Day 14 - Modane to Refuge I Re Magi - A Taste of Italy

Looking north from the Col de la Vallee Etroite

After an excellent breakfast we bought our lunch sandwiches and headed out of Modane. It was cool after overnight rain and the hiking was pretty dull initially - a long, steep climb in the forest. The hiking slowly improved and was quite pleasant for the last bit up to the col - and the end of a 4.5 hour uphill slog.

The Col de la Vallee Etroite marks the boundary between the northern and southern alps. Today things were the 'wrong way round' - better weather to the north, grayer skies to the south. We had a chilly lunch, hiding from the wind, and then continued the hike, descending the Vallee Etroite (narrow valley). The vegetation had changed - the high altitude trees were now melezes (larch).

The Vallee Etroite is very interesting; it was Italian until 1947 but is now officially French. In reality, it seems more Italian than French. Cars had Italian plates; signs were in Italian, then French; and our refuge (sorry, rifugio) was also Italian - il Rifugio i Re Magi. 

The gardiens didn't speak English and my Italian is a bit rusty so we spoke in French - it's unusual to use French as a common language with a non-native French speaker. The hut was excellent, with a pleasant reading area outside the bedrooms. But the evening meal was (by hut standards) outstanding. The dining room had lots of windows but was very cozy and we could enjoy views in every direction. We were served a first course of five little appetizers; the main course was polenta and sausage; a cheese course then panna cotta; all with wine and grappa included in the price. Absolutely outstanding!