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 […]
When planning where and how to spend our 20th wedding anniversary, we considered several options: various destinations in France and Europe but also something as extreme as the place where we got married, namely Bloomington, Indiana. Since we had just returned from the two-week year-end vacation of train traveling in […]
For our last hike of this vacation we climbed from the village of Ville to the limestone plateau of Gras and walked down to the village of Vogüé. Again, this wasn’t difficult or technical hike, just long, and mostly traveled on a smooth trail. Only the ascent from and the […]
Finally it was time to move to our last overnight destination, Aubenas (Ardèche), the gateway to the Ardèche mountains. To be clear, we did not plan any of the vacation before traveling, but booked only few days ahead as we went. Only the first night in Orange was booked beforehand. […]
After five nights in Aurillac it was time to move on, to Mende. We had planned to visit a couple of villages on our way: Bozouls and Aubrac (both in the department of Aveyron), but also made quick stops in Estaing and Espalion (also in Aveyron) — in the first […]
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 […]
For this year’s Summer vacation we spent two week in the southern part of the central massif doing some relaxed hiking, visiting picturesque old villages, and doing just a tiny bit of running. On our way there we spent one night in Orange (Vaucluse), and then two nights in Saint-Ambroix […]
The design capital of France truly disappointed us. Ever since we drove through the central Saint-Étienne a couple of years ago, and got somewhat lost there, I have wanted to visit the city with more time. The city was filthy, filthier than the capital, if it even is possible: there […]
We spent a week in Crest in central Drôme at the foot of Southern Vercors range, hiking in surrounding areas, but also going for a couple morning runs. We like this area of Drôme for multiple reasons: its landscape is an interesting mixture of forested mountains and Mediterranean scenery. Also […]