Last weekend I had the chance to travel to Grenoble to visit my dear friends, Aurore and Alex. I wasn't sure exactly what the plan was, but, as soon as I arrived in Grenoble (via two trains and a bus), they whisked me off to Ardèche, which is the region that they are both from. We stayed with Alex's parents in Saint-Georges-les-Bains. I had visited there back in December 2009, so it was really nice to see the Pourret family again!
On Saturday morning, we decided to go for a hike to Château de Crussol, which is nearby. The day was really really warm- probably about 97 F or so! Thankfully, Aurore had a hat to lend to me for the hike, or I would've been burnt to a crisp, I think.
We got to climb around the castle some before heading back for lunch with Alex's parents. The hike was beautiful, and I enjoyed hiking in a different terrain than I normally see. It is quite a bit drier in Ardèche than in Zürich. In fact, the day that I traveled to Grenoble, it was 65 F and rainy-ish in Zürich, but 95 F and sunny in Grenoble (which meant that I got lots of strange looks for wearing shorts in the morning in Zürich, but was really happy to be wearing them when I got to Grenoble!).
After lunch, Aurore and I swam in the pool while everyone else took a nap. We watched a storm roll in, which really cooled everything off. In the later afternoon, Alex's father, Charly, took us for a walking tour of Beauchastel, which is the nearby village that he grew up in. We even saw graffiti that he made when he was 10 years old!
We had a leisurely dinner outside, enjoying the cooler weather. I do like the way that meals are so relaxed in France. We would have an apero, then a salad, then a main dish, then a cheese course, and then maybe something sweet and a coffee. All of this would be spread out over an hour or two, with time taken during and between each of the courses. Obviously, it's not possible to do this for every meal, but I enjoy just sitting in the garden (which is where we ate all our meals- I just love summer!), chatting, and enjoying good company and good food.
I really appreciated the hospitality of the Pourrets', who invited me in and were so very kind to me, showing me around and working really hard to speak English with me and making sure that I had a really lovely time. And I did!
On Saturday morning, we decided to go for a hike to Château de Crussol, which is nearby. The day was really really warm- probably about 97 F or so! Thankfully, Aurore had a hat to lend to me for the hike, or I would've been burnt to a crisp, I think.
We got to climb around the castle some before heading back for lunch with Alex's parents. The hike was beautiful, and I enjoyed hiking in a different terrain than I normally see. It is quite a bit drier in Ardèche than in Zürich. In fact, the day that I traveled to Grenoble, it was 65 F and rainy-ish in Zürich, but 95 F and sunny in Grenoble (which meant that I got lots of strange looks for wearing shorts in the morning in Zürich, but was really happy to be wearing them when I got to Grenoble!).
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| You can see the Rhône River in the background. |
After lunch, Aurore and I swam in the pool while everyone else took a nap. We watched a storm roll in, which really cooled everything off. In the later afternoon, Alex's father, Charly, took us for a walking tour of Beauchastel, which is the nearby village that he grew up in. We even saw graffiti that he made when he was 10 years old!
We had a leisurely dinner outside, enjoying the cooler weather. I do like the way that meals are so relaxed in France. We would have an apero, then a salad, then a main dish, then a cheese course, and then maybe something sweet and a coffee. All of this would be spread out over an hour or two, with time taken during and between each of the courses. Obviously, it's not possible to do this for every meal, but I enjoy just sitting in the garden (which is where we ate all our meals- I just love summer!), chatting, and enjoying good company and good food.
I really appreciated the hospitality of the Pourrets', who invited me in and were so very kind to me, showing me around and working really hard to speak English with me and making sure that I had a really lovely time. And I did!
