Going away at the weekend is always a delicate balance - Juan already has a 5-hour return trip to get home. But, lured by the promise of better weather and
no snow a couple of hours south of Grenoble, we headed for the back of beyond, in the shape of a
gîte d'étape (posh youth hostel cum B & B) in the Drôme
département (just south of the Vercors).
It's a wonderful area, where Alps meet Provence. Craggy, wild and empty with cute villages and a very different flora from our usual stamping grounds.
The 2 1/4 hour drive was a little longer than we would normally go for just one night. But "Gîte le Pilhon" (see
link) was a real find: run by two friendly and informative Belgians, who gave great advice on walks and lent us their maps. And yes, we did find the sun, hooray hooray. Though this was less important for Juan than two unexpected and rare botanic trophies:
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| wintergreen |
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| fritillary |
Less exciting for him, but no less beautiful, the "long necked" gentians we saw throughout the walk:
So Le Pilhon is added to our growing list of places we hope to revisit...
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| view down Val Maravel from ridge above Le Pilhon |
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