Today we cross the Alps

We woke to the sound of rain & after opening the volets ( window shutters ) we noticed it was also quite foggy outside but that wasn't the issue as during the night I had developed a serious problem of going to the toilet probably a direct reaction of having the " Baeckeoffe " in Alsace I spelt it Backoff & the " Racquelette " in Geneva I thought it was Rackling so sorry for the misleading reporting.

After a nice breakfast at the Hotel we headed across the road to have a look around Chateau & its surrounding parkland ( 2nd & 3rd pics on the
left ).

The overcast sky combined with the fog & mist created quite an eerie backdrop to this lovely parkland & it was just nice strolling through it looking at all the various types of ducks & swans preening & feeding themselves in a truelly serene surroundings. Unfortunately the local pharmacy wasn't open this Monday morning so we headed out & found one in the next village & promptly took 2 tablets to ease the pain.

We drove onto Le Bourg d'Oisans, from there the ski resort of Alpe d'Huez sits 13km above Bourg d'Oisans & is reached by a steep road ( La Montee de Alpe d'Huez ) which is best known as one of the " classic " ascents often included in the Tour de France cycle race ( it was included in 2006 ). It was a shame that thick fog was now covering the mountain as I'm sure that the surrounding scenery going up the mountain would have been spectacular, unfortunately that didn't stop a couple of " fools " overtaking us going uphill in the fog-some people.

A lot of the bends on this ascent are 1st gear so you can imagine how hard it must be for the cyclists, I have a new appreciation for their fitness & skill just to make it to the top of these gruelling ascents, I'm sure that at the end of each climb that their hearts must be pounding & their legs would be in absolute agony - I take my hat off to them. At 1860m while not being the highest of the mountain climbs it is one of the steepest at 7.9% gradient.

By the time we had reached the finish line of the tour stage we were passing through the ski resort village where, in a couple of months the slopes would be covered with snow with 1000's of ski enthusiasts plying their skills on some of the best sking slopes in France including " La Sarenne " which at 16km is the longest " black " run in the French Alps & experienced skiers can also ski in July & August on glaciers ranging from 2500m to 3330m.

We drove back down to Bourg d'Oisans for a coffee before heading further east to the Col du Lauteret some 40kms through the mountains. It was quite an eerie feeling driving in the fog & mist with these granite giants peering down at us from both sides of the road & made more dramatic by the narrowness in some parts as you just seemed to be clinging to the side of the mountain pass. As we reached the top of the ridge at Col du Lauteret ( 2058m ) it was again raining quite overcast & dark we had a flashing light on the dashboard warning us that it was 3 degrees outside & to be aware of ice at this temperature.

Now the conditions had completely changed because all the surrounding mountains had snow on their peaks & the thought of driving in these conditions just to reach the top of the highest peak in the Tour de France being the Col du Galibier @ 2645m was a little forboding in these conditions so we just took a photo ( see pic ) & headed onto Briancon some 30kms east.
It was spectacular arriving into Briancon with the old part of the town perched on a rocky outcrop like a sentinel guarding the pass between the French Alps & Italy which was only 20kms to the N-E. We found our little B & B in the pretty little vilage of Villard St. Pancrace just 2.5kms south of the town centre. We did some shopping before eating in tonight as I was still having major problems. See next posting,cheers.