We wake up and make our way to Lyon for lunch on route to Grenoble. Grenoble is a fairly plain city at the base of the truly picturesque French Alps .... the locals obviously didn’t want to be distracted from the views. It is here that we visit our good friend Ian Doyle, & his wife Bridgette. It’s great to see Doyle chasing his dream of living and working in France and together they have built a life focused on enjoying the great outdoors..... and they insist on sharing it with us. So on Thursday morning we’re off on a 2 hour drive through some amazing mountains and ravines in search of “a little hike for the afternoon”. From the beautiful grassy valley where the local monks still study in the 15th century Monastery, we hike straight up the mountain for 3 hours to where the trees give way to highland meadows and snow and the only other inhabitants are mountain goats and eagles! Luckily we came prepared as Doyle and I had ventured into the markets in the morning to buy fresh local cheeses, salamis, hams and bread. Of course after such an epic struggle to get to the top to enjoy spectacular panoramic views of the French Alps it is only appropriate to crack open a cheeky bottle of wine we picked up a couple of days ago in Beaune. Of course this doesn’t make the thigh burning, hamstring straining, calf crunching 2.5 hour hike back down any easier but after we saw what we were in for on the way up, a couple of glasses of courage didn’t hurt anyone.
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