The morning was frosty so this was the first time this fall that we wore pants on our hike. We decided to hike in the foothills of the Belledonne mountain range, an area we have not yet done this fall.
Our destination was not the top of a peak but a fort which you can vaguely see (white spot in the trees). A mini history lesson here: in the 19th century, France thought it needed to protect itself from an Italian invasion. Four forts were built up in the mountains surrounding Grenoble. Previous hikes took us to the 3 other forts and this was the last one to visit. This fort was built on a mountain that was owned by 4 feudal lords in the Middle Ages. The funny thing is that there really isn't any fort anymore, nor was there ever an Italian invasion. During WWII the French Resistance fighters used it to stock munitions and then at the end of the war, they blew up the fort. Only a heavily graffiti-ed door and some stone walls remain. We had lunch on a grassy hill overlooking villages below.
On our way to the fort we walked through Romage, a very small village. The water spout above made us laugh. Usually this kind of thing provides drinking water, but this one had a sign that said that water was non-potable and . . .
. . . . do not 'rinse' your bikes in the basin! Yes, there is a mountain bike trail nearby.
Shuttered windows in the village
And an amazing garden, still in impeccable condition in the middle of November.The good weather, warmest November on record according to last night's weather report, has certainly helped it. The garden had leaf lettuce, leeks, celery, swiss chard, carrots, artichokes (they are the plants wrapped in newspaper at the end of the garden), etc.
It is very nice to go through villages, an advantage to not hiking too high in the mountains.
It is very nice to go through villages, an advantage to not hiking too high in the mountains.
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