From lavender to the Alps: our last few days in France




With all the wonderful sights and experiences on this France trip so far, it would be hard to imagine it could get any better. Yet somehow we seem to have ended on a high note with a few real gems packed into our last few days.

Before leaving the region of lavender, Provence-Alpes, we just had to take a drive up onto Mt Ventoux, the highest mountain in the area. It stands alone and has a white, naked top cap of bare, smooth limestone on its summit, making it appear to be snow-covered when you see it from a distance. It is the ultimate challenge for road cyclists to ride to the top, and we saw many of them, heads down, working hard on the ride up. And it has been part of the Tour de France many times. There are great panoramic views from the summit, but it was quite hazy this particular day.

 From Mt Ventoux's summit and its bare limestone crown
Approaching Mt Ventoux's summit


From here, we headed north, in the general direction of Lyon, our departure city.  But after a visit to the town of Vaison-la-Romaine to see a few more Roman ruins, we detoured to the northeast as the bigger mountains in the Alps were beckoning. We figured we had enough time to drive some of the cols made famous by the Tour de France.

Roman ruins at Vaison-la-Romaine

Our route took us through some scenic gorges and mountain ranges via towns Nyon, Serres, Col de la Croix- Haute, then off the main roads through rural villages before making our way to Grenoble. Enjoyed the market in the not-so-touristy small town of Mens.

Great selection of dried sausages at the market in Mens.
We really loved these and tried a variety during our trip

East of Grenoble, great scenery when we climbed up some mountain roads past ski stations, little villages and lush meadows providing great summer grazing for sheep and cattle. Had hoped to get to the the Col de Galibier, but due to a cycling event, that access was completely blocked for the whole day. So drove a different road via Col de Sarenne and Alpe-d'Huez to the Col de Croix de Fer, which turned out to be a beautiful drive.

Col de Sarenne ( near Alpe-d' Huez)


Wild lilies on the Col de Sarenne

The Oisans Valley area southeast of Grenoble

Lac de Grand Maison en route to Col de la Croix de Fer
The cross that gives this pass its name, La Col de la Croix de Fer

From our campspot in the Gorges de la Romanche area on Sat night, Frank figured we were only a couple of hours drive from Chamonix, and the possibility of seeing the elusive Mt Blanc who had stubbornly hidden herself from us when were at Lake Geneva hoping to view her from the north.

 So off we went Sunday morning, finally breaking down and using the less pleasurable but much faster motorways, and got there by evening. Thanks to Maps.Me, we found a gem of a campground right under the mountain a few km from Chamonix, a quiet family-run affair with lovely tent sites. Ours had a perfect view of the Bossons glacier above us. You couldn't quite see the summit from here as we were too close. But we got to watch the glow of sunset on the icey slopes around us, while completing the disassembly and packaging of our bikes into their cardboard boxes in preparation for the flight home.

This view of the Mt Blanc Massif from our tent near Chamonix

We retired for the night hoping very much for clear skies in the morning. The plan was to be at the gondola that takes you to one of the peaks on the Mt Blanc Massif by 7am to beat the crowds and get us on the road again to be in Lyon by Monday night.
Frank was out of the tent at 5.30am reporting excitedly that the sky  was completely clear. So we were on the cable car to Aguille du Midi before 8am, along with a load of alpinists. The Japanese tourists hadn't yet arrived!! We willingly paid the €60 tarrif each for the chance to view Mt Blanc from such close range. This time she obliged and let us oogle at her bathed in sunshine for a short time before she called in her shroud of cloud again!!



Mt Blanc seen from nearby Mt Aiguille du Midi

 The cable car ride was a unique experience  in itself, taking you up to the dramatic jagged needle mountain, Aguille Midi, via two separate cable cars followed by an elevator ride up through the inside of the peak! The whole station is a great engineering feat, perched on this precipice, complete with a café, gift shop and numerous viewing platforms, as well as exhibits about the climbing history of the mountain.

Alpinists about to step out on the mountain
 from the cable car station on Aiguille du Midi 3777m


From Chamonix, we drove to Lyon on the motorways, making a quick stop in the touristy and very picturesque town of Annecy,  and then taking a bit of a detour south through Valence to visit another friend I hadn't seen for about eleven years. So good to see Cathy again and meet her parents.


The stunningly beautiful alpine town of Annecy



It was interesting to find out that driving the motorways in France can be quite costly. We spent over €30 in toll fees to drive from Chamonix to Lyon via Valence. Fortunately if you have the time, there are usually other road options, and these were the only two days we had to be time- conscious.

This truck trailer had just caught fire minutes before we drove
 by on the motorway.

Return of the rental car and transportation of the bikes and luggage at the airport terminal went well. The funny thing was the pretty, young, but seemingly inexperienced lady at the Air Transat desk tried to have us put these large bike boxes onto the regular luggage belt along with our other luggage. Now we, being such savvy and now ever so experienced international cycle tourists, knew better!! Our obvious reluctance to part with our precious boxes onto this narrow belt did eventually prompt her to check with her colleagues, who must have put her in the picture that these items did indeed merit special handling at the oversize baggage desk! It all ended happily, and Frank thought she had a very pretty smile so she was forgiven!

And surprisingly, the oversize-baggage guy wasn't at all interested in removing the bikes to do the manual inspection that we now fully expect (and thus don't finish taping up the boxes till after it's done) due to past experience. So, good ol' duct tape and cord at the ready, we finish the job and send them off on the conveyor belt.

The final sealing of the bike boxes at oversized baggage in Lyon 

Nineteen hours later at Calgary airport last night, we were reunited with said precious boxes and our other luggage, all apparently intact. What a fantastic trip we had, but home is still very sweet!

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