M and I have now been here in Argentiere for almost a week. Of course we have learned much during that time, but the one thing we have not figured out is when stores are open or closed (ouvert or ferme).
All the stores have hours of operation but it appears that those are mere suggestions. For instance, there is an organic foods store just up the street with posted hours of Monday through Saturday (Lundi par Samedi) 8 am -12 pm and 4 pm to 7:15 pm. Thus far we can only attest that they are open on Wednesdays at 4:30.
A favorite brasserie (bakery) is apparently only open some hours on Monday and possibly at some point on Thursday with some other random times thrown in for confusion. Of course the problem with this is that M loves their bread and she practically has to sneak up on the place in order to get the bread. M might have to resort to camping right outside their door in order to catch them when they open. M is fairly crafty however so she should be able to get more bread at some point.
I tried going to the hardware store down in Cham the other day because even Google said it would be open at 2 pm. Closed. Proof that Google does not know everything.
Hopefully when summer is in full swing, things will become more regular. Or maybe we will just somehow figure out when places are open.
As an aside and for future reference, when I say something is just up the street here in Argentiere, it means within 150 yards. The whole of the Argentiere main drag (being generous with that term) is only 200 yards at the most. Hopefully that will give a picture of the size of Argentiere.
Also, sorry for not having the proper accent marks on certain words as I have not yet figured that out on this particular keyboard.