Chapter #17

The road to Andorra,
this time,

took us through beautiful Provence.

It would have been amazing to visit

this area when the lavender fields

were in bloom

but sadly this wasn't possible

so I could only imagine what they looked like

as we passed field after field

of neatly trimmed lavender bushes.

Luckily, early on in this adventure,
 I did manage to see a few fields...

So as we meandered across country
the villages we passed
were ridiculously gorgeously quaint.
I wanted to stop in every single one,
and wander the lanes,
take photos
and breathe it all in:)

Castellane was one little village

I squeezed a quick photo pit stop in...

...very cute (of course:)

The lanes literally do meander...

I would often find myself stopping

and thinking,

crikey,

am I walking up the path

to someone's house:)

Our day's travel ended

in another gorgeous old village,

called Apt.

We didn't get to explore Apt

until next morning,

but the wait was worth it:)

...this is one of the gates of entry

to the olde part of the town...

love it:)

...peeking through the door

down one of the lanes,

to another door beyond...

...and a gorgeous basket of lavender

outside one of the florists.

While wandering around the village

I stopped in a lovely wee shop

selling photos of the area

and started chatting with the owner.

She told me about the villages in the area

all of which were a must see!

Being that we only had a few hours

I had to choose one,

and wow,

Bonnieux was a good choice:)

...love the blue doors and shutters...

...and this has to be the most incredible

wall art I think I've ever seen...

...steeples...

  

...obligatory walk up the hill

for the view...

...and of course there are always,

always,

gorgeous cottages

to snap...:)

Absolutely beautiful village,
and a must visit if you find yourself
in this part of the world.

So this day's travel ended up in a
campsite
beside the lovely
Lake Salagou.
Totally different lake to
what I had imagined,
but nonetheless beautiful...

...it was a very tempting walk around

the shore that evening

as the track led me through

vineyards dripping with grapes...

...and this would have to be

the most spectacular

way to end the day...

Next day,

next stop,

Andorra.

See you there :)

Jenny

xx

Chapter #16

Two very perfect autumnal days

in my favourite city of Briancon.

Don't think I've ever seen

such blue skies,

without a single cloud

and not a breeze.

Couldn't ask for better conditions

for heading for the hills:)

While Jake went riding,

I went walking!
(warning: quite a few photos in this one:)

For my first walk I chose to revisit

one of the most beautiful lakes I'd seen...

Lac de l'Orceyrette.

Along the way I got a little side-tracked

literally!

I spotted a track leading up the hillside

and thought it was worth exploring.

Found myself on a plateau

high above the valley.

The perfect place for my picnic lunch

and relaxing for a while,

thinking about nothing and everything:)

Heading down to the lake brought me in

from the opposite end to my previous visit

and it was just as magical as 

the first time :)

On the road back to camp I passed through

the very small but very beautiful

village of Les Ayes.

Is this not the cutest little row

of houses:)

Further down the road

I passed by the tiny church

that I had photographed on our 

first visit to Briancon

back in June.

In that photo the field in front

was covered in wildflowers.

This time autumn was on show ..

brambles covered in rosehips:)

So on the second day I chose a hill

straight up behind the camp.

On the very top of the hill

I could see that there was a building,

possibly a church,

hard to tell as it was so far away

but I decided I would go find out.

Phew!!!

The hill took some climbing

but as always,

spectacular views:)

 ...and yes,

it was a little church:)

...this is looking down

on Briancon...

...and these spectacular mountains

are what you see when

you turn around

and look the other way:)

...another gorgeous wee village

the road meanders through

coming down the other side...

...there is always time

to stop and take pictures

of flowers:)

...have never seen so many wild plum trees

as there were up this valley.

I did taste to see if ready

but by golly they were tart!!!

Would have been nice to have been able to

munch on them as I walked :)

...rosehips of all shapes and sizes

and every shade of orange and red...

...at times the tracks take you literally

through the back yards of houses.

It feels a little odd at times,

but most times you don't actually realise

that you are in their back yard

until the tracks just pops out there!

...this just took my fancy,

obviously onion harvest time :)

 ...everyone seems to have a vegetable garden,

and often in the most unlikely of places,

over the road and down the side of a bank

in many instances.

Allotments are also commonplace,

have seen so many ranging from ones

with just a few garden plots

to others that have upwards of 50.

They look like so much fun,

going along and working amongst the plants

while at the same time

socialising with others doing the same.

Made the most of my time in Briancon

as this would be the last visit.

We've stayed here six times

since our adventure begun

and every time it has been amazing,

and every time I've found new places

to explore.

Watching it change with the seasons

has been fascinating,

and I can only begin to imagine

how beautiful it must look

coated in snow in winter.

Maybe I will have to come back

and find out first hand:)

So from here we had a journey south

to Andorra again

for the next race.

A couple of one night stopovers

were planned to see a little more

of this beautiful country,

and they did not fail to impress.

See you in Provence:)

Jenny

xx

Chapter #15

Les Gets for a week...

felt unusual to be in one place

for such a long period of time:)

We almost had the camp to ourselves,

as the camping season

was about to close.

Sadly for us

the weather was less than kind...

autumn had definitely arrived

in France.

This was a training week,

literally getting back on the bike.

But it gets cold in them there hills,

around this time of the year:)

So walking up them

was a really good way to

get warm:)

The change of seasons

brought a whole new

display of flowers and trees,

and toadstools!

Everywhere...toadstools 

and mushrooms 

of every shape and colour...

And even though the weather

was at times quite "damp"

with foggy mornings

and flipping cold nights...

still beautiful wildflowers

to brighten the day...

...shrubs covered in rosehips...

...and trees changing colour

to golden yellows...

It was a slightly testing week,

in so far as cold nights under canvas,

and some wet days

which make it harder to get out and about

but it was always going to happen

at this end of the adventure.

Something we hadn't taken account of,

though,

was camping grounds closing up 

for the season!

It seems that many of the ones

up in the alps

close up in September.

Understandably so,

as I imagine that it wont be so long

before the snow comes.

Towards the end of our week,

after a couple of really wet cold days

in a row

we decided to head out a day early,

back to Briancon for a couple of days,

before heading south to Andorra

for race day.

I am fascinated at how quickly

the seasons have changed

although I think it is more noticeable

up in the alps

where we have spent much of our time.

Almost overnight the temperatures

changed.

Certainly takes a little longer

getting into "bed" at night

by the time you layer the clothes on...

socks, leggings,

tee shirt AND merino thermal,

extra hoodie on really cold nights,

and on a couple of occasions,

gloves and scarf!!!

Yup,

tenting in the French alps

in the autumn...

what can I say...

it's an interesting experience,

and sure makes you appreciate the

finer things in life

like beds with electric blankets

and heaters:)

It would be amazing to see the forests

in all their autumn glory

and to see the first snows

falling:)

The villages we have been to

must look so incredibly beautiful

in winter...

something like a fairy tale

I think:)

So I'll see you in Briancon,

for two of the most incredibly

perfect autumn days

and long walks in the hills:)

Jenny

xx

Chapter #14

One of the prettiest campsites

we have stayed at

has to be the one beside

Lake Lucerne.

On arrival you would never guess!

Very average looking camping ground!

Directed to the far end of the campsite

the initial thought was,

hope I'm not "busting" in the middle

of the night

'cos it's a flipping long hike

to the "sanitaries" :)

But what awaited us at the far end

was nothing short of bliss -

an open field,

sure,

but smack bang on the shores 

of the lake.

This is the view
 from a trek up the hill

behind the camp...

our tentsite was on

the very edge of 

the green field almost in the

exact centre of the pic.

We had a couple of days in this utterly

scenic paradise...

...have absolutely no idea what this building was

but it looked so

regal and super impressive

up there on the hillside...

...and this is something I was not expecting...

a wonderful old covered bridge,

and in fact I saw quite a few more

whilst travelling through...

Our time in Switzerland was short,

but very sweet,

as "the hand" was definitely on the mend

and we needed to head back 

to France for some serious training.

Such a beautiful country...

...so green,

and the sky so blue...

...those mountains...

...and those blue blue flowers :)

We decided to return to Les Gets

mainly because of the bike park facilities,

and partly because it was reasonably close

and we knew that everything

we needed was there.

It's definitely one of my
favourite of places - 
a small but absolutely delightful
camp ground,
high up the hill behind the township,
and from our tent
we looked straight out at
Mont Blanc!
And the local baker 
delivers fresh baguette
every single morning :)
See you in Les Gets.
Jenny
xx