Verchaix (April 2016)

Mary and I drove to Verchaix after her stage in Mirmande.  After a few days together there, Mary returned to Saint-Germain-en-Laye and her work.  I remained in Verchaix for about 10 days.  In my outings, I experienced the transition from winter to spring, as the following pictures illustrate.

A mantle of spring flowers welcomed us at the chalet on 16 April 2016:

It was still winter on La Bourgeoise, where I broke trail on fresh, wind-blown snow during a snowshoe outing on 19 April 2016:

I brought snowshoes but did not need them during this walk in the Cirque du Fer-à-Cheval, 20 April 2016:

The bridge is open only during the summer.  I found a place where I could cross by walking on boulders in the stream.

A hike up to the Chalets du Trot (21 April 2016):

Winter hadn't yet yielded to Spring!  A storm brought fresh snow, wind and low temperatures to La Bourgeoise on 27 April 2016.  I was practically alone on the mountain during my snowshoe outing:

The only tracks in the snow were mine...

A hike up the trail toward the Vallée de Sales, as far as the Cascades de la Pleureuse and le Sauffaz (28 April 2016):

Scenes around Samoëns: Mont Buet and Le Criou (29 April 2016):

30 April 2016: Winter won't give up!

La Drôme et l'Ardèche (April 2016)

11-15 April 2016:  Mary returned to Mirmande, in the Drôme, for another stage in her continuing massage course, and this time I accompanied her.  We stayed at the excellent chambres d'hôtes, Les Fougères.  While Mary participated in her stage, I explored the Drôme and the neighboring department, the Ardèche.  I joined the massage stagières and the owners of Les Fougères each evening for delicious, convivial dinners.

Les Fougères is a large, old farm building outside the village of Mirmande that has been converted into a comfortable inn:

Here are a few photos taken during my tourist excursions around the area.

Crest, with views of and from its imposing château:

Views of the Château de Grignan, famous as the residence of Madame de Sévigné's daughter, to whom Mme de Sévigné wrote many letters...

The snow-capped mountain in the background is Mont Ventoux, a famous finishing point in many Tour de France stages.

The Château de Suze-la-Rousse, which now houses an interesting museum and a University of Wine:

For my final day of tourism, I crossed the Rhone River and visited the Caverne du Pont-d'Arc, a recently-constructed replica of the "Grotte Chauvet" and its extraordinary prehistoric wall paintings (older, even, than those of the world-renowned Lascaux cave):

For my return to Mirmande, I followed the dramatic road above the Gorges de l'Ardèche: