Oswin takes: Chamonix

In my last post about Chamonix and Mont Blanc, you may remember that our plans to take the telecabine up to Plan de l'Aiguille (2317 m) were foiled by a ticket taker and a minimum age requirement...

...so, I did what any adventurer would do. I sulked for about 10 minutes.

Just kidding. Not about the sulking part, obviously. I definitely did that. Talk about First World Problems...

Childlike sulking aside, we decided to hike on the mountain for a bit anyway. We explored, we fed Oswin her lunch in a quiet little rocky spot surrounded by wild ferns, and then life looked a whole lot better. It's funny how fast nature can quiet the mind and shift the whole mood of the day. Also, I may or may not currently be obsessing over ferns because of it.  

After our hike we set off to explore the city of Chamonix. Dan hadn't walked around the city in over ten years, and for Oswin and I it was a first. What immediately struck me about Chamonix? Well, it was a Sunday...and everything was open! I felt as if we had stepped into some sort of French bizarro world where you could buy trekking poles, a new sweater, a bottle of wine and groceries all on an otherwise forbidden French shopping day. There were outdoorsy shops everywhere, and all pretty high end: Mammut, Patagonia, North Face, etc. Also a kind of random Chanel store. What struck me next about Chamonix? Aside from most stores being open, it was like stepping into a snowboarding/skiing/surfer town, but with a very different feel from other ski towns we've been to here in Europe...almost...dare I say American? Kind of. But with a French feel.

We had so much fun in Chamonix that day. We ate frites and drank a beer at Le National while Oswin made friends with other diners, bought Mama her first set of trekking poles, and had a generally unplanned delightful city day. It's quickly becoming one of my favorite towns in France, especially after a recent trip up to Montveners via the cogwheel train. But that's for another day...

What's your favorite story of travel-gone-awry redemption? In the end they often do make the best days, don't they?

A la prochaine friends...

Honey 

A way late post: Oswin's First Birthday

Way back when, on a day that I like to call the 7th of october, 2014, we celebrated a very special little first birthday...

....the first birthday of our little Miss Oswin Jade!

It was a small celebration, with just a few guests...

....some macarons...

...streamers...

...a very special birthday skirt and sparkly headband...

...and a bottle of champagne, which had been given to us by the hospital after Oswin was born. 

I can't believe that a full year has gone by since our little adorable dragon came into the world. I can't imagine our lives without her. You truly make every day more fun than the last, and no one on this earth knows how to keep us on our toes quite like you do. Happy Birthday little one, with many many many more to come. 

And a special thank you to oh so sweet and talented Meg of meg-made. She is the creator of this adorable tutu skirt with poms on the inside (which Oswin was obsessed with), and even sent along a special sparkly headband to accompany it. The skirt is adjustable so she should be able to wear it for many a birthday or playtime to come. The kind people I've met through this whole blogging and instagram community make visiting these spaces something I truly look forward to, and that kind present certainly made Oswin's special day a little more special. Many many thanks!

A la prochaine friends...

Honey 

Oswin Takes: Mont Blanc

A couple of weeks ago, Les Duggans took a short road trip to Chamonix, with hopes of taking my latest sling diary pictures in the French Alps, on Mont Blanc at Plan de l'Aiguille (2317 meters).

Unfortunately, as plans often do, ours fell through. It turns out that Oswin is a bit too wee to take the telepherique up to Plan de l'Aiguille, and we were plum out of luck. 

So, as I mentioned in the aformetioned sling diary post on the theme of bliss, we turned lemons into Limoncino and hiked a little closer to the foot of the mountain. 

We chose not to hike up to our original destination as that would have been a much bigger hike than what we had intended for that day, and there was no way we would beat the race against the sun (or nap time). So, we hiked around for about an hour or so, sought out wild ferns, used large gnarled tree roots as steps, and marveled at the downed trees that had fallen victim to previous avalanches. We even fed Oswin her lunch up on the trail. 

I was bummed about not getting to walk around the glacier and show Oswin the higher parts of the mountain, but that will have to be for another day. Another day where we're ready to spend the better part of 3 hours going up, and ready to make the descent as well. Maybe this spring. We'll see. 

After our hike we explored the city a bit, which I had never done before. I always forget that Chamonix is an actual town, and not just the starting point for one of my favorite hikes. But more on that tomorrow. We're actually heading to Chamonix today, with one of Dan's best friends from college who is visiting us for the weekend. We haven't seen him in over five years! We're hoping to find another way to get Oswin up higher on Mont Blanc today, one that doesn't involve an all day hike. There is apparently a train that will take littles up, so we'll let you know how that goes. Fingers crossed!

Hope you have a fantastic Saturday in your part of the world!

A la prochaine friends...

Honey

Sakura Bloom Sling Diaries: Dan on Bliss

Have you seen Dan's latest post for the Sakura Bloom Sling Diaries? The theme this month was bliss, and the post can be found over on my instagram account (@outlawnotahero), or by searching the hashtag #danslingdiary on instagram. For this entry we crossed over the border to Switzerland to take a family walk through the vineyards, and snapped some photos along the way. It was a gorgeous afternoon for it, and one of those walks that always prompts me to say "why don't we do this everyday?" It was a good reminder for me to search out the wanderlust near to us, that which still needs exploring, because one day it may not be just outside our front door. 

Thanks to everyone who has been following along over the last five months of this series, it's been so much fun to take part in. I can't believe we each only have one more post left! I'll be so sad to see it go, but am so grateful to have been a part of this series, along with so many inspirational and awesome mamas.

A la prochaine friends...

Honey 

My oh my...

...do I ever have a lot to catch up on! 

I've been neglecting the blog a bit lately. Well, I wouldn't really call it neglecting, more like, I've been missing it dearly and why can't I get by on only 5 hours of sleep so that I can blog before Smaug wakes up kind of neglecting. I've been trying to tweak my daily schedule and lately blogging has taken the hit. I could go all cliche right now with "there's never enough time" and "if only I had more hours in the day," but I'll spare you the doldrum pity party. Just know I've dearly missed this little page of mine, and all of you that do me the honor of stopping on by. 

So, while I slowly begin sifting through the hundreds of pictures I've taken over the last few weeks, which include Oswin's First Birthday, my parent's trip to visit us here in SwitzerFrance, a day in Chamonix, and the like, I'll leave you with some pictures from last weekend's Thoiry Sunday Market. It's been too hot for October/November, but the temperatures are finally dipping into the 50s and dare I say upper 40s, so we're finally get a bit of the leaf show that fall promises. I really miss my fall and winter coats, so if we could just hurry this show up mother nature I'd be much obliged. 

Until then I'll keep drinking tea and pretending that's it cold in our house. 

A la prochaine friends...

Honey