Walk

Pictures of the trails behind Echirolles that go up to Haute Jarrie and beyond. I know, I know, I've already posted a bunch of photos from this place, but it's amazing and deserves more. 

The time I ran to a castle

I've said this before, but I swear, every time I go out and explore this area a little I fall more and more in love with it. It's not everywhere that a simple run can lead you to a chateau. 

Behind my apartment there is a big hill which takes you out of the city and into the countryside. If you go a little further you get to a little nature reserve (which has become my favorite spot) where you can sit on the dock over the small lake and watch the birds (Skribbles flies here! Only my mom and Kerry will get that though...). I had never gone past there before, but today curiosity got the better of me and I kept going...and going and going. I ended up in a little town, and I kept seeing signs for Chateau de Bon Repos, so I followed those and a little farther up, there it was, a 15th century chateau, just chillin' a few hundred meters from some peoples' houses, overlooking the mountains, with some donkeys right next to it just to add some extra charm. I just stood there smiling at it like an idiot (and pet the donkey, of course).

Not a bad find, for a morning run...

On the way back I ran on a gorgeous trail I had never been on before. More donkeys. And horses. And cows. I stopped and stared at a cow for a while, it stared back at me... I don't think it  liked me much, so I left. 

Remember a week or two ago when I published a post about finding miles and miles of trails behind that park five minutes away from my place? Well somehow I ended up there again, and from there I went back home.

I was gone for hours, and when I got back I was muddy and starving. It was amazing.

And to think I almost decided to live in the city, I would have never discovered this if I did. It's one of those places you would never find on TripAdvisor. That's what I love about Grenoble (and Echirolles), the longer I live here the more hidden gems I find. 

Hidden Trails

This morning was unintentionally awesome. I decided to go on one of my increasingly rare "runs" (i.e. glorified walks) to a park I had passed by about a week before. Turns out there's a trail that runs behind it and keeps  going and going out into the countryside where it forks out into several other trails. No roads, barely any houses,  horses and donkeys, no people. Back home I would have to drive an hour for trails like this, here, it's a ten-minute walk away. How have I lived here for two months without finding this??

On my way back I was running behind this middle-aged man, and as I was passing him he said something to me. I took out my earbud, "what was that?"

I thought he asked me if we could run together until the end of the trail, which seemed a little strange, but I said why not, we were almost there anyways. Then he sped up, so I sped up to keep up with him, then he sped up again, so I sped up, etc., until we were full-on sprinting. Looking back on it I think he was asking me to race. (And I realize how creepy this sounds, but trust me, it was fine).

"Ah, ca fait du bien"

Turns out he had been a serious runner in his youth and he ran those trails all the time, usually at a leisurely pace but every once in a while he liked to push it. He explained more or less how the trails are laid out, gave me the name of some local running club, and then we parted ways. Thanks, kind stranger.

I really wish I had brought my camera, it was really gorgeous.

I've been feeling sort of crummy this last week, and this was just what I needed, a hit of endorphins and a forest.

Bastille: Take #3

I had (yet another) day off today, so I decided to climb up the Bastille again. This time I wandered around for about two hours on the trails that continue up past the main Bastille hike. It was gorgeous. I still can't believe all this is just a half hour tram ride away.

First hike in the Alps!

I finally went on a hike the other day with a few other assistants! It was great, but about halfway up it started to drizzle. As we made our way up and through the snow and then started to come back down, it slowly progressed into a full on downpour. Eventually we decided to get off the trail and veer onto a rode where we hitched a ride with a nice old man who let all five of us squeeze into his little car, and drove our freezing butts into town. So it was a little cold and wet, but it was great :) Next time I won't ignore the weather report though.

You can't see it, but once we got to the top it was covered in snow

I was a little bummed we missed the great view, there was so much fog we couldn't see anything! 

Made it to the top!

Les Alpes!

Today I was sitting in my room on my computer and the woman I live with stuck her head in and asked if I wanted to go up into the mountains for a short hike with them. Uh, yes please. It was one of those places you can't really get to on a bus, I would have never even thought to go there if they hadn't taken me. It was amazing. Within 15 minutes we were completely out of the city and in the countryside, within 40  we were in the Alps, my head kept swiveling around trying to take it all in. As always, the photos don't do it justice, but I sort of tried.

La Bastille

I'm ashamed to admit that in the past few days I haven't done much besides go food shopping and sleep, but today was the day I finally got my butt on the tram and went into the city.

The people I live with told me Grenoble itself isn't the most interesting city. True, architecturally it's not as striking as other European cities, but I like it. It makes it less pretentious, less...imposing. What really makes the area special, though, are the surrounding mountains. Grenoble itself is flat, so you see them constantly. 

The main attraction here is the climb up to the Bastille, an old fortress built in the 16th century. I hadn't planning on climbing up it today, but I didn't really know where I was going and then I got distracted and somehow I ended up going up a hill that led to the hike. 

It. Was. Fantastic. The view was absolutely beautiful the whole way up. I couldn't stop gaping. What's amazing is how close it is to the city. Like...it's IN the city. I mean we have great hikes near Seattle, but you have to drive an hour out before you reach them. Anyways, less words, more photos:

:D No shame, sushi avant croissants 

Some Robert Frost stuff right here