Off to the Alps

Yes, time for another holiday, in our busy mentally and physically taxing Year in Provence!!
We spent last week camping in the Alps, with friends from England James and Helen, and their children Thomas and Jenny.
On the way up, Lew and I stopped for a night at Allevard, and visited the Chateau at Vizilles.

This is a great example of how a French Chateau should be - turrets and towers, stairways and parapets, French flags everywhere you look.

 The Chateau housed the Museum of the Revolution, which we had a quick look through, but we spent more time walking through the extensive grounds with lake, fish hatchery, deer farm, and lots of beautiful big trees.  The area of Provence we live in is quite scrubby and barren, so Lew especially is missing the larger trees like beech and oak.

Our home for the week was a 5 star tent on the campground at Pralongnan la Vanoise, a little skiing village right at the end of the valley - you literally couldn't drive any further into the mountains.  James and Helen had their own family tent, but we hired a ready assembled version, complete with wooden floor, comfy beds, duvets and......electric light!  Even Lew could stand upright inside!

The campsite was surrounded by mountains, so although it meant we lost the sun relatively early, the views were stunning.

We were looking forward to some cooler weather, after 2 months of temperatures over 30 degrees every day - well, be careful what you wish for!  The days were sunny, mid-20's and no wind - perfect for walking and cycling.  But the nights.....down to 6 degrees fairly quickly once the sun had disappeared!  We were glad we had brought our sleeping bags to add to the duvets, and the bike ride to get the morning croissants involved 5 layers plus hat and gloves!

On our first day James, Lew, Thomas and I went for a bike ride.  Camping in the valley inevitably means that any activity involves varying degrees of uphill, but also guarantees good views from the tops.

It also means long uninterrupted downhills - not my cup of tea, but the boys loved it!
The next two days were spent walking;
uphill in the morning.....

 downhill in the afternoon!

Thomas and Jenny did really well, as the walks weren't easy, especially the second day.  However, they were motivated by the concept of the French Mountain Refuge.  The French are not really a nation who exercise for the sake of it; they have the lowest gym membership rate in the world (whilst also boasting the lowest rate of cardiovascular disease in the developed world - what does that tell us?)  However, when confronted with the merest hint of physical exercise, they are willing to comply, as long as there is a bar or cafe somewhere along the route for refuelling.  Hence the frequent sight of an entire peleton parked up at a roadside bar mid-ride, enjoying their pression (draught beer), coffee, or red wine.  So the mountains are no exception.  Just when you think you have reached the end of civilisation, round the corner and hey presto, the French Mountain Refuge appears like a mirage in the desert!

Not only serving alcohol and coffee, but also scoop ice-cream in 12 different flavours with large amounts of cream and chocolate sauce - what more stimulants do you need to propel children (and adults) further into the mountains?! French hikers have their Refuges, English walkers have their tea-shops, and Kiwis have their....dried fruit and nuts out of a plastic bag.  Have the Kiwis missed the boat somehow?!  Do we need to introduce the idea back home?  I can just see the Green party saddling up their high horses, ready to mount - "Tip Top ice-cream in the National Park?"  It'll never happen.

Back to the scenery.
We walked along Roman routes.....

Crossed dried up lakes....

Obediently passed through gates of dubious purpose....

Even though the instructions were clear......

We climbed glacial moraine....

Had a fairly close-up view of the glaciers....

And drank the cold mountain water.....but only when there wasn't a pression available!

  The village of Pralognan was very pretty, with many ski-chalet style houses on the hillsides.  Lew and I went for a walk and ended up carrying an elderly couple's shopping home for them up the hill - she admitted she'd got a bit carried away in the dairy aisle, and had enough yoghurts bulging out of the bag to supply the local kindergarten.

Unlike Provence, there was a distinct lack of net curtains to be seen, but they did a great line in shutter design.......

All in all, a fantastic week away.  You can't beat stunning scenery, good friends, lots of laughs, plenty of croissants........and a few pressions here and there!