Self picture with Mitzi.

The whole family on the Aiguille du Midi with Mont Blanc in the background.

The Aiguille du Midi has a needle looking tower that is on it's top with a viewing platform. You have to take an elevator ride up to the very top that goes right throught the middle of the mountain.

The tram and station that takes you to the Aiguille du Midi.

One of the cute restaurants in Chamonix.
7-9-10 Friday
Today we went on an excursion to Chamonix which is just barely over an hour’s drive away. I wanted to take the cable car up to the Aiguille du Midi which is extremely high up and has great views of Mont Blanc. A lot of mountain climbers take the cable car up before taking on the summit from there. You take one tram up about ½ way, then switch to the one that takes you up to the top. From a number of miles away from Chamonix you see what looks like needle sticking out of one of the high mountain peaks. That’s summit of the Aiguille du Midi that you see. It was interesting to see Alta stickers on the insides of both of the trams. Someone must have brought them from home and stuck them on the ceiling of the trams. The views from the top are incredible. You can take these smaller trams that only fit 4 people in them from the Aiguille du Midi down into Courmayer in Italy and then back, and I was planning on doing that, but we didn’t get there until later in the day and we didn’t have enough time. Grandma started not feeling good, and was having a very hard time walking up the steps. She said her heart was racing, and I was starting to get a little concerned, so we headed down the mountain quickly. We got a bite to eat in Chamonix, and then explored the town and the stores. There are some great views of the mountains and Mont Blanc from Chamonix, with a river running right through the middle of the town. Even in the middle of July the river was quite high and swift. I guess they get quite a bit off run off from the glaciers all year round.