Hiking the Mont Blanc Massif, Day 4- next stop 勃朗峰山脉徒步游第四天
July 30, 2024: We moved to the next town, Les Contamines-Montjoie, France, today. Although Les Contamines is only 20 miles away from Chamonix, there is no direct public transportation. We had to transfer in Saint-Gervais, by an hourly train or bus that runs every two hours. We opted for the train to Saint-Gervais, with the main train station in Chamonix being a 15-minute walk from our hotel. While the regional train is free within the Chamonix valley, it does not cover our destination, so we had to purchase tickets for the last two stops.
The train arrived at Saint-Gervais on time, but the bus to Les Contamines was more than an hour away, so we took the opportunity to enjoy a French lunch of crepes with ham and cheese at a nearby café.
We eventually boarded bus Y84 to Les Contamines. The two-bedroom apartment we rented was just a 2-minute walk from the bus stop. It was a nice apartment, but interestingly, we had to rent the bedding and towels separately. We also discovered no toilet paper and other essentials in the unit. Fortunately, there are three supermarkets nearby, so we bought the necessities for our stay. Once we settled in, we were eager to explore the area.
A community concert was happening in a park near Notre Dame de la Gorge, so we took a free city shuttle to check it out. The park, an adventure activity area for kids, had a BBQ restaurant where a two-man band was playing and singing. We sat there, sipping espresso and enjoying ice cream while listening to the music.
Afterward, we followed the TMB signs and walked about 2 miles back to town. Dinner was a pre-made pizza from the nearby grocery store Carrefour, and it wasn't bad at all.
勃朗峰山脉徒步游第四天 - 赶往下一站
2024年7月30日：今天我们搬到了下一个小镇——法国的莱斯康塔米纳（Les Contamines-Montjoie）。虽然莱斯康塔米纳距离霞慕尼（Chamonix）只有20英里，但没有直达的公共交通。我们不得不在圣热尔韦（Saint-Gervais）转乘，可以选择每小时一班的火车或每两小时一班的巴士。我们选择了乘火车到圣热尔韦，从我们酒店步行到霞慕尼的主要火车站大约需要15分钟。虽然霞慕尼山谷内的区域火车是免费的，但它不包括我们的目的地，因此我们不得不为最后两站购买车票。
火车准时到达圣热尔韦，但到莱斯康塔米纳的巴士还有一个多小时才到，于是我们利用这段时间在附近的饭店享用了法式午餐——火腿奶酪可丽饼。
最终我们登上了Y84路巴士前往莱斯康塔米纳。我们租的短期两居室公寓（Airbnb)距离巴士站仅有2分钟的步行路程。公寓很不错，厨房设备齐全。但奇怪的是，我们需要租用床上用品和浴室毛巾。我们还发现公寓里没有任何基本的生活必需品包括卫生纸。幸运的是，附近有三家超市，我们买了所需的用品。安顿好之后我们便出门去熟悉一下这个小镇及周边。
在靠近圣母教堂（Notre Dame de la Gorge）的一座公园里正在举行社区音乐会，于是我们搭乘免费的市区班车去看了看。到那里才发现这个公园是一个为孩子们设立的冒险活动区。里面有一家餐厅，两名歌手边弹边唱，有不少观众坐着观看。我们也凑个热闹，坐下一边喝着咖啡，一边吃着冰淇淋，享受现场音乐表演。
之后，我们沿着TMB的指示牌步行了大约2英里回到了小镇。晚餐是从家乐福（Carrefour）买的预制披萨，在租的公寓里自己烤了吃。出乎意料，披萨味道很好，不比饭店的差。
