Isle sur la Sorgue, France (Elisse)

Our morning run turned into a hike that lasted 2 hours.  We originally set off to jog down to town-center Grenoble, find a boulangerie (croissants) then ride the "telepherique" (gondola) to the bastille fort on the top of the mountain.  Unfortunately, we werent' hungry when we arrived ath the boulangerie because we had eaten power bars before leaving the hotel.  Then, when we arrived at the telepherique, we found that it didn't upen until 11am (the check out time for the hotel and the meter expiration time for the car).  So we decided to hike to the top.  The steep grade and the 500 x 500 x 500 stairs made the 1.6 km (1 mile) hike take about an hour.  At the top, we found an ancient fort as well as some WWII defense caves.

Finally at 11:30, we ate breakfast of croissants & mini-quiches.  Yum!  Especially the chocolate croissants.

The alps around that area are very tall and steep.  We drove up the Alpe D'Huez because that's where the bikers were.  It was stunning!  So high, so many switchbacks, such fresh air & picturesque views!

We ended our ramblings this evening in a canal-towne in Provence.  Isle sur la Sorgue is a romantique but somewhat dilapidated town.  With very low elevation, the temperature is higher than it was in the alps, but not uncomfortable.  The "island" part of the town is pretty small (took only 1.5 hours to walk all thru and around it).  The "river" part of the town is only knee-deep, but its current is fast enough to power several water wheels.