Thursday, April 28, 2011
April 28, 2011: Grenoble - French, New Cheese
After a morning of French conversation with the Open House group I felt emboldened to strike up a conversation with a new cheese vendor at the l'Estacade market. In fact I launched into telling him that I wanted to try all the cheeses in France without a second thought - it seemed quite natural to say this in French. What a change from when we arrived two months ago, and I dreaded having to say anything more than was minimally necessary! He kindly recommended two cheeses and offered to write down their names on the wrapping paper - perfect, since I always forget what it is I've bought. So today I bought: l'estival and bleu de gex.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
April 27, 2011: Grenoble - Reading, Photos, Mail
Today I finished reading one French-based book and started another.
I finished "Chocolat", which was a fairly good novel, although the plot and character arcs were improved upon when it was made into a movie. But especially fun for me is remembering the movie character Vianne, played by Juliet Binoche, who looks just like one of the vendors at our local market. Many of the Easter customs and myths that I've been learning about here came up in the book, since it's set in the lead-up to Easter. And I have a greater appreciation for the role of the chocolaterie in the village, now that I've visited several in France.
I started "Paris to the Moon", which is a series of essays by Adam Gopnik on his years spent living in Paris. I've read it before but it's been a long time, and now that I'm in France it resonates more. Plus it's a guide to some things to see and do as I plan my trip to Paris (like the taxidermy store Desrolles!).
Also today: catching up on processing photos (there always seems to be a backlog) and sending mail (which gets easier every time I go).
I finished "Chocolat", which was a fairly good novel, although the plot and character arcs were improved upon when it was made into a movie. But especially fun for me is remembering the movie character Vianne, played by Juliet Binoche, who looks just like one of the vendors at our local market. Many of the Easter customs and myths that I've been learning about here came up in the book, since it's set in the lead-up to Easter. And I have a greater appreciation for the role of the chocolaterie in the village, now that I've visited several in France.
I started "Paris to the Moon", which is a series of essays by Adam Gopnik on his years spent living in Paris. I've read it before but it's been a long time, and now that I'm in France it resonates more. Plus it's a guide to some things to see and do as I plan my trip to Paris (like the taxidermy store Desrolles!).
Also today: catching up on processing photos (there always seems to be a backlog) and sending mail (which gets easier every time I go).
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
April 26, 2011: Grenoble - English, Travel Planning
Not much to report today. English language exchange with Open House, then travel planning - nailing down all the final details of what mom and I will be doing on our trip.
Monday, April 25, 2011
April 25, 2011: Grenoble - Easter Monday; At Last - The Rain
Today was a quiet holiday - whereas in Canada it's Good Friday that's the holiday, here it is Easter Monday. We thought most stores would be closed, but it turned out that Monoprix was open, as were the cafes in the area.
It was sunny and summery most of the day, but at last we had the rain in the afternoon that we'd been waiting for all weekend: loud thunder (does it reverberate more with all the mountains surrounding the city?) rain and hail - all while still shining brightly directly overhead. Very dramatic, and I'm glad we were indoors.
It was sunny and summery most of the day, but at last we had the rain in the afternoon that we'd been waiting for all weekend: loud thunder (does it reverberate more with all the mountains surrounding the city?) rain and hail - all while still shining brightly directly overhead. Very dramatic, and I'm glad we were indoors.
The view across the street from our apartment during the storm - bright light on the building against dark clouds.
Yet another record of the wine we've been drinking
Sunday, April 24, 2011
April 24, 2011: St. Pierre en Chartreuse - Peril at Every Turn
Even though they were calling for rain again today, we decided to make a road trip, and got on the TransIsere bus to St Pierre en Chartreuse. There's a museum there about the Chartreuse monks (famous for Chartreuse liquor), and it's in a beautiful part of the mountains.
Who would have thought that a simple trip into the mountains would have peril at every turn? We got the bus after lunch, and rode it to the end of the line. Almost an hour and a half of gorgeous scenery with alarming views of the drop-offs from the switchbacking roads - I am so glad that I am not that bus driver. It was in some ways worse than the roads in Hawaii, because the bus is so large that I often doubted it could stay on the road. But it always did.
When we got to the village the driver explained to us (in French) that we must return to the same spot at 5:40 to catch the bus. There's only the one bus to get back, so we definitely would not want to miss it. In my head I had remembered that the time was 5:50, but that was incorrect, so I'm glad he made sure we knew. Also alarming: there was no visible bus stop signage where we were supposed to meet him - how would a traveler who hadn't come in on the same bus know where to catch it? However, there were TransIsere buses parked in a nearby lot, so presumably we might find him there before it was time to meet at the "stop".
The directions for how to reach the museum by bus said to walk out of the village along a road. It didn't say for how long or what the road would be like, but it turned out that it would be more than half an hour on a road with little to no shoulder, blind turns and one-way bridges. And French drivers. That was also a perilous prospect. We opted to take a hiking path instead, hoping to reach it eventually.
Our walk was very nice initially - lots of sweeping vistas, sunshine, even a bench alongside the path in the middle of nowhere. But then we hit a sign - one that I couldn't translate except for the part about the "danger de mort" (risk of death). We tried a different fork in the path and came across the same sign, but the road was just past it, so we thought we'd sneak by quickly, avoiding whatever the "danger" was. There was a trailer and some building supplies beside it, and as we moved past, there was also a dog - who came running at us barking loudly. We quickly backtracked and were ready to retreat along our path when a friendly man came out and calmed down the dog. He gestured that it was safe to advance, and I managed to communicate that we were walking to the museum.
But in order to do so we had to get back on the road, and we didn't relish that prospect. There was another trail that branched off, with the same "danger de mort" signs. We hung out on the bridge overlooking the river until another hiking couple walked up, read the sign, and kept going along the trail. With that we decided to follow - the trail looked like a logging road, and since it was Easter Sunday it seemed like the safest of days to assume that no work was being done that could result in our deaths. It was a pleasant walk with views across the valley of the museum and monastery.
We turned back at what seemed like the halfway mark, to make sure we'd be early enough to not risk missing our bus. As we got close to the village is started to rain at last, but our umbrellas kept us dry. The trail, however, got very muddy and slippery quickly - I'm glad we were on fairly level ground by then or we would have had tricky footing.
In the end we got back early, with enough time for a drink and a quiche from the bakery, and we found the bus even before it got to the stop, as it was parked nearby waiting (since this was the end of the line). Peril at every turn, but no real danger.
Who would have thought that a simple trip into the mountains would have peril at every turn? We got the bus after lunch, and rode it to the end of the line. Almost an hour and a half of gorgeous scenery with alarming views of the drop-offs from the switchbacking roads - I am so glad that I am not that bus driver. It was in some ways worse than the roads in Hawaii, because the bus is so large that I often doubted it could stay on the road. But it always did.
When we got to the village the driver explained to us (in French) that we must return to the same spot at 5:40 to catch the bus. There's only the one bus to get back, so we definitely would not want to miss it. In my head I had remembered that the time was 5:50, but that was incorrect, so I'm glad he made sure we knew. Also alarming: there was no visible bus stop signage where we were supposed to meet him - how would a traveler who hadn't come in on the same bus know where to catch it? However, there were TransIsere buses parked in a nearby lot, so presumably we might find him there before it was time to meet at the "stop".
The directions for how to reach the museum by bus said to walk out of the village along a road. It didn't say for how long or what the road would be like, but it turned out that it would be more than half an hour on a road with little to no shoulder, blind turns and one-way bridges. And French drivers. That was also a perilous prospect. We opted to take a hiking path instead, hoping to reach it eventually.
Our walk was very nice initially - lots of sweeping vistas, sunshine, even a bench alongside the path in the middle of nowhere. But then we hit a sign - one that I couldn't translate except for the part about the "danger de mort" (risk of death). We tried a different fork in the path and came across the same sign, but the road was just past it, so we thought we'd sneak by quickly, avoiding whatever the "danger" was. There was a trailer and some building supplies beside it, and as we moved past, there was also a dog - who came running at us barking loudly. We quickly backtracked and were ready to retreat along our path when a friendly man came out and calmed down the dog. He gestured that it was safe to advance, and I managed to communicate that we were walking to the museum.
But in order to do so we had to get back on the road, and we didn't relish that prospect. There was another trail that branched off, with the same "danger de mort" signs. We hung out on the bridge overlooking the river until another hiking couple walked up, read the sign, and kept going along the trail. With that we decided to follow - the trail looked like a logging road, and since it was Easter Sunday it seemed like the safest of days to assume that no work was being done that could result in our deaths. It was a pleasant walk with views across the valley of the museum and monastery.
We turned back at what seemed like the halfway mark, to make sure we'd be early enough to not risk missing our bus. As we got close to the village is started to rain at last, but our umbrellas kept us dry. The trail, however, got very muddy and slippery quickly - I'm glad we were on fairly level ground by then or we would have had tricky footing.
In the end we got back early, with enough time for a drink and a quiche from the bakery, and we found the bus even before it got to the stop, as it was parked nearby waiting (since this was the end of the line). Peril at every turn, but no real danger.
The beautiful countryside around St Pierre
A familiar concept from Hawaii, if a different sign - one-way bridge
An odd grouping of monk, hunter, Mark and dog (this dog did not present any peril)
A fast-running river
Turns out the risk of death is because there is blasting work in progress!
The museum of the Chartreuse monks
Blue skies overhead, until it rained...
An interesting roof - we're not sure if this was the traditional slate, or some kind of modern material made to look like slate - it was so regular
Mark pointed out that the local mountain peaks were all angled to look like shark's fins protruding from the forests
Saturday, April 23, 2011
April 23, 2011: Grenoble - Noyarey Up & Down, Wine
Today they were calling for rain, so I was being cautious in our plans for an outing - maybe a garden in the city, with a museum nearby that we could retreat to. But when we got outside it was so beautifully sunny that I changed course, and we headed out to the hills by public transit. I picked a new walk from our Guide de Balades, the handy guide published by the transit network that explains how to get to various walking trails (so marvellous - both that there's so many trails within city limits and that they're publicized so well - the signage on all of the trails is great too - you don't really need to know where you are, just pick a destination and follow the signs).
In the village of Noyarey we headed up. And up and up and up. The trail headed up a ridge without any switchbacks - just a steep grade of loose stones that I dreaded walking down if it started to rain (I'm sure the path would have become a torrent). Even though the trail was a bit mind-numbing in its single-minded ascent the views back down to the city where great, and we were mostly shaded by trees. As we got higher we kept checking the progress of the clouds, and finally decided to turn back when we reached some horses in a pasture. I was happy to get back to the bottom without any rain.
We hopped on the bus, got off at the transfer for the tram, and popped inside the nearby hypermarché for some wine. We thought we were buying expensive wine on special (2 for 18 Euros), but it turned out we got inexpensive wine (2 cases for 18 Euros - and we only picked up 2 bottles). Since wine is so reasonably priced here (you can get it cheaper than orange juice) we've vowed to start buying more expensive varieties - we'll never be able to afford them back in Ontario. But we didn't make much progress on our vow today!
In the village of Noyarey we headed up. And up and up and up. The trail headed up a ridge without any switchbacks - just a steep grade of loose stones that I dreaded walking down if it started to rain (I'm sure the path would have become a torrent). Even though the trail was a bit mind-numbing in its single-minded ascent the views back down to the city where great, and we were mostly shaded by trees. As we got higher we kept checking the progress of the clouds, and finally decided to turn back when we reached some horses in a pasture. I was happy to get back to the bottom without any rain.
We hopped on the bus, got off at the transfer for the tram, and popped inside the nearby hypermarché for some wine. We thought we were buying expensive wine on special (2 for 18 Euros), but it turned out we got inexpensive wine (2 cases for 18 Euros - and we only picked up 2 bottles). Since wine is so reasonably priced here (you can get it cheaper than orange juice) we've vowed to start buying more expensive varieties - we'll never be able to afford them back in Ontario. But we didn't make much progress on our vow today!
Stone ruin on our way up
A rock wall, filled with fern
Do the cows get tired of standing on a slope all day?
I love the red furniture on this little patio
Having just watched the TV series Rome, I exclaimed - "Look - it's Julius' horse!"
Friday, April 22, 2011
April 22, 2011: Grenoble - Bastille, Aquarelle
Today I walked up to the hills above the Bastille to do some watercolour painting (aquarelle). It's a full hour walk from our door to the top, so when I arrived I rested and ate a baguette sandwich. A friendly dog came over to look at me longingly - her owner came over and apologized, saying she was hoping I would give her something to eat (all of which was in French, and I understood!).
Painting was a bit frustrating. The hillside meadow was beautiful, but it's a very steep grade with no flat bits, so nowhere convenient to set down my water bottle, palette or paper. I managed to balance it all, but was envisioning losing something down the hill, where it would roll endlessly out of my reach. But even just sitting in the meadow, listening to the birds and watching the butterflies was lovely. And unlike in the Jardins du Ville there were no nosy hangers-on or admirers (they'd be hard-pressed to hang out on the steep slope with me!).
Painting was a bit frustrating. The hillside meadow was beautiful, but it's a very steep grade with no flat bits, so nowhere convenient to set down my water bottle, palette or paper. I managed to balance it all, but was envisioning losing something down the hill, where it would roll endlessly out of my reach. But even just sitting in the meadow, listening to the birds and watching the butterflies was lovely. And unlike in the Jardins du Ville there were no nosy hangers-on or admirers (they'd be hard-pressed to hang out on the steep slope with me!).
Irises in bloom in front of the Bastille walls
A view out onto the city from within the Bastille
Sitting under a tree while eating lunch
My painting spot - you can appreciate how steep it is!
A butterfly landed near my feet
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