Additional European Travellers

Can you believe we've bid farewell to more visitors!!??

We just spent a lovely week with friends Alison and Phil, showing them around Lyon, road-tripping to Torino, Italy and making our way to the peak of Mont Blanc. Couldn't think of a better way to spend my final weeks here in France. 

When our new guests arrived in Lyon we pretty much packed our bags right away and hopped in Joel's Skoda to drive about 4.5 hours South/East to Torino, Italy. Spending just one night there we had a pretty specific agenda and we hit all three items on our list! 

Battling the incessant rain, we visited The Royal Palace of Turin, checked out the views from The Mole Antonelliana Tower and tasted delicious pizzas and pastas.

We're certainly glad we were so productive on the first day of our road-trip because our plans for day-two took us back to France to visit the picturesque ski village of Chamonix/Mont Blanc. (Just visiting no riding this time.)

We took the Auguille de Midi Cable Car  and the Panoramic Mont Blanc Gondola to a peak that sits at 3,842m above sea level. Travelling above the clouds, we were able to get the most amazing view of Mont Blanc (4,810m). Ranked 11th in the world in prominence, Mont Blanc is Western Europe's highest summit. I don't think any of us were prepared for how light-headed or weak-in-the-knees we felt once we made it to the top (or maybe Phil was just doing the Charleston, I guess we'll neverknow). 

RIGHT: Aly & Phil step out into the "Void". A glass cube that stands over a sheer drop of more than 1000m. 

I think this was definitely a day we all will never forget. 

AND of course we couldn't omit the usual tour of Lyon that they scheduled two full days for. (I can't believe how many times I've been to Lyon's Roman Ruins!)

LEFT: They cozy up in front of Lyon's Bartholdi Fountain in one of the city's main squares. 

On Wednesday my last visitors boarded a cheap flight to Barcelona for 3 more days of touring. Spring is really starting to break through here in Europe so they will enjoy a nice couple of days strolling along the beach in the sunshine.

THANKS ALY & PHIL!!!

We had a great time sharing many European laughs with you two!

In other news, I have officially booked my permanent flight home. I will be arriving in Toronto on Friday, March 28th and can't wait to catch up with everyone! But not before a quick stop-over in Reykjavik, Iceland. As you know, Joel will be continuing his work here in Lyon until this coming summer. 

See you soon!
Joel & Amy