Outdoor Mix Festival

In mid-May every year, I go to a sports and music festival located in a town called Embrun. Embrun is a pretty, 2.5 hour drive through the mountains from Grenoble. It's also right next to a lake, more precisely the Lac de Serre-Ponçon. 

It's a cute town and a nice spot to relax. My friends and I like camping there, and for this year's festival, we rented a couple little bungalows in a campsite. They were perfect with inside space devoted to beds and storage and a nice large terrace equipped with all the kitchen essentials. It still felt enough like camping since the toilets and showers were down the road, but it was a good alternative to tent camping since it rained a bit everyday.

The lake is a nice idyllic spot in a mountain setting. In May, it's still too cold for me to swim, but there's a few brave souls that try. Later in the year, it warms up nicely. In fact, two years ago we were camping there and there was an inflatable obstacle course on the water. That was fun!

Outdoor Mix is a sports and music festival that happens annually towards the end of the school year (I've finished my exams and am doing a summer internship at the moment) and is a time to relax and enjoy some fresh air. It also always happens on a holiday weekend, so it's nice to take advantage of three days off to travel a bit. During the day, there are extreme sports to watch, including rock climbing, kayaking, kite surfing, bmx and dirt bike competitions, longboard races, and my particular favorite, jumpline. Jumpline is a relatively new sport, where people use a slackline to do acrobatic tricks. Check it out :

The sports competitions last all weekend long, with the finals usually on Sunday or Monday, and competitors come from all over the world. This year there were BMX riders from France, the USA, Colombia, Brazil and more for example. At night, there are concerts to check out with live music starting at 8pm. My group likes to check out a concert one night, but stay and hang out at our campsite for the other nights we're there. 

I really enjoy this festival and I expect it won't be the last time I go. It's a great combination of friends, camping, mountains, interesting sports to watch, music to dance to and laughs to be had.

Mesa Verde and Canyons of the Ancients

Hello kind readers!

As you may have noticed, I'm catching up on a few blog posts.  I recently took almost a year's worth of pictures off my camera and found some gems hidden in the more than 1,000 unseen pictures.  There are a few events and places I'd like to share with you even though it was a while ago now, so let's continue! Next up is southwestern Colorado.

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During the winter, I took the long journey home, traveling more than 24 hours from Grenoble to Denver to go home for the holidays.  I've been realizing more and more how much I love being home with family during this time of year.  It is truly a special time.

After the festivities of Christmas, and before welcoming in the New Year, my family and I drove to southwestern Colorado for an adventurous getaway.  Our main destinations: Mesa Verde National Park, Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, and Wolf Creek Ski Resort.

Mesa Verde is best-known for its cliff dwellings where the Ancestral Pueblo people built villages into the sides of steep cliffs.  These people called this area home between AD 600 to 1300, and then seemed to disappear, leaving little to no clue where an entire people could have gone.  The national park protects and continues to study these cliff dwellings and various archeological sites.

I found this area to be very interesting, marveling at the thought of climbing a cliff to go home.  With the help of the archeologists and the park, the cliff dwellings are kept in quite good conditions.  While not able to enter the cliff dwellings in winter, we saw them from afar and even had a hike along a snowy road where we saw wild horses and observed the aftermath of a forest fire.

Next up was Canyons of the Ancients National Monument where we went for a muddy day hike.  The area is protected by the Bureau of Land Management and includes hiking trails and one of the highest concentrations of archeological sites in the U.S.  We took a long hiking loop across red rocks, through muddy pits, and with incredible views of rock formations and reaching landscapes.

Coming to the end of our getaway, we brought in the New Year with some powder at Wolf Creek, a nice little ski resort that wasn't too crowded and quite affordable, and a few hours of hot springs on our way home.  

It was a fun adventure to an area I had never been.  I learned more about the history of my home state and continue to be fascinated by its beauty, history, and culture.  I would absolutely recommend this area to any visitors wanted to know more about southwestern Colorado.

Mesa Verde Cliff Palace

A view into the dwellings

Wild horses in Mesa Verde

Hiking in Canyons of the Ancients

Rock formations in Canyons of the Ancients

Yes it was winter, as you can see in this shot taken on the drive home.

Annecy: Retour des Alpages

Annecy is a cute and relatively well-known town about an hour and a half train ride from Grenoble.  It sits along the edge of Lake Annecy in the mountains and is known for its little, colorful houses lining tight streets and winding canals.  Every fall, the town holds a celebration called 'Retour des Alpages' or 'Back from the Alpine Pastures' where the local farmers and herdsmen bring their animals down from the summer pastures located high in the mountains.  The town celebrates with a parade of animals, people dressed in tradition costume, song, and dance.  It's a festive and popular parade with people packed together along the streets throughout the parade route in town.  Besides the parade, there are also plenty of market stands to pick up local and handmade goods, as well as sample the delicious, local fare.  During the fall, the tradition potato and cheese dishes like tartiflette and raclette come out. There are also yummy sausages called diot, roasted chestnuts, and plenty of vin chaud or mulled wine. 

Here's a sampling of pictures from my second time at the Retour des Alpages in October 2016.

Sunny Southern Getaway

On Friday, I had my last departmental meeting at the university.  We gathered to officially approve the final grades for a last test that some students took.  Afterwards, my coworkers and I shared a potluck meal and celebrated the send-off of our director who is moving to another department next year.  It was a fun time, made all that much better knowing that I'll be coming back to continue another year as an English teacher at Université Grenoble-Alpes.  That's right! I just picked up my contract today and am working on my visa renewal to stay another year in Grenoble and in the same job.  It's been a bit of a tough situation for paperwork with my renewal, but I think it's worth it.  I find the job very rewarding and interesting.  I quickly grew to love Grenoble, which I fondly say could be Denver's equivalent in France with interesting and fun places to go in the city, all the while with easy access to the mountains and nature.  I've also made great friends this year, many of whom are returning next school year too.

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With summer on the horizon and a standstill for contract/ visa paperwork (until today), I decided to take a quick getaway starting Saturday.  In 2012, I studied in Aix-en-Provence and I hadn't returned there since.  It seemed like a nice opportunity to revisit the place I had called home for four months.  So, I found a cheap bus ticket and soon found myself in Aix on Saturday afternoon.  I met up with a Grenoble friend for coffee/ tea and wandering the streets.  I quickly saw that some things had changed while much remained the same.  I visited Aix's fountains, the winding streets, and yellow and orange buildings.  I walked past the cathedral sitting directly across from where I went to class and took familiar routes as if I was having déja vu.  

La Rotonde - Aix-en-Provence

Since my getaway was a bit of a last minute decision, I couldn't find too many good available hotels, and decided to try Couchsurfing.  Couchsurfing, if you don't know, is an online community of travelers where like-minded people offer a place to stay, a partner in crime for adventure, and the opportunity to find new connections in different cities.  I was hosted by an American guy living in Aix who is doing an internship to complete his Masters program.  His roommate was away so there was a spare bedroom all for me.  He was very kind and we hung out my first night in town, had dinner on a restaurant terrace, and went for a drink with his friends.

Mont Saint Victoire from the apartment window.

On Sunday, I was in the mood for a hike, and the place to do that in Aix is Mont Saint Victoire, the famous muse of the painter Paul Cezanne.  After a quick stop at the shop (I forgot to pack socks!), I caught a bus to the trailhead.  I took a trail up the back side of St. Victoire that was quite steep and winding.  Every so often, I could see the cross at the top peek between the trees.  It took a bit of effort, but eventually I made it to the top for an incredible view over the Provence countryside and Aix-en-Provence.  Feeling adventurous, I took a different route back that was less steep but definitely hotter with more sun.  This route lead back to an incredible blue lake held back by a large dam.  

Once back in Aix, I was feeling a bit hot and tired, so I rewarded myself with an ice cream and a little meandering before calling it an early night.

Heading down the ridge from St. Victoire

Looking back from the dam.

The next morning, I was continuing my adventure.  Before leaving Aix, I stopped by a crepe shop I had discovered during my studies for a delicious spinach and goat cheese crepe for lunch.  Then, I hopped on a bus and headed to the small coastal village of Cassis. 

Port of Cassis

Cassis was a special destination where I was meeting a couple friends from Grenoble that were cycling there.  But it was early and I had some time to spend.  I checked into my cute hostel by the port and went to explore.  I walked through the little streets, but quickly headed for the boats and beach.  Seeing that the main beach was really busy, I decided to continue on for a nice view up the hill and go to another rockier but more empty beach.  I was sidetrack by a soap shop along the way that gave a free little tour of their production space.  It was interesting learning about the different kinds of soap for the area as well as what goes into them.  I bought myself a little lotion that was promised to help skin conditions for everything from sunburn to acne.  So far, I have to say that it's lived up to its promise!

Beautiful beach stop.

Eventually I made it to the beach where I lounged in the sun for a couple hours.  Unfortunately, the water was much too cold to swim, but I was enjoying my time in the sun a lot.  Around that time, my friend called to say that the two of them would be arriving in the next hour or two.  I lazily packed up my things and headed back to my hostel for a quick shower and then walk along the port at sunset before meeting them for dinner and a football (soccer) match.  English and Iceland were playing in the Eurocup and it was a big game! The tiny country of Iceland won.  

Cassis at sunset.

The next morning I enjoyed breakfast on the terrace of my hostel before packing up my things and joining my friends at a different hostel where we'd be staying the second night.  There wasn't room for us the first night, but one of the friends I was with had worked at this hostel years ago and maintained a good relationship with the owner so we wanted to spend some time there.  I do have to say that this was the best hostel I've ever stayed in hands down.  It's the Cassis Hostel if anyone is wondering... It has a lot of character with books, eclectic decorations and travel ideas as well as a big kitchen and great outdoor patio.  However, the best part was the infinity pool looking over the bay! 

My friends and I decided this was a perfect day for another hike and we headed to the Calanques.  Described to me as somewhat like a fjord, the calanques are a series of inlets with crystal blue and green water surrounded by towering cliffs.  We explored the first three calanques, before giving into the sun and returning to find some water.  It was an absolutely stunning hike and a beautiful part of the world.  

The Calanques

Getting back into town, we stopped for ice cream (a scoop of salted caramel and a scoop of Snickers for me), then went to the store and bought the fixings for a delicious Mexican themed dinner that we made at the hostel.  It ended up being a great night with lots of food, delicious drinks (mojitos!), and talking with other travelers staying in the small hostel.  It was a perfect four-night getaway in the sunshine.  I can't wait to go back.

Skiing: Les Deux Alpes

Grenoble is a place that keeps growing on me.  I feel really at home and comfortable here.  That being said, I also feel that I've passed another milestone to being a part of Grenoble... I bought skis! A friend and I made an outing to check out skis at a second-hand shop, and we both walked out with our very own skis.  All together, my skis, boots and poles cost around 78 euros.  Not too bad, eh?  Well they're not the fanciest skis, but they work!

I tested them out for the first time last weekend when we went to a nearby ski resort called les Deux Alpes.  We arrived in the parking lot on our student bus (we both got student ski cards despite not being students this year haha!) and were quite confused... there wasn't a single patch of snow in sight!  With a slight feeling of hesitation, we decided to see what we had gotten ourselves into for the day and we took the gondola up the side of the mountain.  Our gondola took us to the base of a village, which we walked up through to find ourselves at the ski resort.  The snow ended up being ok, not fantastic, but it was a great day out nonetheless.  The ski resort is on a sort of plateau at the top of the mountain and we found some nice views the further up we went. 

We also met a group of friends for lunch and again for drinks at the apres-ski party, complete with live DJ on top of the mountain.  All in all, it was a wonderful day with great people and absolutely incredible views.  See for yourself.

Vacances de Toussaint

I'm on vacation now!  A week of vacation came as a much needed break.  With my new job, I've been working really hard and learning a lot more about teaching.  My time commitment for teaching is definitely a lot more than the past two years, mostly due to the fact that I have more lessons to plan and grading to do.  French grading is based off of a 20 point scale, and besides that, I must follow a consistent grading system for each language level.  In other words, I have to determine the language level of each student (grammar, vocabulary, etc) and give them the corresponding grade.  I'm sure it will get easier, but I collected about 150 papers before the break and am making my way through them quite slowly.

During my break, I've been slowly working my way through those papers, but also taking some time to enjoy myself, eat good food, find some delicious pastries, get outside, watch a couple movies and spend time with people I care about. 

Yesterday I had some visitors come into town, and we made a day of eating and exploring.  We started with a quick walk through the center of town, with its winding pedestrian streets, and then we made our way to lunch at an Indian restaurant.  It was delicious! I had a chicken curry that was really great.  From there, we decided to explore the touristy thing to do in Grenoble: go to the Bastille.  The Bastille is the fort situated on a mountain overlooking Grenoble.  It is in a very strategic location to look over the valley below.  

We took the "bubbles" up to the fort and were welcomed with a beautiful view.  The surrounding trees were changing color and we could see all of Grenoble.  It turned out to be quite cloudy so we couldn't see all of the surrounding mountains except for one white peak jutting above the grey clouds.  We read the informational panels at the top of the Bastille with information on the Olympic Games in the 60's, the rapid expansion of Grenoble (it's a relatively new city and has really grown in the past 60 years), and even about the role of Grenoble in nuclear physics.  

We also explored the surrounding area and found a walkway on the backside of the Bastille that tunneled into the mountain.  In fact, an entire path was dug through the mountain with strategic windows looking onto the Bastille.  Troops at the fort had created this tunnel to help regain the Bastille if it was ever taken by enemy forces.

Eventually we made our way back down the mountain to find some pastries and warm drinks.  I enjoyed a raspberry tart and hot chocolate.  The time changed last Sunday, so night was falling quite quickly.  We called it a day and made it back home.  It's now time to get back to work soon, but for now I'm enjoying my little taste of fall break.

Grenoble Sunday Stroll

I'm enjoying my new apartment here in Grenoble.  I finally unpacked and stashed my suitcase, did some shopping for bed linens and food basics, and started exploring my neighborhood.  I'm living with three French girls about a 20 minute walk from the center of Grenoble where all the action happens with bars, cafes, and winding streets.  I'm right next to two tram lines, which is convenient to get to the university, even though I'd like to get a bike to take advantage of the chance to get some fresh air.  Grenoble itself is very flat and bike-friendly; in fact, it's supposedly the flattest city in France!  So after my first payday, a bike is one of the first things on my shopping list.

Even with Grenoble being flat, the surrounding area is picturesque with mountains closing in the city on all sides.  The city is considered the capital of the French Alps region, and Stendhal, a 19th century French writer, once said of Grenoble, "At the end of every road there is a mountain."  To the north is the Chartreuse mountain range, to the south and west is the Vercours, and to the east is the Belledonne.  I'll admit that I cheated and looked that up just now, but soon I'll know it by heart.  It seems to be a right of passage to know which is which when living in Grenoble.  I get a peak of the Belledonne from my bedroom window when it's not cloudy.

Today is Sunday and I decided to have a nice afternoon stroll.  I walked up the main street (in fact the longest street in France - or it would be if it didn't change names a couple times) and past the fruit and vegetable market that I explored yesterday.  I kept going all the way to the Isere River which runs at the foot of the Bastille, a small fortified mountain that is one of the main tourist attractions of the city.  I crossed the river where I thought I would find a flea market.  Alas there was nothing (the website I saw the information on must be outdated), so I stopped by the supermarket there and picked up a couple things to add to my hoard of fruits and veggies at home.  I continued along the quay, pondering over which pizza restaurant I'd be trying first and when that would be.  There must have been 25 in a row!  I continued meandering along the river, eventually crossing a bridge back to the old city.  Being Sunday, the shops were closed.  However, people were still out and about getting lunch or walking around.  A couple outdoor markets were starting to put their unsold goods back into their vans.  After getting lost and finding myself a couple times I headed back to my apartment (hopefully soon it feels more natural to say "home"!).  At foot of my apartment, I stopped in the bakery and picked up their promotion: 3 croissants and 3 pain au chocolat for 2 euros!  Yum yum.

Now I'm in the for rest of the day, thinking about what I should make with my fresh ingredients.  I'm also trying to prepare myself a bit for the six classes I start this week.  I started my first two last Friday at the IAE business school where I am teaching English to masters IT students.  It started a little awkwardly, but then felt good once we got going.  I hope that the rest of my classes starting this week just keep getting better and better as I go along.  Besides the IT students, I'm also teaching undergraduate students at the urbanism school and a mix of both undergraduate and masters students at the language center on campus.  The language center caters to non-majors, so I'll be teaching students from all different disciplines.  Here's to the start of a good week! Wish me luck!

Bisous,
Danielle