Passerelle Saint Laurent

Recently while walking to pick up Katy from school, I decided to go via the butcher thus taking the longer route over the pedestrian bridge. Arriving at the Passerelle Saint Laurent, I was surprised to see barriers blocking it off with these posters nearby. Luckily the next bridge is close by, which meant I could continue on my way.

Back home I decided to investigate the fete as implied in the poster. Turns out that the Passerelle Saint Laurent, was the first bridge built by the romans that connected the two banks of the Isere. Unbeknownst to us, the historical suspension bridge had been closed since late 2017 as extensive renovation work were undertaken - the deck of the bridge was replaced, the bridge totally dismantled and asbestos removed. Anyway, the fete was a celebration of inauguration of the newly renovated bridge.

We wander up to the bridge in the misty rain not sure what to expect. A large crowd had gathered and were being entertained by a circus street performance. Interesting mix of juggling, acrobatic moves, and people on stilts all to do their stuff to music! The performance comes to an end before the dignitaries had arrive.

The crowd becomes slightly restless but are entertained by two kayakers riding the rapids below the bridge! Quickly the girls become bored of standing in the rain waiting but then the crowd started to countdown followed by the bridge being lit up! We snap a few photos before bumbling our way through the crowd crossing the bridge.

Keeping Busy

Without our normal routine at home; limited access to outdoor play equipment; no family or friends; a language barrier and cold rainy weather we have been doing lots of indoor stuff together. Audio books, drawing and knitting have taken off as well as card games - monopoly deal, 500 and whist. Bouldering has been fun and we are all improving. Cooking has challenged us! Finding the correct ingredients in the supermarket is interesting. Baking powder, baking soda and yeast have all caused us trouble!

Vizille

Located 20km to the south of Grenoble is Vizille, home to the Chateau de Vizille. The grandest castle in the Dauphine region, it was built (as it is today) in the 17th century by Francios de Bonne, the then duke de Lesdiguieres.

 The Vizille estate is enormous. Our exploration of the grounds took a few hours. We walked through the manicured gardens before finding a playground!!  The overcast conditions turned to intermittent misty rain as we were searching for the deer. No sign of deer yet, instead we found a mostly frozen lake, peacocks and an old disused fish farm although we thought it was a water treatment plant!! Eventually at the furtherest point from the chateau, we found a tall timber tower and from the top level we observed several herds of deer in separate paddocks.

 

Heading back towards the chateau, we briefly stopped for picnic lunch of baguette, cheese and ham in a small shelter. I say briefly, because it was too cold to linger for much longer than the time it took to consume our food. Winding our way along the canals that were full of carp and dotted with swans, geese and ducks, we arrive back at the chateau.

The chateau has a rich history - the formal home of the Dukes of Lesdiguieres, the powerful Perier family and the summer house for the presidents of the 3rd and 4th French Republics. Today it houses the Musee de la Revolution Francaise (Museum of the French Revolution) given its significant role.

We entered this grand building and were taken through a brief history lesson through art and various artefacts whose interpretations were all in French of course! Back in 1788, King Louis XVI was worried with the amount of power of the Parliament of Dauphine subsequently forbidding them to meet. Already facing hardship with failed harvests, increases in cost of bread and continued tax collections, the inhabitants of Grenoble rioted by throwing tiles from their roofs to the soldiers below. The 7th June 1788 became known as the Day of the Tiles.

At this time the chateau, owned by Claude Perier, a wealthy fabric printer, invited delegates from the clergy, the nobility and the commoners of the Dauphine region to assemble in the castle. Over 500 men converged in the salle du jeu de paume (indoor tennis court) and at this meeting, the Convocation in Paris of the Estates-General was agreed upon. This demanded that Third Estate (the commoners) have double representation and where votes are by head not by order. It was thought that this meeting was the first part of the French Revolution that culminated in the storming of the Bastille  on 14th July 1789; the overthrow of the monarchy and the execution of King Louis XVI in 1793; establishment of the republic followed by numerous years of political turmoil (involving lots of violence) and finally a dictatorship under Napolean in 1804. All very interesting and a lovely way to spend the day.

Ice, Snow and More

Taking the plunge, we (Andy) hired a car for the weekend. This meant flexibility - to go where we wanted and when we wanted. With fresh memories of his recent snow shoeing expedition with work, Andy was keen to get the family out on the snow. We researched potential areas and decided on Villard de Lans with Lans en Vercors as a back up plan.

Funnily enough, while googling family friendly raquettes (snowshoe) trails in these areas, Andy mentioned that he thought we'd been here before... and we had! Way back in 1996, we were travelling with Jonno and Andy ran a couple of World Cup orienteering races around the ski areas of Villard de Lans!! And just to prove it here are a few photos I managed to find....the top left - views overlooking Grenoble and the Bastille, looking remarkably similar to the photo I took only last weekend at the orienteering!

  

Off we drove, all hyper vigilant that Andy kept to the right side of the road and in the right direction! He did a sterling job under pressure. Andy's work colleague Chris, an Australian who is currently in Cambridge doing his post doc, joined us. The road to Villard de Lans was very scenic initially with stunning views over Grenoble followed by passing through the steep limestone cliffs that make up part of the gorges of Furon. Some 50 mins later, we arrived in the centre of Villard de Lans, located a ski shop and hired snow shoes. We were ready for an adventure!

 

The raquettes trail we'd earmarked to do had us starting a km or so out of town, however not confident that our car would make it up the icy roads (it wasn't equipped with snow tyres) so we began our walk from town. Just at the hike upwards was getting to the girls (they were impatient to try out the raquettes) a black cat playing in the snow caught their attention which just happened to be at the start of the trail!

Croissants were snacked on while everyone adjusted they own raquettes to their boots. Andy gave us a few quick tips - the most important one was you can't walk backwards otherwise this happens.....

 

And we were off. Our hike was based around the Fauge river and depending on our progress and /or energy levels, our route could be shortened. Arriving at the Pont de l'Amour (Bridge of Love) the girls are instantly attracted to the partially frozen stream and start poking around. We choose the path to the left, gently climbing upwards in single file. A short while later we briefly stop for a drink, a snack and also to consult the map.

Continuing on, it wasn't that long before we reached the crossroads where we would need to make a decision on our route. The longer version would see us climb another 200m in elevation (probably another 1.5 hrs) to the hut, Cabana de Roybon before crossing beneath the spectacular Ranc des Agnelons (which no doubt would be hidden in the clouds) then dropping back into the Fauge valley. The shorter version would see no more climbing but to contour before crossing the Fauge river and joining the route back down. As it was midday already, it was no surprise that the girls chose the latter option!

The path wove between pine trees dusted with snow. Everyone enjoyed tapping the low branches, hoping to cover an unsuspecting victim in a flurry of snow! We emerge after crossing the river into a snowy field that looked great for a lunch spot. Sitting on our raquettes, trying to keep our bums warm and dry, we devour our ham and cheese baguettes.

 

Post lunch activity was to build a snowman under strict instructions from Ella. She rolled a snowball from the top of the field until it was deemed big enough for the bottom part of the snowman who was aptly named Aussie. The ball was smoothed and rounded. Then this process was repeated twice more. A slightly wonky Aussie was given arms and eyes.

  

Leaving Aussie to enjoy his position overlooking the field and river, we continued on in search of the ice waterfall. The path once again took us through beautiful sections of snowy pines while descending to the river. Turning right we walked along the river bank before turning a corner crossing a small bridge to see this amazing sight...

The cascade de la Fauge!

With only a dribble of water still trickling down form above, this frozen waterfall is impressive. On closer inspection, we realise you can walk behind the waterfall and are intrigued by the icicles. What a fantastic way to finish our walk.

 

After making our icicle snow unicorns, we ambled back to the bridge of love where we discarded our snow shoes for the 1.5km walk back into town. All up the 9km loop with 250m climb took us around 2.5 hrs with another 1.5 hours of breaks. We celebrated with crepes and frites before tackling the drive home.