In order to cover everything about our 16 day holiday to The Alps, I'll be blogging separately about how we planned TMB and where we stayed during our hike as well as our favourites stops along the way. In order to cover the hiking TMB part of our holiday I've decided to split this into days one - four and then days five to ten. We had a rest day during our hike, and as there's so much to say, day four feels like a good point to pause. 

But before I begin anything I have just say how incredible this adventure was. The views were mesmerising and the walk was relatively peaceful for one of the most popular European circular routes. I have to be honest and say it was also the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. That might sound dramatic to some. Others may not have found it even an ounce of a challenge but it's all relative to your previous experience. Though, we did actually meet people along the way who had competed in marathons and triathlons, very active people for the most part who had previously done multi-day hikes and they also said it was incredibly tough. For me, the challenges I faced during this hike also made it that much more rewarding when we finished. 

I can't possibly share every bit of this hike, it was 45 hours+ of walking over a 10 day period but I'll try my best to cover off the main points of each day. If this post does leave you wanting more, feel free to leave me a comment or drop me an email  - missisgoode@gmail.com. 

Let's get down to business...(I hope you're ready for LOTS of photos!). 

Days One to Four

Hike Day One

Start point: Rockypop Hotel, Les Houches, France

End point: Camping le Pontet, Les Contamines-Montjoie, France 

Milage: 13.1 miles

Incline: 5,175ft

Decline: 4,525ft

Time: 5h 37 minutes

We started a little later than planned due to a camelback incident (it leaked everywhere), but eventually got on the road and walked through the centre of Les Houches. We'd chosen the high route and spent the first 2-3 hours of our day only going up. We started on the road but were soon into woodland and passed not a single hiker, only some builders near a chalet in progress. It was hot, but we were shaded by the trees and kept cool by the canopy. The route was tough in some places, having to scramble up shale alongside sheer drops, but we eventually made it above the tree line into a meadow beside the ski lift where the heat hit us hard and made the walk so much more challenging. 

The sun rising behind the mountains as we walked through Les Houches

A few of the mountains through the trees

Now more out in the open we began to pass fellow hikers, several of whom had caught the train to this point, which we now passed by in order to remain on the high route of this stage. Here, we had an incredible view of the a glacier. As we continued on this path the sheer drop below us became much more noticeable and we felt very exposed, fortunately there were some ropes bolted into the wall so we could hold on for dear life...

The main spectacle of the high route on day one is the bridge. There was only a few people about but everyone was eager to capture this moment and stay for as long as possible. 

The Himalayan-style bridge, 1,650m high, has reportedly been swept away on a few occasions

The view from the other side of the bridge

The walk to the bridge had been fairly flat with a little incline and decline here and there (or Inca flat, as it is known in Peru), but after crossing we were back to going up and the heat was slowing me down significantly. We decided to make a pit-stop for lunch - short and sweet due to there being no shade in this area - and spent our time enjoying the bells that rang from the movement of the cows and goats in the vicinity. It took a while before we could actually see them, but we could hear them very well. 

Then came our first sight of the snow.

It was a magnificent sight to see but blinding too. We trudged across, digging our poles in hard as whilst it was very thick it was also icy and difficult to walk on in some patches. We still had more incline to go so we made a quick pitstop for a breather. Here we spotted a marmot sun-bathing on a rock - it was quite far away but you could tell it was very cute and we were chuffed to have spotted one on our first day! 

We continued up and made it to the highest point of the day, Col de Tricot (2,120m), with an incredible view. 

Then came the decline. It went on for absolutely ever and again, the lack of shade made it a bit tougher. However, all you had to do was look up and take that view in to feel good. 

We came to Refuge de Miage which we didn't stop at but it looked like a very sweet place. We passed it by and went to the public loos before pushing on. To my horror, there was more incline. Michael was the map reader of the trip and I was occasionally left in the dark about where we had to go next...this was one of those occasions. Admittedly, I did struggle along this last incline more than a fair bit of the route. I started to doubt myself when on day one I was already finding it a challenge but I powered through. At the top we enjoyed a flat path for a short while before decline found us again, but those sensational views spurred me on. The route down was a wide track through woodland, it was pretty and very peaceful. 

Milage: 7.17m

Incline: 4,325ft

Decline: 75ft 

Time: 3h 18 mins

Having stayed further out of Les Contamines than the book notes we were starting a little ahead for day two. We headed out of our refuge and went along the road then up a gravel track for a short while before hitting a steep incline of huge flat boulders and concrete. There was nothing spectacular to speak of on this part of the route as we were just within the tree line. However, we were intrigued by a sign that said 'Pont Naturelle' and went to investigate. As we followed the sign there were some photographs attached to the railing to show you what you were going down to and they certainly enticed us further. The walk down was natures steps - the roots of trees that had formed almost perfectly into stairs, albeit slightly chaotic and uneven ones. We came down to beautiful light blue water and water carved rocks that looked like something out of a film, it was nature at it's most beautiful. We spent time here just taking in the view and when we headed back up we found loads of people had walked past without even an ounce of curiosity - I'm glad we weren't one of them!

We carried on up where we came to an incredibly deep ravine which Michael was too terrified to go to the edge of - which was fair enough. There was a nice viewing point to look down into it. It was so very deep and we were walking right on top of it! We continued our stride up hill, quite leisurely, and found ourselves on a flat rocky track with fields of bell-cladded cows either side of us. 

Before long we were going back up again, stopping off briefly by a public toilet, before getting back on the route which felt like we were climbing into the clouds. We pulled up on some rocks for some lunch and there were a lot more people passing us by than there had been on day one. We continued on up surrounded by the most incredible 360 view of the mountain range, rolling green hills and snowy peaks. Pure beauty. 

We walked alongside a glacier river, where one brave man was taking a dip, before coming to our second patch of snow. This was much icier than the snow on day one so we stepped very carefully, it was also much steeper so I really dug my poles in for fear of sliding all the way back down! Michael began chatting to an American woman who had a super quick pace - I left them to chat and trudge at their own speed whilst my little legs toddled along. Post-snow the terrain was steep and rocky, with some loose scree and multiple thin paths with lots of people going in all directions. 

We made it to the top, but before we even took the views in we heard someone shout Michael's name. I was baffled as we were obviously on top of a mountain in The Alps - who would recognise us up here?! It happened to be the two lovely lads we had met back at Birmingham airport, Joe and Stu. They were hiking the TMB in 9 days, without a rest day, so we expected them to be absolutely miles ahead of us but we found out they'd had a lie in on this day and it was lovely that our paths happened to cross. I flopped down next to them and we spent around half an hour catching up about our first days before taking in the view and heading off as a group. The views continued to be beautiful. We had an up and down path before us, crossing smaller patches of snow, climbing over rocks and following slightly unclear routes but it didn't take long at all for our refuge to come into view. We leisurely strolled down to Croix du Bonhomme where we'd be spending the night and said our goodbye's to Joe and Stu who had a few more miles to go before reaching their camping spot.

The location was pretty awesome. 

Milage:12.1m 

Incline: 3,175ft

Decline: 4,775ft

Time: 5h 15 minutes

We'd opted once more to take the high route of the day, which was the recommended one as the low route followed mainly roads and made for good, but not spectacular, views. I'll be honest and say my morale was a little low. My toes had been hurting the day before and I won't go into the details, but something wasn't quite right with my big toe nail so this affected my mood and my speed whilst walking. 

We left our refuge and followed the same path we had come down the night before then took the route on the right across our largest patch of snow yet. This was very icy like the patch from the previous day but much steeper. I dug my poles in as far as they'd go but wasn't feeling particularly stable so opted for skirting round the edge of the snow on the rocks, where possible. Once we were over this patch we came to the bottom of a very small glacier which look like a huge wave frozen in time. It was amazing to see up close. 

We climbed around this, over the rocks and came to a stop, stumped at where we were supposed to go next. Many people were heading in the opposite direction to the route we had planned. A Dutch couple who sensed our confusion stopped to compare routes. They told us the route where many people were headed was an even higher route for this stage, considered one of the most dangerous. We later learned that many people who took this route did so with crampons (these are basically an attachment to your boots with spikes in that allow you to walk on ice and snow with considerably more stability). 

We decided against that route and, quite blindly when I look back on it, followed the route that we had mapped out on Komoot (the route planning app we used). It told us to cross the small glacier then scramble up a very unstable looking edge but when we reached the top, there was no where to go. We sat down to study our route once more and to our horror found several people had followed us, two being the Dutch couple who when we spoke to them seemed very confident of where they needed to go. A French couple reached us first and we tried to communicate to them that we'd clearly taken the wrong path and they needed to go back down. They were more adamant than we had been that this was the right path, and even after we went down, they spent nearly 40 minutes up there trying to find the route. We headed back towards the small glacier that we had only just crossed and from this angle, could clearly see the route we were supposed to go down. With this being the high route, we had all convinced ourselves that we must have needed to incline more, but we didn't. 

This descent was very challenging. It was incredibly steep and the pain from my toe was adding to that challenge. The path was clear in parts but disappeared in others, so you were trampling over scree, through small rivers and over rocks. The view was still beautiful though. As we headed down the French couple had finally called it quits on the high pass we had all invented and in a very unconventional manner, the man headed down the mountain pass using the snow. It was incredibly dangerous but clearly a means of making up time. He skied down a very steep patch of snow from the top of the mountain to the bottom, falling only once. He didn't have ski's and used just his feet and his walking poles for balance. His partner on the other hand opted for the path, but in order to keep up with him she was frantically running down. I'm not sure who was in more danger of getting hurt but they definitely made up time as we didn't see them again! 

We came to a stop near a beautiful waterfall, where an absolute mad man took all his clothes off and dived in. This water was freezing and he barely flinched or winced at the cold whilst floating there in just his underpants. We decided to walk down a bit further away from the small group that had gathered by the waterfall so we could have a snack in peace. By this point we had only covered 2 miles and it had taken us 2 hours, so we really wanted to get a move on and make up some time. I tried my hardest to pick up the pace and at one point lost my footing, slipping on a rock and landing on my arse with a thud! Fortunately, my bag took the majority of the impact so I was back on my feet in seconds and only had a few bruises. Reaching the flat ground we found ourselves in a meadow surrounded by wild flowers and the mountains. 

We reentered civilisations, coming to a public toilet a short walk away from a cheese factory, before climbing uphill, which I was quite happy to do after hours of decline! We made a short pitstop at a refuge called Les Mottets, a pretty place, where we refilled our water. The climb up was steep and felt never ending once again, but the challenge was to be expected. I dragged my heels far behind Michael but pushed on nonetheless. The air started to cool as we closed in on the peak that marked the boarder between France and Italy, at 2,600m high. 

It was freezing cold at the top, so much so I couldn't bare to stand up there for very long to take the view in. We did so anyway, briefly, and then headed back on our final descent of the day. Michael was bouncing with energy so was way ahead of me whilst I was experiencing pains in my knees, which had never hurt before, and my heel, where a blister had formed. I felt my mood begin to slip but every time I felt this way, I just took a breath, looked around me and reminded myself how amazing it was to be there. 

We came to Rifugio Elisabetta, the end point for this stage in the TMB book, which meant our refuge was only an hour or so away. We stayed on flat ground for a short while before taking a short cut that avoided a long winding road, but also happened to be very steep. It didn't last long though and we were back on the flat within 20 minutes or so. The road we now followed ran alongside Lac Combal and was a dusty stoney road. Here, the views weren't as uplifting as they had been previously but we were very close to our resting spot. We came to the bridge over Lac Combal and crossed over, heading to the left to reach our refuge. 

This was our favourite refuge on the route. Despite the location being quite normal compared to the beauty of others, the building itself was stunning, warm and welcoming. 

Hike Day Four 

Milage: ~10 miles

Incline: ~1,525ft

Decline: ~2,775ft

Time: Approx 6+ hours 

Full of energy, Michael decided to pop off on a little side hike that I thought it best I didn't join on. I was a little in the wars and wanted to conserve my energy for the hike and that alone, which was a bit of a shame. He went off to explore the lakes that were set back and above from our refuge, which he recommend as worth a visit.

After he returned, we spent a short time admiring a marmot that was hiding amongst the rocks before heading on our way. We had quite a climb for the beginning of the day and despite my poorly toes and achy knees, I was feeling up for it. I kept up a fast pace as we climbed up into the mountains once more, and enjoyed some incredible views. There were low thick clouds hiding Mont Blanc from view but the other mountains were still visible and stunning. 

We reached the peak of this part much quicker than we expected, and I had set the pace the whole way, steaming far ahead of Michael. We stopped just after the peak once more to admire a marmot, this one was scurrying across the snow and the longer we looked the more marmot's we spotted. There was a family of them perched on the hillside, babies and all, and they all looked very cute. 

This area turned out to be a marmot's paradise as we spotted them everywhere. On this day alone I think we ended up seeing around 16 marmots, whilst some people saw next to none during their whole hike. Michael and I were well known whilst we were in Peru for having keen eyes for the wildlife, so perhaps that was why we saw so many. We stopped for an early snack on the edge of the mountain, with a beautiful view ahead of us, before carrying on at a leisurely pace, enjoying the day. We reached the steep descent which is where, as I had expected, our pace slowed significantly. We passed the most beautiful mountain slopes that were clearly very popular during the winter for skiing. The grass was covered in wild flowers and made for such a bright and colourful view, made more picturesque with the mountains in the background. 

Whilst continuing to enjoy the somewhat leisurely pace, Michael checked his map and it quickly dawned on him we had further to go then he had realised. He was clearly in the mood to press on as rain was due around 3pm, but I couldn't go much quicker than I already was. We passed by a huge lake where many people were enjoying their lunch, and then got caught in a large group of hikers who were heading in our direction. Not only were there lots of hikers in the area now but there also appeared to be a race underway. This part of the trail was wide enough to allow people to pass whilst continuing to walk, so I was content enough letting both hikers and runners alike to shoot on pass snail-paced me. 

After passing by a refuge and the ever so tempting ski lift, we followed a stoney track for a fair way down, during which, the rain came almost on queue, so we whacked on our ponchos and hit the road. The majority of the hikers that had shortly passed us by pulled over at the refuge for a pitstop, but we had pressed on. From here we could see the town of Courmayeur clearly, and it was so close but so far. We turned off the stone track into the woods that ran directly below the cable car, twisting and turning along a steep declining path that was only just wide enough to fit one walker. This was the first and only point of our entire walk that I was actually in agony. As I pushed on down I stopped and said to Michael, 'I don't know if I can carry on', and I didn't just mean at this very moment in time, but in that moment I seriously doubted whether I could manage the entire walk. My knee was in an incredible amount of pain and my toe was in agony too. Combine the pain of them both, alongside the descent that put intense pressure on them, and you can imagine why I was struggling. To add to the stress I was feeling, the route for the race was directly where we were walking. Had we known, we probably would have tried to avoid it. It became quite stressful having to look out for runners every few seconds. If you didn't move out their way they would undoubtedly just bowl you over. These lads and lasses were running at a fast pace downhill and probably hadn't stopped or slowed down since they started, but looking back for them as often as possible slowed us down considerably. 

I saw Michael's mood beginning to drop and picked myself back up. My pain was bad but the damage wasn't going to be lasting and the next day was our rest day, I knew I'd be fine and within minutes of telling myself to be positive, I actually did feel it. Michael estimated we had another hour or more to go, but I could see Courmayeur and I was certain we'd reach it sooner. I'd set us the goal of reaching it by 4:30pm. Determined, we pressed on. The rain stopped which lifted our moods instantly, but the day had started so leisurely and positive that it was frustrating that it had begun to drag. We had no view now we were well within the woods except a peek of the town below us every once in a while. 

Finally, the end of the tree line came into sight and it was only 4pm. Walking through Courmayeur wasn't all that pleasurable. Walking on tarmac is probably the worst with hiking boots on, so I was even more keen to reach our B&B. Some of the streets we passed through were quite charming, small cobbled streets with nooks and crannies here and there but the majority of this part of our walk was spent near the main road. We only had 5 minutes left to walk but it was the longest tarmac filled minutes of my life. 

We crossed over a roaring river, strolled up a hill and ahead of us was our quaint little B&B. 4:25pm, on the dot. 

And at that point, can you imagine how happy I was to see this bed?!

There ended our fourth day of walking, though we did walk some more that day in order to find dinner, and that was more of a struggle than I expected!

Many people decide not to have a rest day on the TMB but it honestly did me the world of good. I'm not one for luxury holidays, as you'll know from my previous adventures, but this really felt like luxury to me after a few days in dorm rooms with at least one snorer every single night!

Whilst I loved staying in L'Abri des Amis for our short stay, I was keen to get on the road again, which was actually to my own surprise considering my battered toes and knees. I felt revitalised after two nights here and knew the most challenging days were yet to come.

Don't forget to come back for the next instalment, and if you want to know more in the mean time just drop me a comment below!

MissIsGoode

I recently realised that my blog is almost six years old and I was shocked. I've not devoted as much attention to it in recent years as I did when I was at university, but to have kept it going nonetheless for six long years has actually surprised me, even though I'm the one behind it! I did lots of getting to know me related posts when I first started the blog, but since then many of the people I followed and talked to a lot have disappeared from the blogging scene. So, as many of my current followers, and some new (welcome!), may know very little about me, I thought I'd do a quick facts about me post...

Facts about where I'm from, where I've lived and where I am now...

Facts about my interests...

- As you'll know from the fact that you're reading this, one of my interests is blogging! Overtime my interest has lessoned as I've become more private and my life has become a lot more dull but I still really enjoy writing and developing my blog
- I love reading and have a degree in Literature. I have a book journal where I have my own little reviews and I set myself reading challenges for the year

Me and my friends, Jen & Sara, at our graduation

- I enjoy going to the gym where I mainly do weights
- I love hiking around the UK and have done some hikes abroad - last year we did the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu (4 days hiking) and I've recently come back from the Tour of Mont Blanc (10 days hiking)

- I'm a bit lazy but I do also love to learn and gain new skills
- I'm in the process of trying to become fluent in French. Having just come back from a holiday in France I've realised I need to work a bit harder!
- I have an ambition to start learning sign language as I think it's incredible
- I'd love to start climbing once we've recovered properly from our holiday

- So, I have a book with all things big and small that I want to achieve. It's up to over 400 things now from something as small as 'read such and such book' to 'travel to such and such city/country' etc, or 'buy my first car' and 'become a homeowner'. It's probably a little intense for some people but I find it helps me keep on track with achievements, both those that seem easy and those that will be tough
- I'm looking to become a homeowner in the next year
- I'm also hoping to have at least two dogs, because dogs are life 

- I'd like to get a lot of travelling in too, I love to see new places and explore 

So, there you have it - a few facts about me! If you have any tips on how to learn French fluently, or sign language for that matter, or any amazing locations that you'd recommend travelling to, especially hiking ones, then let me know in the comments below!

MissIsGoode

We were joined this time by our friend Greg, who is also a lover of the outdoors and it was nice to have someone else with us on this occasion. The drive took us around 3 hours and whilst I read, Michael hyped up The Watkin Route which we planned to traverse once more.

We pulled up in Morrisons near the coast to buy food and in our true style, find somewhere to sleep for the night. This was an improvement on our trip last year where we didn't have a place to camp nor a barbecue AFTER coming down from the mountain. Greg quickly found what looked like a reasonable spot right below the Watkin Route and so it was that we set up camp at an unmanned National Trust campsite just outside of Beddgelert. It was a really pleasant place attracting many hiking groups who either had already climbed Snowdon or were, like us, planning to make their way up the following day. 

We avoided hiking Snowdon on the Saturday due to really poor visibility and instead headed into Beddgelert where we took a short walk around the village. 

Not satisfied with the stroll we had, we donned our hiking boots and bags and made our way past the train tracks and into the hills. Whenever I go hiking with Michael, which is obviously a lot, he always manages to find a route that involves bogs and this one was very heavy with them. We lost the route several times and I honestly couldn't tell you exactly where we went, but we got some pretty good views. 

After reaching the first hill and looking down on Beddgelert we considered turning back as we'd only put 4 hours on the car, but as it had only been an hour and a half we were sure we could reach the other end of the circular route we were following in that time...

...but we ended up coming very close to getting a parking ticket because of that decision to continue. 

We walked on climbing and descending hills and trying our hardest, using both GPS and our ordinance surgery map, to find the route we needed to go. We found that this clearly wasn't a well walked area as where both our maps said there would be a footpath, there was nothing but rolling hills and sheep. We of course weren't concerned as we knew we could turn back if it started to seem like we were one step away from becoming completely lost. We found a semblance of a footpath which led us to a rather creepy abandoned house but didn't take any photos just in case the owner was actually just a very untidy person. 

We poked around only a little and then walked on, following what was now a wonderfully clear footpath. It was only about half a mile down that Michael decided to check his map and discover that whilst this was indeed a footpath, it wasn't the one we needed. The one we had meant to go down was, of course, just a field. We made our way back up the hill and then took a wide diversion from a field of moody looking cows guarding their calves. 

This is where we found ourselves in the boggiest and most overgrown land that we have ever experienced. In a dry area, Greg and Michael, whom are both over 6ft, moaned about the length of the grass which came up to their waists, whilst I, toddling along at 5ft 3, was basically being swallowed up by it. Further down we found the ideal combination of overgrown grass and bog which easily could have actually swallowed me up. I utilised my previous experience and aimed for the grass roots that provided a stable island before gently tip toeing my way to the next tuft and soon onto dry land. Greg also tried this method but it unfortunately failed him, and he instead found his leg half way down a peat bog. He managed to make his way to dry land too, but now had an unknown amount of miles to cover with a very sodden foot. 

Our spirits were still high and made higher when we entered what can only be described as the enchanted forest. I don't think I've ever felt so surrounded by nature before. It felt like a human hadn't set foot in this woodland for decades, though I'm sure they had. But it just had that sense of being untouched by the modern world. 

We walked through in awe. 

We finally came to civilisation and strolled along a road for a sort period of time before finding another mystical area that provided us with a direct route back to Beddgellert. This was a very beautiful river and was clearly much more well known than the woodland we had just come from, as we passed many walkers along the route. 

I hear a lot of people say that it can feel like you're abroad in some parts of the UK and on this walk, it truly did at times. The river we passed felt like walking above the Ollyantaytambo river in Peru, and the woodland we walked through felt very similar to the Cloud Forest on the Inca Trail, though a few thousand feet lower. 

We eventually made our way back to Beddgellert with about 15 minutes until our parking was up. We headed for a BBQ back at camp and stayed up a little late having a few drinks. 

The next day, we took Greg on one of the few routes he had not yet hiked up to Snowdon. I felt a lot more focused and ready to push myself this time. Last year, the hike up to Snowdon was one of the first things we did in preparation for our training for Peru, however, this time round, we've done a 10 mile hike almost every weekend for the past 4 weeks and I've had nearly a year of cycling to work. Plus, I've hiked the Inca Trail. 

I didn't need to stop after every small incline and I found I had so much more willpower. I was flat out exhausted when hiking this path previously but this year I felt I just needed a few breathers after a steep climb and I was ready to go again. The biggest challenge for us last year was scrabbling the loose scree up to the top, however, to our huge disappointment, and to Greg's after we'd told him how challenging it was, we came to discover that The Watkin Path had clearly had new rock put down and was in the process of having steps installed. 

I understand that safety is hugely important on these kind of hikes but I'm of the opinion that you shouldn't try to do something unless you're entirely confident in your abilities. Michael and I almost turned back last year when we saw what we had to do, not because we weren't sure that we could do it, but because we we're scared. There's a difference between the nerves you feel in the face of something that is challenging - you can be nervous about undertaking though know that you have the ability to do so, or you can be nervous because you know it's beyond your skillset. This is supposed to be a challenging walk and scramble and I thought it was a shame that steps were being installed to accommodate all levels of ability. 

Rant over, but once at the top a heavy fog came quickly overhead and we had an entirely different view of the ground below us. 

We sat down for lunch and waited for the fog to lift, which it did after only a short while. We then packed up and headed down the mountain on the Rhyd Ddu path, the same we had unknowingly used the previous year. Last year we had been trying to follow The Llanberis Path on the map but had clearly diverted onto Rhyd Dhu without realising. 

It was a fairly peaceful descent with very few people around. As we came to the bottom Michael and I were again shocked to see that a severely boggy area we had had no choice to cross last year was also being laid with steps. Whilst the steps again do make the walk easier, I actually don't have much of an argument regarding these ones as no one really likes walking through and jumping over bogs!

By the end of the hike we looked at the clock to discover that it had only taken us 5 and a half hours, with a pit stop for a snack and lunch at the top. This was a huge improvement on last year where we'd taken almost 7 hours! 

I was so proud of myself and felt absolutely elated that I had, for the most part, managed to keep up to the pace of Michael and Greg. I'm heading off on our 11 day hike with so much more confidence in my abilities. 

Have you hiked Snowdon? Which route did you take and how did you find it?

MissIsGoode

It feels a bit cheeky to post this so many months after I actually visited this beautiful destination, but I'd written the post up before taking another long break. I'm not the most reliable of bloggers I must admit, and making a return is proving hard with the blogging scene changing so vastly and so quickly with each month you're away from it.

But the fact that I'm posting this 10 months after I travelled there doesn't take away from the beauty of the place and the fact that I had such an incredible short break back in September 2017.

Our friend has his family's boat docked in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat but we actually stayed in Villefranche-sur-Mer and we had an incredible view from the balcony. We didn't wander about Villefranche too much, but the area we were in was a residential one that was really peaceful. Both night and day danced over the sea and made for a view I don't think I'd ever get tired of.  

We saw some seriously impressive and famous yachts along the way, including the below super yacht named Garcon, casually with a helicopter, a submarine and goodness knows what else on board!

There didn't appear to be much damage to the boat from far above, but no doubt there was some hidden damage to it. We strolled on taking in the views and the sunshine. 

We took a stroll up to the Madonna statue which was really impressive, though the photo doesn't really capture the size. 

On another day we decided to head towards Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild passing a very stunning house along the way: 

The weather had become a bit grey on this day so we decided not to pay to wonder around the gardens but just took in the house from the outside. I hope to return when the weather is a bit brighter so I can enjoy the whole estate. 

Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is such a picturesque place perfect for a relaxing getaway. It's not my usual holiday but I will definitely be returning. It's of course quite a place of wealth, so it doesn't make for a bargain holiday though we were lucky to go away with friends who gave us a place to stay and a boat to have some fun on. 

MissIsGoode