Fontainebleau

My last school holiday had its ups and downs.  It started with a trip to the hospital where I discovered that the reason why my face had gotten so swollen in a couple days was due to a salivary gland infection... doesn't that sound gross?  Well thankfully that just required some antibiotics, plenty of mouthwash, good food and rest for a little while.  

Once I was feeling a little back on my feet again, I joined a group of friends in a place about 30 minutes south of Paris called Fontainebleau.  They had gone for a whole week, rented a gîte (holiday cottage), and planned on bouldering everyday.  While Fontainebleau is partly known for its large and impressive castle, it is also highly regarded for its bouldering opportunities.  The nearby, incredibly diverse forest is recognized as a national park and supposedly the site where the French climbing team trains, according to a friend.  It's quite a unique place, with many different options and opportunities. 

My first boulder.  Photo courtesy of K. Heidrich

For the two days that I was there, we went to two different, exciting locations.  The first is famously known as the Elephant Rock.  There is a large boulder resembling an elephant (sorry no picture of the elephant!), but this was also a really interesting place because there was sand, just like a beach!  This gave me my first taste of outdoor bouldering.  It was fun and scary!  Even climbing a few feet off the ground seemed nerve-wracking to me.  However, I'm pretty proud with what I accomplished.

Rockin' it. Photo courtesy of K. Heidrich

The second day was in more of an actual forest setting and had a route, rather than individual boulders like the first day.  The idea was to continue through the route of boulders, climbing up and down, without hanging out on the ground.  I'll admit, that I was already tired from the first day and wasn't pushing myself too hard, but it was fun to try something new and hang out with some good people.  

Hey foot! Photo courtesy of K. Heidrich

Besides climbing, it was great to get a bit into nature.  Our group would pack up for a day and hang out at a boulder site, have a picnic, slackline, and chat.  I felt encouraged and slightly pushed with what I was doing, but never overly stressed to complete something I wasn't comfortable with... which was a perfect compromise.  There were also a couple real good climbers who went, so it was fun to watch.  I definitely hope to return to this place.  It was so easy to fall in love with.

Friends. Photo courtesy of K. Heidrich

Visite en Champagne

A few weeks ago I took a short trip to Champagne country to taste some delicious bubbly and enjoy the sunshine.

I picked up my covoiturage (carpool) from Grenoble and in five hours arrived in the city of Reims (pronounced more like "ranse").  I lucked out with a few days of sunshine, which allowed me plenty of time for strolling the streets and discovering this small town.  I did a little shopping, sat on a terrace for a tea and dessert, and visited some of the local landmarks such as their beautiful cathedral. 

The highlight, however, was all about the champagne.  I tasted my first champagne with dinner the first night, but I was most excited about touring one of their famous champagne houses or caves on the second day in Reims.  Among all the local options including Taittinger, Lanson, Ruinart, Veuve Clicquot, and so many more, I decided to tour the Pommery estate. 

A short 20 minute walk from the very center of town,  we arrived at the gates of the Pommery estate.  After walking up the long driveway, we checked in for our tour.  Our tour quickly began and we descended into a labyrinth of tunnels devoted to the perfection and storage of champagne.  In all, we were told that there were 18 kilometers of tunnels devoted to Pommery.  We could see an old pully system on the ceiling used many years ago for transportation of their sought-after bottles, stacks of champagne bottles, and different types of storage areas.  A particular characteristic of this region is in fact that below ground, there are old dug out chalk pits.  That is where most of the champagne is stored and properly aged because it maintains a consistently cool temperature, perfect for creating a consistent product.  

Our tour completed, we had to taste some delicious bubbly.  While I may not know all about the different varieties of champagne and so forth, I do have to say that the one I tried at Pommery was pretty delicious!  It was a pretty perfect moment.

xo
Danielle

Grenoble Via Ferrata

There's this type of climbing sport in the region called the Via Ferrata.  A via ferrata is specifically a climbing route through mountainous, rocky areas made with a cable that you attach yourself to and metal hand- and footholds strategically placed along the route.  I'd say its a level above belay climbing, but a level below free climbing.  There are always handholds, but you attach yourself to the appropriate places.

This is the start!

In Grenoble, there is a via ferrata that climbs up to the Bastille.  I decided I wanted to try it.  Last Thursday was quite warm, so two friends and I decided to go for it.  One friend was experienced and even owned his own equipment, while the other was a beginner just like me.  We rented our equipment late on Thursday and headed towards the Bastille to check things out.

Scooting along the cable. Photo courtesy of P. Briggs

So there are three main pieces of equipment for the via ferrata.  First is a harness, just like with regular rock climbing.  The next is a unique two rope system with clips on the ends.  The ropes are quite short, about the length of my arm.  Basically you are attached to a cable on the rock face by these ropes.  There are two so that you always have at least one attached, even when changing and working around the cables.  The third piece of equipment is a helmet.  I have to be safe after all!

On the rock in the background. Photo courtesy of P. Briggs

So, the via ferrata ended up being pretty scary.  We climbed to great heights and were responsible for our own safety.  It's a free, open course for anyone to do, and with no one watching to make sure you're doing it right.  I think the scariest parts were going around curves/ corners where you had to straddle the rock.  Another scary part was scooting across a cable hanging high off the ground and finally a wood bridge.  The bridge itself wasn't scary, but my legs were a bit short and I had to do a major stretch over a void just to get onto it.

 So yeah, I got a bit scared, BUT I think I'd try it again! I think that now I know what to expect, it would be easier.  I guess there's quite a few different via ferrata courses in the area.  Maybe I'll have to try another!  Anyways, here's some pretty flowers from our walk aback down the hill; spring has sprung!

Easter Ski Weekend

I've been getting outdoorsy a bit lately.  For my 3-day Easter weekend, I joined a university group and headed to the mountains.  

Beautiful day skiing in the Alps! Photo courtesy of K. Heidrich.

On Saturday morning, I arrived bright and early to join the bus traveling from campus to les Deux Alpes.  After sleeping most of the way up, we arrived at the resort, dropped off our bags, and headed for the pistes (slopes).  It was a beautiful, sunny day and quite warm out.  The skiing was the best at the top of the mountain on the glacier.  I took things a little bit easy since I'm still recovering from a twisted ankle, but everything went just fine.  We met up with more friends for lunch, which we enjoyed with some vin chaud sitting outside under the sunshine.  Towards the end of the day, the sun was getting quite strong and the snow was becoming a bit too slushy.  We stopped skiing for a while and went to hang out at the apres-ski destination, which was a party on top of the mountain, complete with DJ and people dressed in silly outfits.

Pano Bar on top of the mountain

Our ski day was coming to a close, but our evening was only beginning.  A group of six of us decided to save a little money and make dinner together at our rented apartment.  It was great to sit and hang out over dinner.  Our evening continued with some card games, and eventually we decided to join the crowd for a night out.  It was very fun and we ended up dancing the night away.

The next morning came early, and looking outside we discovered the mountain was covered in a blizzard.  From our little apartment, we couldn't even see the slopes just across the way.  Research told us that the intense weather would continue all day, so we decided to call it and not ski.  Instead, we ended up watching Friends (in French) and exploring the ski village.  Towards the end of the day, the whole university group was invited out for ice skating.  That was lots of fun, with people dressing up, showing off, and learning how to skate.  It was another fun night.

Ice skating! Photo courtesy of P. Briggs.

The next day was our last, so we headed back onto the slopes, stopping for an afternoon BBQ, before joining the bus back to campus.  We got the perfect seats at the front on the top of a double-decker bus.  There were beautiful views the whole way.  

Grenoble looking good.

I really enjoyed my weekend.  I feel like I got to know my friends even better and made some new ones along the way.  Grenoble and the people here are great.  I'm really feeling at home!

Day Trip to Vizille

Day Trippin! Today, I took a short excursion to Vizille, a commune south of Grenoble.

I was feeling like getting out of Grenoble and exploring something new for the day.  Being in France, there is so much history to learn everywhere you go.  Well, I didn't really know where to go, and I hadn't gotten any great suggestions, so Google was my friend.  After Googling "chateau near Grenoble," I found this perfect opportunity.  It was a castle, museum, park, and animal reserve all wrapped into one!

My friend Katie decided to join me for this excursion.  We met at the bus station around 1pm to hop on the express Grenoble - Vizille bus.  A quick 40 minute ride dropped us off at an empty bus stop in a place we didn't know.  We got a bearing of our surroundings and decided to walk towards what looked like the center of the village, and quickly figured out we were heading the right direction.  A map showed us heading towards a big castle and park.  We continued along, spying a castle tower along the way and soon arrived at the castle gates.  We went right through and were welcome by a beautiful site of green, grassy lawns stretching out towards the far mountain.  People were strolling around the grounds, a couple boys were kicking a soccer ball back and forth, and swans and ducks were waiting for bread being thrown by an older couple.

We decided to first explore the free museum located inside the castle.  It was a museum all about the French Revolution.  There was a lot that I didn't understand or remember from my history lessons, but it was very cool.  We saw sabres, wall-sized paintings depicting battles, deaths, and liberty, busts, extracts from films depicting the arrival of Napoleon in Grenoble and more.  

This funny painting shows a joker.  He's enjoying himself.

Parts of the museum also showed the history of the building itself.  It was owned by a rich family by the name of Perier, but was also famously the home of several French presidents, the latest being Charles de Gaulle.  I can understand why a president would enjoy this castle and grounds; it was a very peaceful and beautiful place.  

After a couple hours in the well-maintained and interesting museum, we ventured out of the castle for some fresh air.  I really came to understand why a friend had told us to bring a picnic.  It would be the perfect place on a sunny day.  The grounds were really large and varied.  There were perfect pyramid topiaries, large expanses of closely cut grass, and various trees lining the paths.  Our path took us back to an area where animals were kept.  Unfortunately, we were running out of time before everything closed, so we didn't have enough time to explore all the way, but we did see some interesting deer (if that's the right word) with large antlers.  Also on a separate path back towards the entrance, we glimpsed some carved wood modern statues.  

This is a place to which I'm sure I'll return.  I can't wait for the perfect sunny day with blue skies to return with a picnic of wine, cheese, and bread to lounge in the sun with my friends.

A last picture from Vizille (not the castle or grounds but the small city itself).  I came across this painted on the sidewalk... It's a play on words to say "walkway NOT poopway" or simply, "This is a place to walk, not to leave your dog poop."  It's a really problem in some places in France where people let their dogs poop all of the sidewalk and streets since there's not as much grass in cities, but here it was quite clean!

Lille: A Short Escape

I love traveling.  I know -- that's quite obvious.  Sometimes I enjoy traveling for long periods of time and other times a little getaway is all I need.  

Well last week, I decided to take a little, one-night getaway to explore a new city.  I went to Lille.  Lille is in the very north of France, near Belgium.  It has a bit of Flemish influence, which can be seen in Vieux Lille, the oldest part of town.  

Upon arrival after my train delay, my boyfriend and I checked into our AirBnb apartment (very convenient to the train station) and went out to explore.  Rather than set specific destinations our first day, we decided to simply walk.  I think that exploring a place on foot without an idea of what a place is supposed to be is great.   We walked ourselves in circles a few times - the city is NOT in a grid pattern.  We discovered a cathedral.  We found a grassy area surrounded by various architectural styles.  We sat for tea.  We headed towards the citadel, only to turn around at the entrance since it was closed and actually used by the military.  We strolled through a park as the sun set.  Really, we just enjoyed being together. 

After a while, we decided it was time to eat.  We ended up at an Italian inspired restaurant and I chose a delicious spinach and ricotta ravioli with a creamy veggie and pumpkin sauce.  It was great!

Deciding the night wasn't quite over, we headed to the movies before finally calling it a night.

The next morning, we started by going to the art museum (Palais des Beaux Arts).  It was huge (actually the second largest art museum in France outside of Paris).  Our tickets came with audio guides so we played the part and walked around the museum with our headphones, learning about some interesting pieces.  My favorites were the statues and the Impressionist paintings.  

By afternoon, the rain had arrived. My little umbrella couldn't hold up to it, so we ended up jumping from one place to the next for lunch, tea, and shopping.  I also tried a delicious little treat (too bad I forgot to take a picture) that was a fluffy poof with whipped cream and hardened meringue inside covered by chocolate outside.  I would definitely have that again!

We spent our last hour at a large shopping mall where we were protected from the rain.  We got into a little mischief at the Lego store and I made a mini-me.  It may not have been a very "Lille" afternoon, but at least we enjoyed ourselves!  It was a perfect little vacation.

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.