The French Really Like Their Double Kiss

What a day!  Sometimes the more simple and straightforward something should be, the more complicated it gets.  Today we were to set off for Chamonix for our week of hiking around Mont Blanc in the Alps.  We got bus tickets leaving at 9am from the station just outside our hotel getting us to the mountains by 1pm or so.  Easy peezy.

Slept like a rock thanks to the Mojitos and so up early and out the door with plenty of time.  Wanted to make sure we got there early enough to not miss the bus.  Even had time to pick up some food.  The bus station is also a part of the train, metro and tram station but was pretty easy to find where our bus "OUIBUS" should be and when we got there, there was a OUIBUS already parked with people loading and going to Geneva.  So I asked the attendant and she said that no, it was not the bus to Chamonix but that ours was coming.  Ok, cool.  It was early anyways.

About 5 min to 9 a bus pulls in but it's not a OUIBUS, it does not say anything about Chamonix and does not have our route number on it.  We don't bother with it because it's not our bus company.  About 5 after 9 the bus driver is looking around and then waves at us to see if we were supposed to be on his bus (I guess people were missing).  Anyways, we wave him off, clearly it's not us... We're going to Chamonix on a OUIBUS.  No idea where this on is going.  So he eventually takes off.  Over an hour later, we are still waiting for our bus.  What the Hell is going on?  It can be late, but almost 90 min now?  We're starting to worry because our options are limited in how we can get to Chamonix at this point.  Other buses are leaving later but filling fast and getting pricey and trains are also complicated and pricey. We try to go to another bus company in the station that had a booth and attendant there as their website said they had a bus going to Chamonix, but we got there with like 3 minutes to spare before that bus left.  And they weren't helpful at all, so we opted to skip that option.  Nothing like buying a 2nd ticket, way more expensive and then missing that bus too.  

There is another OUIBUS leaving at 1:20pm, maybe we can get on that one?  Nope, it's now full too.  But where is OUR original bus.  It's now past 11am and it still hasn't arrived. So Sue goes to talk to another OUIBUS driver that pulls in and they say there is no direct bus to Chamonix, it must have been that first one that was going to Geneva.  We probably needed to take that one and get the transfer in Geneva.  Well then why did that other girl tell me no?  It was not that bus?  And why does our ticket say nothing about transferring in Geneva or even stopping in Geneva?  None of this makes any sense.. .. Unless we WERE supposed to get on that OTHER bus, he was looking for people afterall.  But this other bus driver said no, it would be a OUIBUS and they all look identical.  So again, what the Hell?  

Now we're running out of time to figure out what to do and how we're going to get to Chamonix at the last minute.  Clearly our bus isn't coming.  So I start investigating.  If the Geneva bus would mean a transfer to Chamonix, maybe we can book a bus ticket to Geneva instead and then Chamonix separately from there?  While I'm looking into this option, ANOTHER OUIBUS pulls in and Sue goes to talk to him.  A long while later she comes back and this guy gave her a completely different story from the last driver.  He actually pulled up the information and sure enough our bus was here on time, picked up 13 people and the only 2 missing were Sue and I.  But WE WERE HERE!!!  Did the bus leave early?  He says no, it can't if people are missing.  Is it in this depot?  Yes.  Were we here on time?  YES!!! Is the bus invisible?  Apparently not... And he also confirms the bus is a OUIBUS and they all look the same. He is the 1:20pm Chamonix driver in fact and was so nice that he said that although his bus was full, there are always people that don't show and so if we waited, he would let us ride with him.  The only problem is is that if we wait until 1:20pm and can't get on his bus, the Geneva bus leaves at 1:30pm and we wouldn't have time to book that one.  So I suggest to Sue that we book the Geneva one in case for 7 Euro... Yes bus tickets are dirt cheap here... And if we do have spots on the Chamonix direct bus (yes there is one), we take that one and we're only out 7 Euro.  

As we're about to do this, the driver (Julien) comes into the station to see us.  He informs us that the bus we were supposed to get on was in fact that other bus that left just after 9am who was looking for people.  Turns out our bus broke down and so they needed to use another bus on the fly and there was a little sticker in the front window that said it was running as a OUIBUS.  Of course it did!  Why didn't the electronic panel say that?  Or the route number?  OR THE DESTINATION?  All it said was the bus company name - Berthelet Tourism.  He then proceeds to tell us that if we wanted, we could store our luggage in his bus until we left so that if we wanted to go walk around for a few hours, we wouldn't have to lug it with us.  How sweet!  And as we're loading it he says that they only book 48 passengers but that he has 50 seats so we would in fact have spots on his bus, he just wouldn't know which ones until people boarded.  So happy I could have kissed him! 

So we wander back into Lyon for a bit... Not a bad city to be stuck in a little longer.  The station is in a nice place and almost directly in Old Lyon.  We have a drink at a nice little resto and pick up more snacks for the road (because we ate most of the original ones).  We wouldn't be getting to Chamonix until much later now.  Closer to 530 or 6 by the time we get to the chalet.  It was nice to get out of the station.

We board the bus and are on the road as promised by 1:20pm.  YIPPEE!!!  Thanks to Mr. Bus Driver.  The ride is about 4 hours including a few stops along the way.  As we get into the mountains though it gets dark, REALLY REALLY dark.  We hit torrential rain and hail like I've never seen.  We couldn't even see outside the windows it was so stormy.  Big thunder and lightning and hail hitting the bus like bullets.  How he drove through it, I don't know.  It was a little unnerving - especially because we were winding up a mountain.  But he got us there safe and sound and now we owe him our lives too HAHA.  

It's still raining pretty hard when we pull into the station in Chamonix and we ask where we can get a taxi.  Our papers say we should be able to get one there.  He says no.  He says we need to call or book one.  Great... Well we can't walk in this rain... So what does he do?  He calls the cab for us.  And then lets us wait in the bus and keep our luggage stowed until the cab arrives.  They don't work on tips here, so he's not working for that.  We talk about the weather and how it might not be nice most of the week... And seen as he lives in Chamonix himself, he gave us his number if we need anything or have questions or if we want a personal tour guide to take us around to some nice places, he would do that.  For real?  Maybe he's one of those crazy mountain people that kidnaps tourists... I don't know... But he sure seemed legit.  So much so, we got the French double kiss when we said "Au Revoir" and a very big MERCI.  Yes it's a standard greeting here, Sue and I had just been talking about it the other day, how everyone still greets friends and family and even acquaintances that way, we'd seen it often in our few days in France.  But as far as I know, generally not used with random strangers you just met.

Well obviously Sue and I are just that fabulous, and we made quite the impression.  Or he just felt bad for us... Either way he got us here safely and on time and it's just refreshing to meet people who are willing to be kind and friendly, expecting nothing in return and probably just knowing he'd helped us out big time and we were extremely grateful was enough.  

Oh and he wasn't bad looking either... ;)

Moral of the story... Whilst waiting for a bus, do not assume a bus is not yours, even if it has no indication of it being your bus.  Ask ALL bus drivers if they are driving your bus.  Or hope a cute bus driver comes along a few hours later and picks you up :D

Unfortunately the video of the storm won't load :(