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Hiking Europe’s Tour du Mont Blanc was a totally different slice of European culture for me: Coming upon a remote farmhouse-turned-thriving-cafe serving wonderful lunches…flowers and cows (with classic bells) scenically sprinkled throughout…and an esprit de corps where everyone is like family.
![](https://blog.ricksteves.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/4.cow_-640x480.jpg)
![](https://blog.ricksteves.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2.mountain-cafe-640x480.jpg)
As nearly everyone hikes in the same direction (counter-clockwise), you become friends with fellow hikers. It seemed like half the people on the trail were from the US, and I met lots of Seattleites.
![](https://blog.ricksteves.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/5.trail-talk-640x480.jpg)
![](https://blog.ricksteves.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/6.two-guys-640x480.jpg)
And in the interest of hiking light, lunches were very simple — just a sandwich from the hotel, maybe a carrot, a piece of fruit, and water. But upon reaching the mid-day summit, lunch was a marmot’s banquet. (Speaking of marmots, we saw no wildlife except a couple of mice that had been squished under hiking boots on the trail.)
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