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. […]
Our first day in Mende (Lozère) was cloudy and drizzly, and it was the only such day on our vacation; the rest were blessed with plenty of sunshine. We climbed to Le Croix de Saint-Privat located on the top of the mountain Mont-Mimat (1068m). On our way to the cross […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
There are two things to like about Annecy; one is the annual Martin Fourcade Nordic Festival — an invitational biathlon and cross country skiing competition, always attracting the world’s top athletes in both disciplines — and the lake, especially the running/bicycle trail by the trail. Annecy is a beautiful town, […]
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 the extended weekend in the spa town of Aix-les-Bains in Savoie department to escape, not the heat this time, but the wardrobe renovation in our second bedroom, currently serving as an office. We had already donated the old wardrobe to a young couple who took it down and […]