Chatel, France

7-9-10 OK, at some point I’ll fill in the blanks. For now, it’s important I leave clues to the rest of the stories…

Edit Bordeaux – cheese cellar for buffets… red button is for the alarm, not lights…

Central Massif, and the national parks of France are cool… Col de Sarenne above the Alpe d’Huez is better than the A d’H, but a much rougher & narrower road.

Places to picnic – bee heaven in my helmet & jacket, picking snacks from the wild cherry trees, feet dangling in streams, wooden bridges, and naps wherever I have to, including a town bench.  Swimming at Choranche les Bains under the town buildings in the gorge.

People I’ve met – the Poles (one a giant on a  FJR, the other on a VFR800) on a work trip from Poland to Paris in 2 days, plus a few extra days in the Alps, the slow but nice Norwegian(BMW R!2RT), the Dutch trio on GoldWings with music, Nicky the Aussie blonde*** working at the CB Hotel in Val d’I.,

Grenoble – the YH, nice place with a bar and a big back yard with game space… later (10pm) in the old city, the film festival of shorts (the old man carrying a pistol everywhere in advance of suicide, the Asian artist who used her blood in her art til she faded away with the ink…

Chatel – Dinner at Le Fiacre… In the background, stupid 80’s girl band pop and bad disco music, and Stayin’ Alive, with a pizza and great beer (Leffe) in an Alps chateau building. Desert was a delicious 3 little bowls of sorbet, crème, and brulee, with a tasse of café. A man on a horse rode by on the sidewalk while I ate on the terrace. It almost seemed normal.

In the central square at Chatel, a trio of guys took the stage at 9pm for a free concert of French songs. Good performers, they played barefoot, and switched off between 2 guitars, a snare drum, and a one-string washtub bass. A fun time for the 150 or so children and adults in the audience.

Wild animals I’ve seen – yesterday, near the top of the Col de l’Iseran (the 3^rd highest road in Europe at a measly 2770m,) I saw a bunch of marmots. Cool looking critters, fast and furry rodents. I’ve seen 2 deer, one in Austria, the other in Spain. Some snakes - one stayed in the road long enough to film (which is probably lost.) And of course, birds. I think the ubiquitous “we’re going extinct” bird is some kind of dove. I’ve also seen some snowy egrets, many hawks or falcons, and some large black and white birds.  I think they’re too small to be marabou storks, but they look similar. And they build huge nests on top of narrow outcrops – such as telephone poles and church steeples.

Oh, and just to check if anyone is still reading this, the first person to email me gets a free 6-pack of beer.