Up into the mountains
Trip Start
May 01, 2008
1
9
43
Trip End
Jun 24, 2009
Where I stayed
Les Pervenches
Manigod
Chambéry,
Rhône-Alpes,
France
Thursday, May 22, 2008
On the way to the mountain (which we did not expect) we drove through the most beautiful gorges, and stopped every hundred metres or so for photos! It was one of the most picturesque places we had ever seen with a photo around every corner.
May 23
Le Puy en Velay
We read about this amazing place and decided to change course a little so we could visit it and are glad we did. It was a fascinating place! It is in the heart of the Massif Central, one of France's mountain ranges, and according to the guide book has" a landscape and architecture that is totally theatrical. Slung between the higher mountains to the east and west, the countryside erupts in a chaos of volcanic acne; everywhere is a confusion of abrupt conical hills, scarred with dark outcrops of rock and top knotted with woods. "
I think we well and truly got our daily exercise in walking up and down the cobblestone streets to see the Virgin and child who tower over the town, and then to see the Church of St Michael which is plonked on top of a very sharp steep rocky outcrop not far away. Strange but this town is known for its green lentils! It used to be a lace making centre though and there are a few small shops selling beautiful home made lace to tourists at inflated prices!
We hadn't booked anywhere to stay here though and were lucky to stumble upon a new Deltour Hotel which caters to the budget conscious and we were amazed to find we were the only guests!
May 24
We are off to the mountains! First to Chambery, which was the home of the Dukes of Savoie and up until 1860 was part of Italy. Not quite sure why but it feels more Italian than French. There is a huge triple statue of elephants in the main street, which was built by one of the Dukes because he had made his fortune in India. Again we were lucky with accommodation and were recommended the delightful "Pervenches" which is an old building that has been done up and is on the outskirts of town. I kept thinking my phone was ringing though as they had roosters nearby. We had a wonderful view of the mountains from our salon, of the bedroom.
The next day after a walk to see Jean Jacques Rousseau's home and fabulous medicinal herb garden (all named) we headed for the snow in the Alps. H had planned the route to take in part of the Tour de France but unfortunately we were forced to turn back quite a way along as there had been an avalanche and the road was closed. Needless to say we took a photo or two! At that stage I took over navigating and looked up the book to find a lovely B&B in a different part of the mountains on the road between Albertville and Annecy. The scenery was (is) picture postcard perfect. Enormous snow covered mountains, and below the snow, bright green valleys dotted with grey stone or wooden ski chalet houses, each adorned with bright red geraniums in pots. Around every corner you could hear the tinkle of the bells tied to the necks of the grazing goats and sheep. Howard was enthralled, and we both just drank in this beautiful scenery (with the help of a glass of local wine) our host put on a log fire in the lounge room and we sat there watching the changing light on the mountain top nearby. We are in a place called "Manigod" in the Aravis Mountains, and the mountain we can see out the window is "Le Sulens" which is 1839 metres high. H had hoped to go to the base of Mont Blanc, France's highest mountain which is over 4,000m, but the roads are shut due to melting spring snow.
Tomorrow we plan to see Annecy which is reputedly the prettiest town in France ---I'll let you know!
