The last installment of this crazy adventure was spent in Crest, a tiny medieval town with a lot of bohemian inhabitants in the Drome, very close to the homestead we stayed at in Ardèche. There is nothing in particular about the town that I stopped in for, except that a very old and dear friend…
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TRAVEL JOURNAL 20: REFUGIO ELISABETTA, WHERE CAMPING IS FORBIDDEN
My guide book, which at this point had become a joke, says that after “what will have been two fairly taxing days,” this part of the hike was supposed to be relaxing. When we first started the path looked very flat and straight, and a beautiful snowy peak was directly in front of us. We…
TRAVEL JOURNAL 19: THE WWI BUNKER
As soon as the tourist office was open the next day, I was in front of the desk asking about buses, anywhere, we didn’t really care as long as it was away from this place, which a quote from 1864 in my guide book called “a wretched little hamlet”. The only bus, which was really…
TRAVEL JOURNAL 18: THE HARD TWO DAYS
After we left Le Pontet, it was a long, long way all uphill. The Teenager was briefly impressed when we passed a big pile of stones to mark where someone had keeled over and died. It was grueling, and the path was packed. It seemed like everyone and their sporty girlfriend were hiking there that…
TRAVEL JOURNAL 17: LES CONTAMINES
I woke up at 5:50 and started quickly packing as per orders of the grouchy woman at the Refuge du Fioux. We were all exhausted, so I offered to trade packs with the Teenager, who being young and strong, plus spending the whole vacation complaining that he’s losing his chest and abs, was carrying the…
TRAVEL JOURNAL 16: THE START OF THE TOUR
So I MIGHT have been temporarily insane when I planned this part of the trip, and it had been causing me anxiety attacks the whole time when I woke up late at night. For this part we met my dad and Rose at a hostel in Chamonix to hike the Tour du Mont Blanc over…
TRAVEL JOURNAL 15: THE MOUNTAIN HOMESTEAD
We stayed this past week in the gentle, curving mountains of Eastern Ardèche. Shapes of hips and shoulders, knees and elbows form the landscape.Everywhere golden light spills through the tall, dark fir trees.The forest is littered with smooth, narrow pine cones, and the rocks glitter with hidden twinkles in the sunlight.The Romans left their mark…
TRAVEL JOURNAL 14: THE HERB FARM
This isn’t the Teenager’s favorite week of the adventure, but it might be mine….we are staying at a farm that grows herbs and processes them into balms, essential oil, infused oils, and soaps.We’re staying in a tiny little town in Doubs, described by a guy we met in the bus as a “little Venice”.There are…
TRAVEL JOURNAL 13: THE EXCAVATION
After staying at the sheep loft for four days, we had an opportunity to help on an archaeological dig in Sainte-Marie-Aux-Mines, the small town where my great grandmother was born. The building we stayed in was (I think) an old mill, and a stream of water ran past outside. It had the interesting layout of…
TRAVEL JOURNAL 10 : Trains, Trains, Buses, and Trains ( En Route To Alsace)
We get on a train heading for Lyon Part Dieu at a fairly early hour, while Teenager whines that his ear buds are broken, and that I “owe him a new pair”. We are also minus a green t-shirt that was left behind in Savoie – a victim of the Teenager’s habit of strewing all…
Last Hike
Last hike in Savoie before we leave. Two dogs from the Fromagerie came along with me. I feel like I’ve left a little piece of my heart here.
The Fromagerie
The next day is cold and rainy in the morning, and it’s just me because the Teenager warned me not to wake him up early “or else”. This means the backpack is WAY lighter. I am prepared with a waterproof backpack cover and raincoat. They are still milking when I arrive, so I wait and…
Toadstools And Fairy Rings 