious mountaineers, often those attempting the summit of Mont Blanc and it was in serious ice axe and crampon territory.

It was absolutely freezing cold and there was almost no visibility at all. It did make us wonder what the attraction of high altitude mountaineering is. There must be some powerful pull to compensate for that mind and bone numbing cold. Perhaps when the sun is out it seems very different.

The attraction for us bears though was the control room. It was nice and sheltered, if not warm, and there were lots of fascinating dials and levers for us to fiddle with. At our paw tips we had everything we needed to drive cable cars all the way across into France. Amazing and great fun!

 Our minders had to drag us away. They were keen to descend to the half way stop of Pavillon which at 2173m meant positively balmy temperatures (it's all relative). Our cable car ticket included entrance to the botanic gardens, which are the highest in Europe. We wandered round for a bit but then went in search of a spot of lunch. The food in the restaurant was very good and reasonably priced.

As we descended still further, the views started to return, and we looked out the window at the Italian ski resort town of Courmayeur.

We caught a local bus into Courmayeur and had a relaxing afternoon strolling, drinking beer, and once again, catching up on the Wimbledon action. 

Back at the campsite, everyone was making their own arrangements for evening meal. Our leaders Simon and Ben had recommended the raclette at a small restaurant a couple of minutes walk away. It was a great choice and we loved melting all that cheese and smearing it on our baked potatoes with lots of ham and pickles. We washed it down with a fine bottle of rose and we couldn't have been happier. 

Lots of love, George, Yorkie and Gio xxx