Travel With Phie

Day 2 – Traveling to Chamonix

This morning we woke up around 6:00am to ensure we made our first train which departed at 7:00am out of the Zurich train station. This was the first of 5 trains we would have to take that day to successfully make it to Chamonix, France. Thankfully, we made it, and our adventure to France to began.

Our connections on this journey were very short (as in somewhere 8 minutes while others were a max of 15 if we made every train on our first try that was). The first train was from Zurich to Visp and the longest train on our journey at right around 2 hours. The first connect was 4 minutes, causing a bit a stress because we had to get our ski bags (while besides mine cause #itwaslost) off the train, find the right platform, and get back on the next train all within that 4-minute time span. Luckily, the train station only had 6 platforms so we were able to successfully complete the first transfer. The next train was quick at around 40 minutes from Visp to Martigny. This train, we spent the majority of the trip staring out into the beautiful Swiss valley and taking in all the views. The next connection wasn’t quite as stressful because we had 15 minutes and the train arrived earlier, so we ended up with 20. The train station in Martingny also only had 4 platforms, so it was a very easy transfer. We got off the train found a convenience store, and got some baguettes, croissants, and coffee before heading to the next platform to hop on our third train of the trip. The third train was also about an hour long. This train we spent the entire time staring out the window at the amazing mountain views. They were beautiful and the train practically went straight up the mountain. Sadly, our train was running late, so we missed our next 2-minute transfer and had to wait an hour in Vallorcine for the last train to come. We explored outside a little, however, since most of us had our ski bags we didn’t travel very far as we didn’t want to miss the next train and wait another hour. After an hour of waiting, we got on the final train to Chamonix Mont-Blanc. On this train the sights were immaculate and we were all in ahh so excited for what the next night entailed.

We ended up arriving in Chamonix Mont-Blanc around lunchtime. We made our way to the Airbnb to check-in before making our way to venture and explore the town. The Airbnb host was amazing and the place had the best view of Mont-Blanc. After scouting out the Airbnb, we went to find some lunch. We ended up at the best little sandwich shop right in the center of town. We all ordered the Caprese Sandwich and of course, a beer to recover from the long day of travels.

The next stop after lunch was to search for new gear (snow pants, ski jacket, and gloves) as well as find somewhere to rent some skis. Carly and I ran around town looking for the best (on sale) items we could find to be my featured ski outfit of the week. We were able to find some great deals and I ended up with some new bright blue snow pants and my dream yellow jacket.

We dropped off the new swag and went to the train station to print our ski passes for the next 4 days of skiing. We walked around a little further until we found a lovely spot for dinner and, of course, some wine. We all got some pasta and split a couple bottles of wine. After dinner, we headed back to the Airbnb to play some cards and get some rest for our first day of skiing in the Alps.

Goodnight from night 1 in Chamonix!