{"id":24278,"date":"2018-10-30T19:49:00","date_gmt":"2018-10-30T18:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/peregrinusmundi.com\/un-automne-montagnard\/"},"modified":"2020-07-05T17:29:40","modified_gmt":"2020-07-05T15:29:40","slug":"an-autumn-in-mountains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peregrinusmundi.com\/en\/an-autumn-in-mountains\/","title":{"rendered":"An autumn in the mountains"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Here I am, back in France. After more than three years abroad, I am back. I left Australia at the end of September and I have been back for ten days. Strange. I find it hard to know how I feel, between the joy of seeing my parents again, the excitement of starting a new job and a slight aftertaste of failure at not being able to continue my stay in Australia. But it is like that. The last few months in Australia have been difficult and after 15 months spent on this island continent, I decided to return to Europe. For a few months. I found a job as an Assistant manager in Chamonix Mont-Blanc starting in early October and here I am, embarking on a new adventure. I barely had time to rest that I am leaving again!<\/p>

The idea of coming to work during the winter season in Chamonix at the foot of Mont-Blanc delights me. I think back to the many discussions I had with Gregorio, one of the ski instructors at Mount Buller<\/strong><\/a>, who kept praising the charms of the valley. He is from Courmayeur, on the other side, Italian side. He works there during the winter but comes regularly to Chamonix. I love mountains. I love these giants of rocks and snow-capped peaks. These steep valleys and these hikes in altitude. I love the beauty of the landscape and this impression of power. The feeling of being very small in the environment, lost in the middle of nature. So coming to live in Chamonix seems to me to be the right decision.<\/p>

The Alpina hotel stands proudly in the center of Chamonix. A large modern style building with a huge bay window on the seventh floor. On one side flows the Arve, which descends from Mont-Blanc. And on the other the picturesque center of Chamonix. Mix of modern and traditional. Despite the large buildings of recent construction, Chamonix retains a certain charm. I already came to Chamonix years ago. On a school trip and with my parents. But I do not remember. The city has probably changed a lot. The hotel was recently renovated and the interior is very beautiful. Mountaineering ropes, large bells, old skis, drawings of mountaineers or local writers, all in colorful tones, light up the place. The restaurant, on the seventh floor has the most beautiful view of Chamonix. The Mont-Blanc massif proudly spreads out before my dazzled eyes. This is where I will work for seven months.<\/p>

My room does not have quite the same view. A building is right in front of my window. By reaching out I could almost touch it. It is the back of a Japanese restaurant. But I can’t complain too much, the job comes with accommodation and food and it is very beneficial for me. Finding accommodation in Chamonix is mission impossible and the price of food shopping is too high. So here I am, housed in Beaulieu, an old building behind the Alpina which has been converted into an employee accommodation. The vast majority of the staff live here. The rooms are small but I am lucky to have one for myself. Most are shared by two. A bed, a shower, a sink, a table and a wardrobe. White walls and dark brown carpet. It is not luxury but it is much better than many places I have lived in during my three years of travel.<\/p>

The atmosphere in the team is a bit tense. A lot of staff has just left and a lot has just arrived. Everyone needs to adapt and the atmosphere is affected. It is early October, the start of the winter season. The vast majority of the summer team have left and those who have stayed are a little overworked. Newcomers like me, take their bearings and swallow the amount of information spilled by others. As often in the field of tourism, we find ourselves parachuted in the middle of a “fight” without much time to master the basics. In times\u00a0of\u00a0war\u00a0we\u00a0have\u00a0to\u00a0make\u00a0do, as they\u00a0say.\u00a0 I learn what I need to know to do my job as an assistant, try to tidy up the bar and the back room as well as possible, they seem to have faced a hurricane and familiarize myself with the management of groups and buffets.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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