After an all-night flight, made very easy by the magic of Ambien, Ed and I arrived in Nice, France, ready for action. We collected our bags, including the huge - but very light - bag containing Ed's bike, then stopped by the ATM to withdraw some local currency. Ed had no problem doing this, but to my dismay, the machine sucked in my card and refused to give it back. Luckily, a lady inside the bank made a copy of my passport and had my card back to me in a jiffy, though I wasn't able to withdraw any cash, which surprised me because I'd had no problem in Paris, Barcelona, or Berlin with this card. But at least one of us had cash, so we picked up our car, punched "Chateauxroux-Les-Alps," the name of the town where we'd meet Eliot and Ethel, into the GPS, and headed for the hills. The drive ended up being about four hours long, and I was relieved that Ed was made of sterner stuff than I and didn't nod off periodically as he drove us there. We arrived in the town after a series of heart-stopping switchbacks, steep ascents, and spectacular views, and followed Ethel's careful directions to the house we were renting, which was situated on a hillside with a lovely view of the valley below. We had to follow Ethel's directions because apparently there are no addresses in Chateauxroux; it's small enough that mail can be delivered to houses as long as you put down the recipient's name.
 |
| The view from the backyard of our house |
We found that Eliot, his dad Daryl, Ethel, and her mom Jane, hadn't been doing much since they'd arrived a few days before. Ethel and her mom had been plowing their way through books, Eliot and his dad had been taking lots of pictures, and everyone had been napping a lot. This sounded good to me, but Ed and I both had training to consider, too, so the next morning I found the flattest spot I could, which was not really terribly flat at all, to do some intervals and Ed drove to a popular pass for cyclists. He planned to be gone about five hours, and I was rather nervous. I'd seen lots of cyclists on our drive the day before, and they rode on the edge of shoulder-less roads, kept alive only by the courtesy of the cars whizzing past. Drivers seemed remarkably observant of cyclists, though, so I had high hopes that I would not have to comb French hospitals for Ed come evening. Eliot, Ethel, Daryl, and I went for a short hike to the top of a waterfall, and by the time we got back home, Ed had returned, glowing with sweat and the impressive scenery he'd seen from the saddle.
 |
| Ed climbs Col de Galibier, as captured by a professional photographer who prowls around the area, taking photos of people, then posting them online hoping they will be purchased. (In this case, they were.) |
Aside from (very) intermittent training, we spent most of our time following the precedent which had been set for us by reading, eating, and napping. The small town, which was a 10-minute walk away, had a wonderful bakery where we bought fresh bread and croissants every day. The French like bread with a crisp outside, as poor Daryl had discovered before Ed and I arrived: He bit into a baguette and broke his bridgework! He spent the rest of the trip without his front-most four teeth, though he cheerfully said that he felt fine and proved it by eating well. We broke up our relaxation with a hike to a lake in the hills. All six of us went, equipped with bathing suits, snacks, and water. The hike ended up being five miles each way with several thousand feet of climbing over dusty paths, loose gravel, grassy fields, or large boulders, depending on where we were.
 |
| View from the trail about a mile into the hike |
After a very steep start, we ended up at the top of the waterfall that most of us had hiked to before. It was cool to see it from a different angle. The stream that fed it had worn a small ravine into the rock.
 |
| Ed and me. The ravine is to the right. |
We took some pictures then kept going, arriving about an hour later at another, smaller waterfall. We were hot and sticky, but the water was a little too cold to be inviting. At least, I thought it was. Eliot leaped into the pool and stood right under the water! Ed coaxed me in for just long enough to take a picture, then I hurried out again over the slippery rocks. On the way out, I discovered some wild raspberry bushes and picked tiny berries with unbelievable flavor.
 |
| Waterfall #2 |
As we worked our way above the tree line, the view became more and more spectacular. Eventually, we were hiking through hilly meadows instead of on a forest path. It was difficult to find the trail, but a thoughtful soul had set up cairns here and there, which helped us find our way. We saw exactly three other people and one dog during the course of the day. Eliot spotted low-lying blueberry bushes in the meadow, so we munched on very small berries as we walked.
 |
| Looking back |
We didn't see many people, but towards the end of the hike, we came upon a large herd of cows! We heard them before we saw them, as several were wearing large bells. They were very placid. Ethel, the Cow Whisperer, scratched several of them between the eyes. Surprisingly, they were just about the only fauna we saw during the day. There were hoards of grasshoppers, many of which were very large and brilliant green with red sides, and we also spotted many different butterflies, a few crows, and some birds of prey that looked a bit like kestrels. But that was pretty much it, which I found strange. I'd have thought that the lush, peaceful hillsides would be a perfect habitat.
 |
| Le Moo |
While Eliot and Ethel paused to take pictures of the cows and Daryl and Jane caught up to them Ed, and I pressed on and, suddenly, there was the lake at last! There was a small patch of snow to one side of it, despite the warm weather. It seemed more like a pond than a lake, really, but we were pleased to get to our destination. The water was awfully chilly so I only waded in, but some of the others swam.
After we'd dressed again, we started the hike back down the hill. After we'd been going for about an hour, I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye. A butterfly had landed on the bill of my hat! I walked carefully after that, checking frequently to make sure my hitch-hiker was still there. He stayed for about 45 minutes, then flew off somewhere near the first waterfall.
 |
| With my passenger |
It was a long, wonderful day, and we were worn out afterwards. We went into the tiny town and had a really excellent dinner at a local restaurant, where our waiter spoke a fair amount of English and told us all about his dreams of visiting New York some day. It was a great way to cap off our stay in France. The next morning, we were scheduled to head towards Italy, where we would be staying in the Dolomite Mountains.
To be continued...
No comments:
Post a Comment