Not quite Marco Polo: Grenoble, June 21st

From Dijon we continued south. We are really "en Vacance" and not being at all serious tourists, so the frequency of posts will probably decrease. We have been booking our accommodation on line as we go and it has been working out very well. After leaving Dijon our first stop was Dole where we eventually found the tourist office but being Sunday it was shut, so we settled for coffee in the square. The waiter was running to look after the dogs as well as the people.

The Cathedral at Dole.

A rather stern looking Madonna in the church at Salins les Bains

We stayed in Bourg-en-Bresse and the following day just drove out to admire the countryside and the "Village Fleuri". Just outside Bourg-en-Bresse is the Abbey of Brou with another lovely glazed tile roof. We are now in Savoie and out of Charolais country, but I don't know the name of the brown and white breed of cattle we see here.

The glazed tile roof of the Abbey of Brou near Bourg-en-Bresse. We walked right around the building but could not find a better angle for a photo.

Walt Disney in the French countryside.

We found the Tourist Office in Belley, a town I had never heard of, but it turns out it was thriving under the Romans. We took the walking tour of the town which is always interesting. This town only became French in 1600 (before that the area was under the Dukes of Savoie (Swiss?). It was a hive of activity during the Counter Reformation and there are 4 former convents although it is a pretty small place. More relevant are the contemporary cafes and we got a good cup of coffee in one.

Lots and lots of wildflowers everywhere.

Judging by the dogs we see they should have a good clientele!

A change from the more usual Christ in Majesty (or similar) above the main entrance to Belley Cathedral.

From Belley we started our touring of the mountains going past the Belvedere d'Ontax and over Col du Chat and then Col du Mont Chat (1504m) with magnificent views over Lac Bourget. Plenty of hairpin bends, but with the SatNav you can see them coming up.

Looking down on Lake Bourget from the Belvedere du Mont du Chat.

The snow is melting and there are waterfalls galore.

We stayed last night in Chambery and today went higher into the Alps along Rue des Grands Alpes which took us over the Col du Meraillat (over 1900m) and amongst the drifts of snow and past lots of cascades and waterfalls from the melting snow. Still plenty of cattle but today they were Swiss Brown.

This could be in the area of Col du Meraillet west of Mont Blanc.

Wildflowers again.

Every day after we set off one of our first tasks is to find a boulangerie to buy the bread for our picnic lunch. We are getting better at spotting them and diving into a parking spot close by. Today (Thursday) was another day in the mountains. We went over Col du Galabier at 2646m. Although the pass was open there were feet of snow each side of the road in places. Le Tour will be going over this pass on July 21st, so it will be interesting to see how much snow remains then. We stopped for coffee at Col du Lautaret and the cafe was full of cyclists including an English group who were riding from London to Monaco - 900 km in 10 days.

As we sat in the cafe on Col du Lauteret a thunderstorm passed by and the lightning was spectacular.

The number of cyclists toiling on the pass is phenomenal.

It is now Friday evening and today was another day in the mountains. The weather was perfect with the sun shining on the snow. The air is so clear and the mountains stand out against the sky. We drove first up to Alpe d'Huez. There was some sort of cycle race and there were dozens of cyclists on the road. Alpe D'Huez is a huge ski resort and the road we wanted to take out of town was not signposted. However we found it - 15 km of twisting and narrow road along the plateau. Fortunately there was very little traffic as it was often single track and there was one particularly scary hairpin bend. The views were spectacular and being France there were occasional picnic tables.