Residence La Combe D'Or Les Orres

... day hikes, a 2-day climb, night in a refuge, hikes to pick up blueberries to bake pies and make jams... one can't get bored in the mountains (unless you don't like hiking or climbing). In between our hikes? Playing tarot cards with my uncle and my aunt (a passion shared by most family members on my Mom's side) and going to the movies once in a while...

I'll upload pictures, they will express more than words...

... us from France to Italy and back to France. There wasn't a cloud in the sky until we reached the N6 which was supposed to be the nicest. Perhaps it is, we'll never know. What we do know is that the roads we did see were beautiful and closely rivel the passes we took in Switzerland.
Briancon was not a planned destination. It was a spot on the map that looked like a good place to spend the night. We didn't know until after we checked in that ...

... before we could even reach to "col du Lautaret" so I didn't even have to worry about the road condition. I woke up two hours later as we were getting close to Lyon and right before we got deviated. The deviation took us near Vienne which is pretty crazy. My father wasn't too happy about it although it was the opportunity for Kristen to discover the French countryside by night (hmmm... not that interesting to be honest). It was a long tiring happy day!

... 10 o'clock. The day was beautiful as you can see from the pictures and there were very few people on the mountain because it was a Friday. The snow was perfect and I mostly followed around my friends who were skiing and picked up their poles for them when they fell. I didn't really have snow clothes but I was fine in a cashmere sweater, a 7 euro fleece jacket and my north face on top with tights, leggings and dance warm-ups on the bottom. I also bought snow gloves for 10 euros ...

... so spirited driving wasn't really possible. Until we left Verdon and rejoined Napoleon, then it livened up considerably! Stayed at a charming chalet type place in Baratier with sauna, jacuzzi and a pool (great for unwinding after 6+ hours of full-on driving ...

... e noapte. Nu e mult inainte ca drumul sa devina un cosmar. E ca si cum ai urca Transfagarasanul noaptea, pe intuneric bezna si fara alte masini in trafic care sa te ajute un pic. Ai senzatia ca plutesti intr-o materie neagra si ca pe oriunde ai lua-o, e acelasi lucru. Ceea ce nu poate fi mai departe de adevar! :) Temperatura exteriaora a scazut constant din Grenoble incoace: 26, 22, 19, 17, 16, 13, 11 grade. 10 grade!!! My god!!! Suntem undeva in munti ...

More information on this campsite can be found here. Beautifully located campsite with quite good facitlities at about 1500m altitude and one of the best views on the Lac Serre Poncon. Located very near the small Lac St.Apollinaire. Start of some great hikes right at the entrance of the campsite. The hikes are rather steep at the start.

... it home in time to celebrate New year.....luckly we did. New years was pretty average however the weeks worth of thrashing to my body caught up on me and when I woke up at 4:30pm in the arvo on New Years Day my body was hating me! France was such a great trip, the people we met have now become regualr mates me catch up with through out the week and on the weekends. Sadly Fern has left to come back home but hopefully she will be back soon!

Well, this was a fun trip. Molly and I, as restless as ever, decided to catch a random train to a foreign city, in which we had no idea where we were going to stay. Talking in French nearly the entire time (Go me, I'm getting better) made the train ride a rather pleasant experience. Perhaps it was everyone around us inconspicuously listening in on our conversation of haggard french that made it so enjoyable. I don't know. The first thing we did ...

The Alps! The Alps! Way up in the hills in Chamonix, a quintecential alpine ski village. There are huge gondellas that go way, way up into the snow and ice - the reason I'd been hauling a wool sweater through swealtering summer days in France! It was worth it though and a nice change to be ...