March 19, 2011: Grenoble - Market, Musée Dauphinois, Walking

First thing in the morning we went to the market. Our first cheese guy definitely recognizes us now, and asked how we were doing; the new cheese guy from last Sunday wasn't there - I think he's a Sunday market-only stall. We bought half a round of brebis de Basque (sheep's cheese). In French-comprehension accomplishments we were asked if we had the exact change at one booth, and were able to understand and answer. We also bought a baguette that was especially delicious (Mark used it to introduce me to 'pain au chocolat'). We also got a roasted chicken, which we had for lunch, and which I will also use in sandwiches the next few days.

In the afternoon I revisited the Musée Dauphinois with Mark to show him the highlights of my previous day's visit. And we discovered a part I had somehow missed - the chapel. I'll have to go back to revisit it, since there was a concert taking place inside, making us too self-conscious to walk around inside sight-seeing.

After the museum we walked up to the Bastille, across and down through the gardens. It was intermittently raining, which would have seemed unfortunate but we got some amazing dramatic skies, with a rainbow and beams of light breaking through the clouds, sweeping across the city like searchlights. It makes me want to go back up again on rainy days!

It was raining heavier when we got back to the ground. We quickly went shopping at Monoprix since the rain seemed likely to discourage us from going out for pizza as I had planned (with its high rate of Italian immigration, Grenoble is known for having great pizza, and there's an entire strip of Italian restaurants on the other side of the Isére river). And we did indeed stay in - we had two mini-pizzas from the Monoprix deli (one with an amazing chévre, and the other with mushrooms and bacon) and a salad of arugula, heirloom tomato and brebis de basque, along with another bottle of our new favourite Savoie red wine.

 

I think this is the best city view I've seen yet - the dramatic beams of light are an improvement over the usual dull haze

 

A rainbow in the distance

 

More beams lighting up the télépherique

 

Me, standing in the top entrance to a tower with spiral staircase

 

Mark, standing under the sign pointing down to Grenoble, at the entrance to a forbidding passageway (in case you can't make it out he's grimacing, as if he's beginning the descent into hell)