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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Villages of Saint-Martin-Cantalès This was an easy and more scenic hike (11.15K in 3h 10mins, D+/D- 308m) starting from the little village of Saint-Martin-Cantalès, and passing through or by several others. There are no pictures of them since they basically consisted of just one or two houses, and there was […]
Aurillac As usual, we spent the first day exploring the town we were based in. Aurillac, the capital of the Cantal department, is known for various things, such as being the Historic umbrella capital of France (half of the umbrellas produced in 1999 were made there), and its Cheese Center, […]
We just came back from a two-week vacation of which we spent the first week hiking in the Mounts of Cantal in the mid-west of the Massif Central, having the base in Aurillac, and the second week driving home, stopping on our way at various places for scenic hikes, mainly […]
Knowing that the Sunday will be rainy and stormy — the thunderstorm started at 4am. and it is still going on as I am writing this at noon — we opted for a hike on Saturday. This time we headed a little closer to home and an easier drive away […]