After 3 breathtaking hikes from our
base at La Berarde and with several glacial valleys still to explore
nearby, it was a difficult decision to move last Tuesday morning.
However, after 3 glorious cloud free days, we awoke to rain clouds to
find that the peaks that had so inspired us were now hidden from view
and we felt it was time to continue moving north (but with a plan to
definitely return to the Ecrins National Park in the future). |
| "Scream if you want to go faster" |
Arriving in the town of Sassenage, just
outside of Grenoble, later that evening we were pleased to find an
almost full but peaceful little aire and settled ourselves into the
last remaining corner. Slipping once more into our routine of taking
a day to explore a town between our excursions into the mountains, we
took some time to exercise on Wednesday morning before mounting our
bikes for the 6km or so ride into Grenoble just after midday. Since
we were parked right next to a cycle route which apparently follows
the river all the way from Lyon to Gap/Sisteron we were able to enjoy
the very pleasant ride right into the heart of the town with no
traffic at all.
After getting our bearings we
eventually found the tourist information by 2pm, where a very helpful
man told us we were in luck, since in addition to numerous free
museums in town, a rare opportunity for an English speaking tour of
the Bastille was happening that day – at 3pm. He suggested we take
the cable car, but being keen hikers we asked whether we could walk
up instead? The answer was yes, but it would take an hour! Marching
swiftly through town to the base of the defensive wall that runs down
the 300m from the Bastille to the river Isere we began the climb.
With no time to lose we pushed on in the muggy heat and did indeed
make the start of the tour, however, it was somewhat at the expense
of my shirt which showed the evidence of our exertions quite clearly
for the next half hour or so (it was a tough and unexpected workout).
However, the tour was well worth it.
The Bastille was originally built in the 16th Century when
Henry IV ordered one of his dukes to seize the town, which he
achieved by attacking from the hills to the north and where he
promptly built a fort to stop anyone else doing the same. Rebuilt
again in the mid-1800s, however, just 15 years later the Savoie
region became part of France and so the border which it had been
built to defend no longer existed. This does mean, however, it was
never attacked and stands today in near perfect condition with all of
the defensive features intact, including a very long tunnel
connecting the fort to a hollowed out section of the nearby mountain
where more cannons were stationed. It was a great tour and well worth
the workout to get up the hill, including the lovely view over
Grenoble and the distant hills that we had been hiking in just days
before. From our lofty perpective the stages of development of the
town were also clearly visible, from the tiny old town by the rivers
edge, ringed by 1800's expansion and that ringed by a much larger and
extensive 1960s expansion due to the hosting of the Winter Olympics.
Fascinating stuff.
Back in town we stopped to visit the
free archaeological museum which was surprisingly good. An otherwise
simple church, once inside, turned out to be an excavated shell with
remains going back more than 1000 years and full of burials and one
of the oldest crypts in France dating back to the 7th
Century. Armed with our free audio guides we spent an hour captivated
by the history of the place until we realised it really was time to
retrace our steps back to the bikes and head home for dinner.
With so much still to see we decided to
modify our routine and stay an extra day in Grenoble and so Thursday
morning saw us, after an early jog, back on our bikes and heading to
explore the old town on foot plus making use of another free museum
which showed the excavated remains of another early Christian church
as well as the history of Grenoble from pre-historic to the French
Revolution. After leaving the museum we cycled out of town slightly
to visit the ice rink in the Olympic Park where, as a student, I had
played during an ice hockey tour of the region. Happy memories. As
afternoon arrived we once more took a slow ride along the river and
prepared the van ready to move on again in the morning.
As per usual we didn't quite know where
were heading to next, but we felt very happy to have spent some time
relaxing in this picturesque and peaceful city.
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