Bartavelles (Les) Crots

My parents love the mountains and have always gone to the Alps for their summer vacation since we were born. As a kid and a teenager I always joined them with my brother and sister. But I haven't had the opportunity to do so (except for in 2005) since I moved to the US.
So this year being devoted to traveling and time with friends and family, I joined them for two weeks and a half in Orcieres, a town in the ...

... in again) then, when you think you are on top, there is an elevator to take.
Now this in one crazy destination! At 3807 meters above sea level you can imagine the feeling. It was cold and sunny. There were quite a few crazy ice / rock climbers up there for us to watch when we weren't gawking at the view. It is amazing the engineering that went in to providing public access to the area. There are tunnels through the mountain so you can access ...

The alarm clock worked and Kristen and I got ready for a full day of skiing in Serre Chevalier. After having breakfast with my uncle, aunt and father we got on the road for the Southern Alps. Getting to Grenoble (1968 Olympic Games) was no problem, we had left early enough to avoid traffic. The snow was lower than what we expected for the month of March and the signs in Grenoble were warning us that chains were required to go to the "Col du Lautaret ...

... anyone tried the fois gras in mousse form. Later the first evening we visited other rooms where people were congregating and met a lot of new French friends. The parties got a little loud so it didn't go very late because there is a law in all of France that you cannot make noise after ten o'clock. So, some rooms were warned and we went to bed to rest before our first day of skiing. We planned to wake up really early to get on the slopes but didn't get on the mountain until ...

... this lot) but we were generally able to get past and make good progress. Then we got to the Verdon Gorge. Stunning place, beautiful weather, but too much traffic. The road itself became secondary to the views as around almost every corner was a camper van or ...

... minute dupa ce ne achitam de datorii la gazde, ne luam valizele si ne hotaram sa plecam, ajungem in Briancon. Peisajul de pe drum e superb, acum ne pare rau ca nu am oprit sa cautam hotel mai devreme aseara, am ratat atata drum pitoresc... Briancon este un oras fortificat construit sa apere Franta de austrieci, de un cap militar genial pe la curtea regelui. Este, nici nu se putea altfel, patrimoniu Unesco (cre'ca toata Franta e patrimoniu Unesco, si ei ...

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.

... the boys...mean while B re-emerged from her bed and went to the toilet were she continued to threw up and past out again. It wasn't until Emily and Emma went to the toilet sometime later that B woke up and called for Emily. Somehow B has a sudden rush of energy (and also because the two of us can't possibly miss out if the other is out having fun) and she left to come find me. Once B found us, saved me from a French man and tackled me ...

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 ...

Een hele mooie naturistencamping aan de Verdon. Heleen en Niek (en natuurlijk de kinderen) waren er ook. Even wennendat naturistische, maar dan volop genieten. Een keer ook een autorit langs de Gorges du Verdon gemaakt, ontzettend mooi. Leuke lokale markt in Reiz met veel lavendel, kruiden, etc. En verder lekker eten, bbq-en, drinken en zwemmen.