Those who know wines, especially French wines, likely are familiar with the wine growing regions such as Bourgogne, Côtes-du-Rhône, or Loire valley, but may not know that grapes are grown and wine produced also here in the Alps in Savoie and Isère departments. The nearest vineyards are less than half […]
After we returned home from our vacation in the Central Massif we still had the car available for a couple of days. So, we tried to figure out what could be an interesting one night destination within a reasonable distance, and driveable on country roads with our limping car (we […]
This was a very easy hike (10.6K in 3h, D+/D- 391m), with nice views. The wind was chilly, but it got quite warm when the sun came out. Usually we start vacations like this with easier hikes and then move on to more challenging ones. This time it was nice […]
The last but one hike (14.2K in 4h 55mins, D+/D- 695m) on this vacation took us to above and below the caves of Jaubernie. These fortified caves were used as a hiding place by people who were persecuted for their religious beliefs during the religious wars in the 17th and […]
After a very short morning run in Pont-Saint-Esprit we packed ourselves in the car and started driving to Coux. On our way we stopped to visit the small village of Saint-Thomé in Ardèche. Climbing the steep trail to the village located on the top of the hill gave us a […]
From Aurillac to Pont-Saint-Esprit After we had already extended our stay in Aurilliac by two days, if was time to move on and start driving home — kind of. We had booked the first two nights in Pont-Saint-Esprit, a small town by the river Rhône in the department of Gard. […]
We wrap up the first vacation week with two scenic hikes; the first (10.6K in 3h 53mins, D+/D- 540m) from Col du Pertus (1309m) down to Mandailles (837m) in the valley of river Jordanne (the same river that flows through Aurillac), and back up, and the second (10.25K in 3h […]
Auvergne produces five world-renowned PDO (Protected Designation of Origin, in French Appellation d’origine protégée, AOP) cheeses: Saint-Nectaire, Cantal, Salers, Fourme d’Ambert, and Bleu d’Auvergne. The last two are blue cheeses. More information can be found here. It was raining in the morning, so we skipped hiking and went for a […]
On this hike (13.4K in 3h 30mins, D+/D- 360m) we expected a different scenery since it was going to be at the lower altitude by the lake, far from the mountains. Actually this hike almost did not happen at all; as soon as we reached our car and started driving […]