Although our last WWOOF stay didn't work out, at least we had our bikes and freedom. We toyed with going to Luzerne, Switzerland, but the return train fare for two was staggering (400 Euros plus). So we made a tentative plan from Tournon-sur-Rhône to head to Grenoble via Valence. At least we would get to know Grenoble and see some of the French Alps. We had about 10 days before our next WWOOF stay so we wouldn't be too pressed for time. Also, we already had a friend in Grenoble -Laure - whom we had previously met at Sourire-et-Nature in Bourgogne in August. So, with a little luck the weather would hold and we could travel sans souci...
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| In Valence we were hosted by Jean-Yves for two nights in the city center. This was our first Warm Showers stay in France since late July; we have wild-camped exclusively since then! |
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| The striking staircase in Jean-Yves' building. |
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| Once again on the ViaRhona ,on a beautiful morning. |
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| This is our turn-off to head to Grenoble, more like 100 km as we would find out. |
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| Jeff and Bo enjoying a moment near Pont d'Isère. |
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| Now on the Isère River, we happily followed the bike path upriver. |
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| We started getting closer to the Vercors Mountains along here, up until now always a distant glimpse. |
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| Bo requests a stop to meet the donkeys. |
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| This church at Eymeux shows the time as 17:10, and it is waning daylight already. |
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| The sun about to set as we start to look for a campsite. |
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| The woods turned out to be full of large salamanders like this one. |
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| A fireside reading of Goodnight Tractor (Bo's favorite book) just before bedtime. |
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| The following morning was resplendent as we entered never-ending walnut orchards. |
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| Bo has a wander about the walnut trees. |
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| Striking riverside chateau seen near La Sône. |
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| We were right close to the Vercors at Cognin-Les-Gorges. |
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| Following seldom-traveled back roads at the foot of the Vercors Mountains. Just ahead of Katy in the photo are sprawling walnut orchards, for which Grenoble is famous. |
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| In good spirits - all three of us - as we approach Grenoble. |
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| We met some local cyclists as we pedalled in towards Grenoble. |
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| Jacky, pictured above with Katy and Bo, guided us all the way into Grenoble center, très sympa. |
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| Our first mission in Grenoble was to see Laure (pictured above left). She is preparing to return to Indonesia to participate in a raw-food community in several weeks' time. |
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| This is Laure's (and Bodhi's, too) good friend Franck, who wasted no time in catching Bo's attention. |
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| Bo, super happy in Franck's house. |
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| We hit the forest trails for a Saturday hike with Laure and Franck. |
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| The view of sprawling Grenoble from above Eybens. |
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| We reached a forest meadow with splendid views of the nearby Alps. |
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| Bo and Laure enjoying the afternoon sunshine. |
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| Laure and Franck practicing contact dance. |
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| Grenoble is full of legendary views like this one, where dramatic peaks rise over the city in nearly all directions. |
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| There is a fabulous market in downtown Grenoble that is at its peak on weekends. It features a local section where you can buy fruits and veg and artesenal goods direct from the producers... |
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| Bo loved the excitement of the market but later fell promptly asleep. |
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| Fantastic quote seen in Grenoble. Normality is a paved road: it is easy to walk on, but no flowers grow on it. |
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| The Isère as it flows through Grenoble. |
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| From Laure and Franck we changed neighborhoods and met up with a Warm Showers host: Benoit and Albane. A couple with a 3-yr.-old son, they had previously cycled from Kazakhstan to Vietnam over 14 months. This is the fantastic wall hanging that they received as a gift from Albane's mom to commemorate their epic ride. |
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| Our host Benoit reading bedtime stories to Bo and Youn. Benoit was the hero of our Grenoble stay, as Bodhi came down with a 40-degree fever and forced a visit to a local medical clinic. Benoit sacrificed an entire Friday night to help us negotiate the clinic. In all, they gave us a fantastic welcome in their home and made our stay in Grenoble memorable. |
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| Bo and Youn playing with - you guessed it, tractors! - in the local park. |
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| This bird, common in the Alps and a relative of the crow, is called an Alpine chough. Glossy black plumage with yellow bill and red legs. |
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| Youn, Albane, Katy and Bo all set to hike in the French Alps. |
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| That knobby thumb in the distance is our objective: La Pinéa. |
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| It was windy as hell, but we had fantastic views over the Alps all morning and most of the afternoon... |
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| It took Bo a little while to get into the hiking as he was so bundled up he could barely move... he did find his stride though! |
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| Youn leads the way. |
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| Getting close... |
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| ... scenic switchbacks in blustery winds... |
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| Voilà. La Pinéa, at 1771 m, our high point for this trip. |
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| (L-R) Bo (fast asleep on Jeff's back!), Jeff, Youn, Albane and Katy. Youn, at 3 y.o., is an impressive adventurer: he walked himself up the steepest and toughest part of the climb with some tricky rock maneuvers thrown in there near the summit. |
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| The views from the summit did not disappoint: the fall colors on the vast swaths of forest were stunning. |
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| Grenoble in the mid-ground. |
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| Bo on the hike down, still waddling. |
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| A rare moment in a an automobile. The drive back to Grenoble: an invigorated Bodhi, Katy, and a snoozing Youn. Grenoble has made its way on to our short list for possible living in the future: ease of bicycle transport; good public transport; next to the Alps with endless possibilities of hiking, cycling, crosscountry skiing, backcountry skiing, snowshoeing, trekking, mountaineering, etc; availability of organic produce and organic shops; nice and progressive-minded people; energetic population, etc.. |
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| Having departed Grenoble, we returned towards Valence and made a stopover in Romans-sur-Isère/ Bourg-les-Peage. Our WS hosts were Karine and Sylvain, who are involved in some ambitious projects. Karine heads a local ressourcerie, a sort-of warehouse/shop which aims to reduce municipal waste by reusing useful items such as clothes and furniture, made available to the public. Sylvain, on the other hand, heads Kaza Cycle, a local bike workshop which claims used bicycles from the dump and resells them at low prices to cover operational costs., thereby promoting bicycle transport, reducing municipal waste, and offering a bicycle workshop to volunteers all at the same time. |
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| Sylvain generously helped Jeff in changing out his bottom bracket. |
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| Some positive publicity for Kaza Cycles. Titled: How bikes can change the face of a city. Kaza Cycles is the first of its kind in France to operate on a reduce-municipal-waste model. |
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| Bodhi got in on it briefly... |
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| ... but ultimately found this to be more interesting! |
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| Lost in a maze of bikes. |
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| A passing touring cyclist from Australia snapped this shot on our way towards Tain.L'Hermitage.. |
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| ...where we stopped to see our friend Eegi and her kids Elsa and Gabriel. Eegi, from Estonia and married to a Frenchman (Patrick), had allowed us to store some items in their house while we were in Grenoble, and also went out of her way to provide us homecooked lunches on cold blustery days. She taught us all about Estonia, and Bodhi loved playing with Elsa and Gabe (and all their toys). |
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| We passed by this circus in Tournon-sur-Rhone... |
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| ... You don't see camels and cattle like this one just anywhere... |
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| The Circus is King. |
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| And finally, a 400m climb in late afternoon to the plateau above Tournon, where our next WWOOF host is to be found. The road was so steep we had to push our bikes (first time since the North Yorkshire Moors in June!) several times. We arrived in darkness, completely ruined by the climb, but excited for our next stay... |
