Val d'Aosta ( Courmayeur )
COURMAYEUR
From Aosta, we took the bus to Courmayeur that passed by many small and enchanting small towns. The journey was winding and ascending all the way. The weather was turning cold and some houses have started to burn wood and smoke is seeping out of their chimney.
Upon our arrival at Courmayeur, we headed for the tourist office and were given a list of accommodation with their ratings and location. The staff at the tourist office could not tell us which hotel is the best as because they are not supposed to promote any particular hotel. We chose one of the cheaper one and nearer to the tourist office as our backpack was getting heavier by now.
The hotel we chose was 1 star and managed by a couple. As it was the low season, they weren’t sure if they want to rent to us when we approached the owner. His wife on the contrary was glad to accept our reservation. The owner gave us our room keys and we were ushered to our room by his wife. We requested to change room when we realized it was facing the street instead of the mountainous view. We requested to change our room but the owner gave a sarcastic remark that we were only staying for one night and what view do we need. However, his wife was willing to change for us since we hadn’t unpacked our bags.
After settling our accommodation, we explored the town and it was pretty dead and quiet. We were told that from the beginning of December, this town will spring to life with hordes and hordes of tourists coming to this ski resort. We saw a lady walking her dog and carrying a grocery along the street. We decided to ask her which is the Monte Bianco ( White Mountains ). She was glad to explain to us the different peaks of the Monte Bianco but we couldn’t absorb most of the names as there were all in French. She came from the French side of the White Mountains to shop at Courmayeur. And the conversation started from her basic Italian to her fluent French which was a bit tough for me to comprehend and query further. My French was rusty after pledging loyalty to Italian, my new found interest.
We stopped by to buy some postcards from one of the souvenir shop which had a small café inside. The whole place was filled with locals and tourists speaking mainly French. The locals here are bilingual in both French and Italian.
Later, we headed for the bus terminal to check for buses going back to Aosta. We realized that there are buses going to Chamonix, another famous ski resort on the French Alps. We have to give it a miss as we have to find our way to Milano. Nevertheless, we were excited to know that there are buses going straight to Milano via Aosta.
From Aosta, we took the bus to Courmayeur that passed by many small and enchanting small towns. The journey was winding and ascending all the way. The weather was turning cold and some houses have started to burn wood and smoke is seeping out of their chimney.
Upon our arrival at Courmayeur, we headed for the tourist office and were given a list of accommodation with their ratings and location. The staff at the tourist office could not tell us which hotel is the best as because they are not supposed to promote any particular hotel. We chose one of the cheaper one and nearer to the tourist office as our backpack was getting heavier by now.
The hotel we chose was 1 star and managed by a couple. As it was the low season, they weren’t sure if they want to rent to us when we approached the owner. His wife on the contrary was glad to accept our reservation. The owner gave us our room keys and we were ushered to our room by his wife. We requested to change room when we realized it was facing the street instead of the mountainous view. We requested to change our room but the owner gave a sarcastic remark that we were only staying for one night and what view do we need. However, his wife was willing to change for us since we hadn’t unpacked our bags.
After settling our accommodation, we explored the town and it was pretty dead and quiet. We were told that from the beginning of December, this town will spring to life with hordes and hordes of tourists coming to this ski resort. We saw a lady walking her dog and carrying a grocery along the street. We decided to ask her which is the Monte Bianco ( White Mountains ). She was glad to explain to us the different peaks of the Monte Bianco but we couldn’t absorb most of the names as there were all in French. She came from the French side of the White Mountains to shop at Courmayeur. And the conversation started from her basic Italian to her fluent French which was a bit tough for me to comprehend and query further. My French was rusty after pledging loyalty to Italian, my new found interest.
We stopped by to buy some postcards from one of the souvenir shop which had a small café inside. The whole place was filled with locals and tourists speaking mainly French. The locals here are bilingual in both French and Italian.
Later, we headed for the bus terminal to check for buses going back to Aosta. We realized that there are buses going to Chamonix, another famous ski resort on the French Alps. We have to give it a miss as we have to find our way to Milano. Nevertheless, we were excited to know that there are buses going straight to Milano via Aosta.
posted by Benny at
10:01 AM
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