France: Romans-sur-Isere, Day 2

Bike: apartment to Palais Ideal in Hauterives and back, day loop, 35 miles, 2810 feet of climb

Accommodation: Les Maisons des Balmes (Booking.com)

Lunch: Restaurant la Terrasse in Hauterives, menu of the day with tomato terrine, bread, salad, beef steak, couscous, and fruit salad; menu of the day with blue cheese and walnut quiche, salad, pork steak, couscous, and fruit salad

Dinner: crozets de savoie casserole in our apartment

Chloe recommended that we bike to Hauterives, about 18 miles north, to see a stone "palace" built by postman Joseph Cheval in his back garden between 1879 and 1912. So we did.

When we opened the door of our villa to head out, Roma, the dog, was lying across the front stoop, protecting us. Our host had warned that Roma would adopt us and follow us everywhere, and told us the dog knew her way around the area and would find her way back home if we went too far. Indeed, Roma followed us up the hill to the vineyard almost two miles away, before Ken turned around and led her back a half mile, told her to go home, turned back around, and sped away. The rest of the day, we kept looking behind us, hoping Roma was not following. We were not sure she understood "Go home!" in English; Ken didn't know how to say it in French.

The ride was awesome. Perfect weather, perfect roads / country lanes, perfect hills (lots of hills). 

The palace reminded us of Jardin Artigas, in Lillet, Catalonia, designed by Antoni Gaudi and built from 1905 to 1905, which we visited last fall. That garden is much, much larger than Cheval's palace. It is also perhaps Gaudi's least-known work, and just a small piece of his huge body of artistic and architectural creations. In contrast, the Palais Ideal is Cheval's only known work. But it has some similarities in its whimsy, materials, construction techniques, and incorporation of elements from around the world. The literature we found said Cheval based much of his design on features from magazines and post cards that he delivered from around the world. He built the structure from stones he collected in a wheelbarrow while delivering mail

Ken and I wondered if perhaps Gaudi and Cheval knew of each other's works, and borrowed or shared ideas. We noted that both of their pieces were developed during a period when people spent time and money on their homes and gardens, building follies and fountains and indulging in beautiful art and music and poetry.

After all the hill climbing and art appreciating, we were of course hungry, so we stopped for a big late lunch on our way out of town.

We were so happy to Roma on the terrace when we returned. She had made it home after her morning run with us. Whew.

After taking showers and drinking lots of water, Ken took Romans for a walk around the neighborhood while I called my Aunt Joyce and Uncle Marvin to catch up on their summer and share thoughts about my mother (Uncle Marvin is her younger brother). It was good to talk with them.

Our new friends here, our "old" friends and family at home; we are glad to have wonderful people in our life.

Romans helping us load our bikes in the morning.

We could have biked forever on the tangled mass of country lanes through the hills around Romans-sur-Isere.

Many of the figures and features of Cheval's palace are so similar to those in Gaudi's garden that we wondered whether the two had been aware of each other's works.

Cheval's palace fills much of the garden behind his house. He worked on it for 33 years, in his spare time on evenings and weekends. The blue glass pieces along the base in the center are part of an installation by contemporary artist Jean-Michel Othoniel.

I read some articles that were very much against the installations by artist Othoniel because they were not authentic parts of Cheval's original sculpture, but I really enjoyed the play of color and light they brought to the work.

We are pretty sure this was part of an old Roman road. Or at least an old old road. Love the high banks of the forest on both sides.

France: Romans-sur-Isere, Day 1

Bike: Pont-en-Royans to Romans-sur-Isère, 20 miles, 850 feet of climb

Accommodation: Les maisons des Balmes (Booking.com); hosts Chloe and Frank. One-bedroom villa on lower level of large stone house, kitchen, wifi, washer, terrace, shed for bike storage.

Breakfast: Buffet at Hotel Musee de l'Eau

Lunch: Snacks on the route

Our route took us up into farm fields and then down along the River Isere, mostly on dedicated bike trails and tiny agricultural roads, through more corn fields and walnut orchards. It was a beautiful day, the riding was easy, and we just had fun.

When we reached the outskirts of Roman-sur-Isere, we were still on a bike route but on the edge of the highway for about three miles through commercial developments. We stopped at a large Carrefour (our favorite grocery store chain) about a mile before getting to our apartment, and stocked up on groceries.

We arrived at our villa outside town about 14:00. Everything was quiet and no one was in sight. Ken hiked up the terrace while I sent a message to our host. A few minutes later, Ken and our host Chloe walked down the terrace steps with Roma, the dog. Chloe showed us where our key--a huge old metal key--was hidden outside, and then showed us through the apartment.

The apartment is huge and cool, the lower level of a stone farmhouse, with everything we could need for our three days here. Chloe and her husband, Frank, moved here from Paris two years ago and are restoring and refurbishing this building, a similar building next door, and a chateau down the road. Their 15-year-old daughter competes in a very disciplined format similar to dressage.

About half an hour after we arrived, it started thundering and lightning and pouring. We were happy to cook dinner and do laundry and enjoy our nice home-away-from-home.

The living room in our villa.

France: Pont-en-Royans

Bike: Grenoble to Pont-en-Royans, 40 miles, 2000 feet of climb

Accommodation: Hôtel du Musée de l'Eau (Booking.com). Comfort double room with double bed, private bath. Breakfast and dinner at extra cost.

Dinner: Hôtel du Musée de l'Eau, trout with parsley ravioli, lamb with potatoes and seasonal vegetables, and walnut tart (all regional specialties)

The first 20 miles of the ride were on a dedicated bike trail along the River Isere--beautiful, flat, easy, fun. We saw lots of bikers out for day rides. The last 20 miles, we climbed up into cornfields and walnut orchards, piecing a route together on a combination of agricultural roads and small highways through villages and hamlets.

About halfway through the day, we stopped to eat cheese, sausage, and melon we had brought with us. About an hour later, we saw a sign advertising walnuts for sale, and pulled into a farmyard where a family were sitting at a picnic table. They all called "Bonjour," and the woman came over and motioned for us to park our bikes in the shade and follow her to the barn. Inside the barn were huge tractors and machines for maintaining the orchards and for harvesting, sorting, and cleaning the nuts. She showed us a video of the process, cracked nuts for us to try--all in French, while we did our best to follow along. She was so nice! We bought a small bag of walnuts in the shell and another of caramel-covered walnuts, thanked her, waved to the family again, and headed on down the road.

By the time we rolled into Pont-en-Royans, it was again over 90 degrees and all we wanted to do was drink water. Lucky for us, our hotel was connected to the Musée de l'Eau, which included a water tasting room with a whole wall full of different natural and sparkling waters from all over the world. In the cooler, we found a liter of a sparkling water from Barcelona that we had really liked when we were in Spain, sat down with two glasses, and talked to the woman hosting the tasting room while we drank the whole bottle.

The tasting room host told us we should tour the water museum because the tickets were free for hotel guests, so we did that, wandering through its scientific and art exhibits about water. At the end, we took an interactive video quiz on water facts, and together managed to score only seven out 10. Each time we got a wrong answer, the screen got dark and thunder roared and water sprayed down from above. So we got wet three times. We are pretty sure the quiz had a few trick questions just to ensure that visitors would get the full water experience.

Then we headed for the rooftop restaurant, where we could hear a band playing 70s American music, but we were stopped at the top of the stairs by a security guard who told us it was a private party and we were not invited. So we went on a hike through the medieval part of the little city, which was awesome. Partway through, we found ice cream and sat in the shade.

Pont-en-Royans is a really small town with just two hotel restaurants, a bar, and a pizza place. We opted for the restaurant at our hotel and were not sorry. While we waited for it to open at 19:00, we laid on the bed in our room with the a/c running. I think this was the first time we had a/c that actually worked during the whole trip. A fan would have been fine, but all we had was the a/c and we used it.

By the time we were done with dinner, it had cooled off and the town had quieted down, and we were happy to go to sleep.

Ken taking a break along a tiny farm road through a walnut orchard.

Nuts, nuts, and more nuts. This family runs a huge, clean, organized walnut orchard and farm store. Ken was careful to fit the John Deere table and stools into the picture, to show my Uncle Marvin, who lives on my mother's heritage family farm and has a nice collection of farm tools and machinery.

Our route took us through little villages and hamlets built of field stone with red tile roofs.

Beauvoir-en-Royans, a tiny hamlet about six miles before we got to Pont-en-Royans.

After showering and drinking a liter of water at our hotel, we hiked around the medieval center of Pont-en-Royans. Our plan was to hike up to an observation area where we could see the ruins of three castles, but it was just too hot and steep.

Pont-en-Royans is known for its old houses overhanging the Isere River.

The buildings along this alley beside our hotel used to be a silk factory.

A waterfall just out of the frame to the left of this photo spills over into a series of ponds and down into the river. The river is just knee deep along the beach at the base of the ponds. People filled the small beach and park on the hot afternoon we were there. Food trucks and craft stalls were parked a little way upstream. The town is small, but it was very busy for a Monday afternoon.

France: Grenoble, Day 3

Walk: apartment to cable car, through Fort dla Bastille, around Old Town, and back to apartment; 3 miles

Accommodation: Touche Majordomesque (Airbnb)

We played tourist today. After breakfast in our apartment, we hiked over to Old Town and took a cable car to Fort de la Bastille, about 866 feet above the city. The fort was built in the mid-1800s to defend the town against attacks from Savoy, but by the time it was done, Savoy had been annexed into France and the fort was no longer needed--so it was never used for defense. It was used for training by troops in 1938.

Today, it offers wide views over Grenoble and the surrounding area, a zipline, a climbing course (you can clip in and climb around the outside of the fort, dangling over the cliffs), art exhibits, a couple of restaurants, an escape room, and other games for adults and kids. We were there early in the morning, before all that stuff opened up, and just enjoyed the views.

Back down in the city, we wandered the streets of Old Town and found the big main indoor and outdoor markets open. We bought a small roasted chicken, a nut tart, and a pistachio cookie, and had a picnic on a bench in a small park.

By noon, we had finished exploring and were boots up on the sofa, reading and snoozing. We did a little planning for tomorrow's ride, did a load of laundry, and pumped up the bike tires. It doesn't hurt to have a lazy day.

The River Isere winds through Grenoble, around the base of Mount Jalla. The cable car to Fort de la Bastille starts on one side of the river, crosses the river, and heads up Mount Jalla to the fort.

Each cable car has seating for six, but we were glad that people were loading with just their own travel partners. We are still very aware of Covid, and we see quite a few older people wearing masks in crowded indoor spaces.

Tomorrow, we will leave Grenoble on the bike trail that you can see on the far side of the river, heading south and west to Pont-en-Royans.

This small farmer's market was just a few blocks from the large indoor and outdoor market at the Marche des Couvert Halles, where we bought our lunch.

Fountain of the Three Orders.

France: Grenoble, Day 2

 Walk: from apartment to the farmer's market and back twice, 2 miles

Accommodation: Touche Majordomesque (Airbnb)

What a nice day. Our apartment is comfortable. We slept late, had a nice breakfast, did a load of laundry, and drank multiple cups of coffee. Ken read while I worked on the blog. About noon, he decided to walk to the grocery store for lunch and dinner supplies. A little while later, he returned with fresh fruits and vegetables from the farmer's market. As he described all the food he didn't buy from the stalls, we decided to make another trip together.

What a wonderful market, in a square just a few blocks away, with all local providers. We got meat and yogurt and crème brulee and cheese and blackberries and a melon and tomatoes and potatoes and...We could have gotten so much more, but there's only so much two people can eat in two days.

From the farmer's market, we headed to the supermarket to get nonlocal items like coffee. On the way there, we passed a boulangerie, where we just had to buy croissants and pain au chocolat and a big brownie.

I know. We spend way too much time and attention on food. Oh, well.

A lovely, cool day. We are hoping the heatwave has broken, but we head south and west in a couple of days, so we will be in a slightly different climate. We will take what we get.

France: Grenoble, Day 1

Bike: Albertville to Grenoble, 56 miles, 1700 feet of climb

Accommodation: Touche Majordomesque (Airbnb); management company Majordome Prive. One-bedroom apartment in Old Town with wifi, washer. The apartment and the building are very clean, comfortable, and quiet.

Dinner: Restaurant Magic Nouilles (Chinese) right next door. Excellent food, family owned, comfortable, easy. We loved it.

We took the easy way down the hill to the center of Albertville, hopped on the bike trail, and headed south through along the Isere River. Gorgeous. A few times during the day, we were routed up onto large highways and had to jostle fast cars and big trucks, but for most of the ride, we were on dedicated bike trails, agricultural roads, parkways, and very small lanes. The closer we got to Grenoble, the more densely populated and busier the surroundings, of course. I enjoyed watching the alps fade into the lower plains and valley--though it was also sad to say good-bye to the big mountains. We had such a wonderful time in the Vosges, Jura, and Alps.

The bikeway in Grenoble is amazing. We followed a wide, two-lane dedicated path right down the main street, flying through intersections easily and safely, just fitting ourselves in with the flow of cycle and scooter traffic. The street planners here know what they are doing. We are simply amazed at how well nonauto vehicles are integrated into the traffic and parking systems. And there are LOTS of nonauto vehicles.

Our apartment is right on the edge of Old Town, blocks from restaurants and markets and the river, yet quiet and spacious. We settled in quickly, did a load of laundry and showered, bought a few groceries, and ate an early dinner. The usual routine.

Leaving Albertville, headed toward Grenoble. We will wind around to the right of the mountain in the center of the picture, and end up behind it--about 56 miles from the spot I took this photo.

 

France: Albertville, Stay 2

 Bike: Moutiers / Salins-les-Thermes to Albertville, 19 miles, 1100 feet of climb

Accommodation: Gites de France les Ecureuils (Airbnb).

Since we had a short ride ahead of us, we started by stopping at the local boulangerie for a pain au chocolat and palmier cookies (pastries that look like a pig's ear). It was all downhill from there. Until we got to Albertville, and then we had to climb up to our gite above the city. Before leaving Albertville, we tried to find a restaurant for lunch, but every place we went to was fully booked. We decided to push on to our gite, then walk down to the grocery store and cook our own meal.

It was fun to return to a familiar place and people. Fabienne greeted us warmly, waved us up to our gite, and asked if we wanted to wash clothes. We thanked her and said no; we have a washer in our apartment in Grenoble and will do that during our rest days.

By the time we had showered, it was over 90 degrees, and we laid down for a half-hour before trudging down the hill to the market. An hour later, we were back at the top of the hill, taking our second showers.

Every day is pain au chocolat day.

We are oh-so-French with our baguette bungeed to the back of the bike.

This was our second chance to climb Col de la Madeleine. We passed. While we were in Moutiers, Stage 4 of the Haute Route Alps cycling event went through town, after climbing the Col de Glandon and Col de la Madeleine on the way to the final climb to Meribel--95 miles and over 13,000 feet of climbing in one day. We watched some of the riders go through town in the early afternoon.

Albertville. Only a few of the windows on the tall pink building are real; most of them are trompe l'oeil.

Looking up the hill to Conflans (a small medieval city) from a square on the edge of Albertville. Our gite was to the left of Conflans, at about the same elevation.

France: Moutiers / Salins-les-Thermes, Day 3

Bike: Salins-les-Thermes to Moutiers and back, 4 miles, 400 feet of climb

Lunch: Auberge de Savoie Restaurant, vegetarian ravioli with crab and quinoa, truit gravalax with salad

Accommodation: Au pied des tois vallées et à tois kilometer brides-les-bains (Airbnb)

Today we explored Moutiers. We found Matthieu, our host, outside snacking after his morning workout, and he recommended we visit the old church, go through a tunnel to a park along the river, and eat at an Italian restaurant in Old Town. That sounded good.

We coasted downhill, walked our bikes through the tunnel to the small park, and then wandered back through the maze of streets and tunnels making up Old Town. We could not remember the name of the restaurant Matthieu recommended, but we liked the look of the Auberge de Savoie restaurant in the park. We ordered the two daily special entrees and shared them. Awesome, unusual, fresh food.

On the way back to our gite, we detoured to the grocery store and ran into a bit of a traffic jam that led to a second detour. The Haute Route cycle event was going through town, and the police routed us out of the way of riders shooting through the intersection. That event is held in seven stages (over seven consecutive days), for a total of 492 miles and almost 70,000 feet of climb. Impressive.

We found our way to the grocery store and back out around the Haute Route event, back up the hill to our gite. This time, without packs, I made it the whole way without walking. Woo-hoo!

The River Isere flows around Old Town and the old church.

Ken liked the covered timber bridge.

France: Moutiers / Salins-les-Thermes, Day 2

Bike: Salins-les-Thermes to Bozel and back, 15 miles, 1700 feet of climb

Accommodation: Au pied des tois vallées et à tois kilometer brides-les-bains (Airbnb)

Fun biking day with no panniers. We cycled up the valley, through Brides-les-Bains, to Bozel, passing small ski resorts and camping resorts along the way. Some stretches were on a small road with little traffic, some were on a highway with too much traffic. It was a beautiful day--warm and sunny, breezy.

In Bozel, we splurged on a fondue lunch, realizing that we would soon be leaving the alps and may not have the opportunity to enjoy that treat again. Of course, the way back to our gite was mostly downhill, so all that cheese and bread would not be too big a problem.

On the way back down, we stopped in Brides-les-Bains because I really wanted an iced coffee. I went into a cafe and tried my best to order two iced coffees, but the proprietor just wasn't understanding me, so she asked a lovely woman at the counter for help, and the lovely Irish woman translated. I finally got two cafe-au-laits with a glass of ice. It was delicious! Thank you to the nice Irish woman.

 Back on the road, mostly coasting downhill but with a few steep little climbs, and we were back at our gite in no time.

Fondue lunch.

Looking up the valley from the restaurant in Bozel.

Church in Bozel.

Heading out to our patio to relax. Our gite is part of a house built in 1860, extended in 1960, and renovated in 1990. I think the wall with the gate may have been older. It was a peaceful, relaxing place to spend three days.

 

France: Moutiers / Salins-les-Thermes, Day 1

Bike: Albertville to Moutiers / Salins-les-Thermes, 18 miles, 1200 feet of climb

Accommodation: Au pied des tois vallées et à tois kilometer brides-les-bains (Airbnb); hosts Matthieu and Isabelle. Large gite with private terrace, kitchen, wifi, no washer.

We started out by climbing up another hundred feet or so to La Citadelle de Conflans, a medieval village about half a mile from our gite in Albertville. After exploring the church and narrow streets of the village, we pointed our front tires downhill and headed out of town.

I am still tired and spacey from all the travel the last week, so I was superglad for another easy day of biking. The climb to Moutiers / Salins-les-Thermes was gradual, all day, until the last couple of miles where the road tilted up to 12-14 percent a few times. I walked one short stretch of that.

How nice to check in to our gite in Salins-les-Thermes. Our host Matthieu met us at the gate, showed us around the gite, chatted for a few minutes, and then disappeared. He and his family live in the main house, and we have a private entrance, terrace, and small apartment at the rear. It is quiet, secluded, and very nice. We are happy.

Matthieu owns a Crossfit studio in Moutiers. He had to close down for several months during Covid, but otherwise he said it does a good business with locals and tourists. He said there are a lot of people who have vacation properties and spend summers camping and hiking and/or winters skiing in the area, and many of them are clients. It was fun to talk with him.

We are here for three nights, two days: one day of cycling, one of rest. So happy to be in the alps.

Leaving our gite in outside Albertville and looking down over the valley we will take to Moutiers.

Alley in Conflans.

Old door in Conflans.

Church in Conflans.

Church in Conflans.

Old fort in Conflans.

Leaving Conflans behind.

Wonderful bike trail, no traffic on this stretch.