We woke up to rain but wouldn’t let a bit of water ruin our day in Italy. We went thru the Mont Blanc Tunnel. The tunnel was just over 7 miles and connects France to Italy. It was a convenient way to get thru the mountain and over to Italy. Our main purpose of going over was so that Caitlyn could get her pasta from the motherland.
Our first stop was to the small town of Courmayeur. Because it was Sunday, there wasn’t much open but we were able to find a great coffee shop and bakery. Italy has a famous bike tour similar to Tour de France called Giro D’Italia which took place in May and goes through the town. There were several pink bikes around town and the street labeled it’s town name in several places so the bikers knew where they were.
It was a very wet day but there was such beauty in the low clouds as they formed pockets in the mountain range in our views.
The fun thing about going into the different bakeries is trying new things. You really just never know what you are going to end up with. We tried 2 types of cookies and a homemade pretzel. One was horrible, one was decent, and one was great. It’s always worth the effort and the calories!
We had a small giggle at the size of the police car. I don’t think many Americans would fit in the back of that car if they were arrested!
We decided to continue inland to Aosta, Italy. We came across a beautiful waterfall. We all hiked to the bridge but then I came down to get some extra pictures. It was gorgeous and there was so much water.
I used Google Maps to help us navigate to Aosta. While H was doubting my directions, I happened to get us 500 yards down a pedestrian walkway with no place to turn around and it was impossible to reverse out.
Despite H’s frustration, Cat and I were giggling about the situation. I blame Google Maps. The 20 point turn to turn the car around and heading in the correct direction was enjoyed by many.
We finally succeeded to get Caitlyn her pasta and she said it was amazing. We had a very happy kid!
H and Cat decided to grab an ice cream while I went to look at the ruins. They have a very interesting history. It was a famous building but as time took its toll on the structure, families moved in and used the walls to build their houses around. It was only this century that the building was discovered and brought back to it’s original form.
Below are pictures of it’s original form.
Cat taking a picture with Aquaman….
Tons of people were drinking out of this water fountain. I dared Cat to give it a try. It wasn’t until after she did that we noticed algae floating around the tank. I hope the water wasn’t recycled.
The front of the church was gorgeous. There are so many things to look at. I could have stared at it for days.
Underneath the church, they had opened the Criptoportico Forense a vaulted cellar. The old underground criptoportico was beautiful, calm, eerie and happily free from other tourists. There was beautiful music softly playing in the background and it was fun to imagine yourself there, almost 2000 years ago, perhaps escaping the summer heat, as the bustle of activity in the Forum above you continued on..
We went back to Courmayeur for dinner. While we were looking for a restaurant we came across this cigarette machine. I can’t even remember the last time I saw one of these.
On our way back to the border, we stopped at a park to let off some steam. Cat and H had a lot of fun on a zip-line!
Elisabeth
I really want a final count of ice cream eating before you get home.