Monday, classes resumed, and we held our three hours of civ and conversation classes in the Club du 3e Age as usual. On Mondays, unfortunately, the bakery across the street is closed, so that we were not able to pop on over to buy our usual fare: petit pain au chocolat for some, palmier for others, croissant for yet others... In this photo we see Michael, Annaliese and Theresa chatting before the start of the first class.

Tuesday, we met on the Place du Marché to catch our chartered bus to Geneva. We saw host mom Agnès Ballieu, who is the director of the municipal daycare center, walk by with a troop of the very small French people under her care.

After an hour's drive to Reignier, we found the last remaining dolmen of Haute Savoie. This 5500-year-old stone monument was originally a gravesite covered with a dirt mound. It was looted probably before the Romans even arrived in the area, and is today one of the few prehistoric constructions that can be climbed on by enthusiastic students. ( Click on the image to see a larger version )

After another half hour's drive, we were in central Geneva where we had lunch. Some students picnicked in the park while others decided to sample the Swiss McDonald's. A Big Mac, pop and fries costs nearly ten dollars... After lunch, we met at the cathedral and climbed the narrow spiral stairs to the towers. ( Click on the image to view a QuickTime panorama )

The view was quite spectacular as the clouds lifted and gave us a bright and sunny view of the entire city.

The aerial view was followed by a visit to the archeological crypt. The entire history of the implantation of Christianity in Geneva can be seen by careful scrutiny of the stone foundations of buildings of the long-ago past. In the photo at right, students admire the mosaic floor of the Bishop's palace, which was heated by hot air circulating under the concrete slab in accordance with Roman practice.

From the hilltop cathedral we walked back down into the modern city, walking past some landmarks, including the old "Restaurant Sans Alcool" whose name and function are reminders of the city's Protestant past.

We paused at the intersection of Hell and Purgatory streets for the obligatory photos. Michael, at left, obligingly poses under the Hell Street plaque.

From downtown Geneva, we rode our bus to the UN compound which is housed in the old "Palais des Nations" built for the League of Nations. We went on an hour-long tour to learn of the many functions of the UN in the world; many UN agencies are headquartered in Geneva. In the photo at left, students gaze at the huge wall paintings done by the Spanish artist José Maria Sert in the 1930s.

On the way back from Geneva , we stopped to visit the 1839 suspension bridge which crosses a deep gorge. Students enjoyed the spectacular view as well as the remarkably robust architecture of this structure, which predates the Brooklyn Bridge by fifty years. We returned to Faverges shortly after 7pm. The students went home for dinner after Prof. Jeantet urged them to wear sensible shoes and to bring sweaters for our visit to Chamonix on Wednesday...

Wednesday morning, we left for Chamonix at 9:15, arriving about an hour and a half later at the foot of the Aiguille du Midi, next to Mt Blanc. Our goal was to climb the two-and-a-half-mile-high mountain in the cablecar which we can just see as a small dot in the photo at left.

As we stood in line waiting for the cablecar, Rachel displayed her picnic lunch's bag of potato chips such as it appears at normal altitudes (Chamonix being at about 3300 feet above sea level).

After an exciting ride up the mountain, which included a rare but easily remedied technical difficulty, we had lunch on the highest platform at 3825 meters, which is an altitude above that at which federal regulations require airplanes to be pressurized. We found that we were light-headed, and that our legs felt heavy as we climbed stairs; Theresa displays a puffy potato chip bag which illustrates well the air pressure difference. Carolyn found that her pudding canister had exploded in her lunch bag, along with a ziplock bag that had burst also. An impressive physics lesson, all in all !

This photo shows the weather station at the top of the Aiguille du Midi mountain. We had lunch on a platform at the base of the tower, at the top of the rocky piton.

After returning to the valley floor, we caught the cog railway to the Mer de Glace glacier. The ice cave that we usually visit was closed following a partial collapse that killed a tourist some weeks earlier. We stuck to safer activities...

Once we'd arrived at the Montenvers station at the end of the line, many of the students walked down a well-marked trail toward the glacier. Those who went all the way down of course had to return all the way up, and missed the train we'd planned to catch as a group. Fortunately, there was another train just twenty minutes later, and we all were able to board the bus for a timely return to Faverges.

We will be having classes again every weekday until the end of the program. This morning, the students gathered outside our classroom at 9am as usual, next to an ancient and well-restored Fiat 500 which is now a collector's item. Marie-Caroline Boubée held her conversation classes as Prof. Jeantet ran the civ classes.

During the break between classes, Marie-Thérèse Martinet, the local correspondent for the Dauphiné Libéré newspaper, met with us and gathered information from the students. An article will likely appear in the paper in the next few days. In the photo at right, we see Ramona speaking with Marie-Thé about her experiences in France. Ramona uses her hands with great artistry as she talks !

Others used the break time in more creative ways. Rachel, for reasons unclear to all, tied Jeff's hair into a strange shape somewhat reminiscent of a sumo wrestler's topknot. The tight hair however did not interfere with Jeff's abilities in French, which have progressed quite nicely.

After lunch, three of the students went to the Col de la Forclaz for their chance at hang-gliding. At right, we see Chelsea's pilot adjusting her harness prior to their flight.

This photo shows David's takeoff. There was no headwind, and the wing did not lift gracefully off the ramp: David and his pilot ran off the very end and dropped a bit before soaring off over the lake. Videos of the three flights will likely be posted this weekend. Links will be provided on this page as they become available.

In this shot we see Michael and his pilot overtaking a couple of parasails as the Roc de Boeufs mountain looms in the background.

Finally for today, a shot of Chelsea and her pilot Gauthier as they fly over the Bout du Lac nature preserve. The wheels on the control bar allow them to land while hanging horizontally under the wing, thus totally eliminating the risk of sprained ankles. The only danger is of catching grass with one's teeth if one lands in an unmown field !

Friday, we will have classes as usual; in the afternoon, we will be going on a visit, either to the Cormet de Roselend mountain pass or Menthon castle, depending on the weather. Students will be entirely free for their last weekend in Faverges. Next week, many activities are planned, so that students need some time off to be with their host families and simply to relax a bit.

Next report, probably Sunday.