The Lautaret alpine botanic garden

This morning started with a bit of a panic.  I couldn't find my credit card anywhere. I worked it out that the last time I saw it was at Porta Nuova railway station when we tried to buy tickets with it and it didn't work.  So we used cash instead and everything was fine. As we looked in every possible place I realised that it is either in a place I can't think of or I dropped it in the station without realising it and without thinking of it for nearly a week. The first thing I did was to check on the internet and nobody used it since before that day. That cheered me up no end and I also spotted that nowadays you can cancel cards on the internet, so I did so quickly and ordered a new one which should arrive within a week or so. Just in case Roy is reading this, DO NOT PANIC!! On the relevant page on the internet it listed both cards and asked which one I want to cancel. I definitely clicked on mine!!:-)

Glacier de l'homme

Now for the happier news: today's trip up into yet another glorious alpine valley was superb. Ginny took us up to the Col du Lauteret where there is an alpine botanical garden and we spent at least 3 hours looking at and photographing the plants. The word "Alpine", when applied to plants does not necessarily mean that they are from the Alps.  They were actually from all over the world's mountainous regions, including Siberia, South Africa, Corsica, the Andes etc., etc. I couldn't stop myself photographing everything, but I am not sure that I actually did all of them justice.

The arboretum with one of its little lakes

The surrounding peaks, glaciers, valleys and cols were also magical and some even had snow and ice on them.  Unfortunately, probably due to global warming, the biggest glacier at the top is now only about 60% of its recent self, but it was still impressive. We took a packed lunch and munched it in the sun by a picnic table and benches, chatting to 4 French people.  My French is amazingly still with me, but Ginny helped.

The giant hogweed with the health warning

Now we got home and Ginny is fixing a fish pie. Richard has plastered one of the walls and is looking like he is getting over his jetlag. Alex and a couple of friends are coming over tomorrow, as it is their free day and we will all get back together to Bardonecchia for the World School tomorrow afternoon. Might not be any more posts before I get home, depending on WiFi availability over there.

The arboretum with the mountains behind

Pretty blue flowers (name's forgotten)

Geology lesson which even I understood mostly

Close up of a lovely Edelweiss

Blood red little flower (I can't remember this one's name either)

Or this one

Now this one looks familiar, but this is wild

A whole field of my favourite flower of the day: the alpine thistle

The alpine thistle in close up

A group of pretty Edelweiss

Another glacier down the Serre Chevalier valley en route home