Spring Break 2024

This year we returned again to the Briançonnais region in Hautes-Alpes for our winter/spring vacation. However,  we did not stay in the Serre Chevalier valley as we usually have done, but booked the accommodation in the village of Villar-Saint-Pancrace in a different river valley, namely that of Durance, which by […]

Southern Massif Central revisited: Around Aurillac (Part III)

During our four days in Aurillac we made only one longer hike on the plateau of Campuac, two shorter hikes in the nearby villages Vic- and Arpajon-sur-Cère, and then made a day trip to two old, idyllic villages Carlat and Mur-de-Barrez farther away. The first hike from Campuac was very […]

Southern Massif Central revisited: La Bambouseraie en Cévennes (Part II)

This post is about a private botanic garden in Générargues, Gard, Languedoc-Roussillon specializing in bamboos, but it also has a small Japanese style garden. The garden was started by a dedicated horticulturalist Edward Mazel in 1856. He was interested cultivating plants that are robust against any environmental conditions, and started […]