France - Briançon

 

8/03/15
Started of our first day in Briançon with Chris, Ollie and Jarvis rushing off to the ski lifts as early as possible. Lachlan and I visited the market (Sunday and Wednesdays) on our doorstep - good timing considering we needed supplies. Was funny to see all the rotisserie chicken stalls - seems to be the speciality, along with regional produce, lots of fruit and vegetables, cheese and bread, saucisson etc. Mixed amongst this glorious food was a few odd things like a shoe stall and the NZ-style 'plastic fantastic' stall. Meet Chris, Ollie and Jarvis at the ski lifts with Lachlan, our baquette and rotisserie chicken, for some lunch. Did a swap of two boys for one, Chris then went back to the slopes with Lachlan. I think the boys were pretty thrilled by it all, but Jarvis had very sore feet.

 

9/03/15
A bit of a catch up day today.
Walked up to the upper town, or Vauban(famous French military architect) citadel this afternoon. Amazing! The highest city in Europe and on the UNESCO world Heritage List. Beautiful views over the rest of Briançon and itself overlooked by surrounding forts. Incredibly picturesque old town with old houses lining the steep narrow streets, colourful Provence-style facades, fountains and sundials. Plenty of beautiful shops selling regional specialities.

Chris skied again with the boys on the Serre Chevalier(ski area in the Haute-Alpes with 250 km of slopes and 300 days of sunshine a year) , he took Ollie this morning coming back down mid afternoon to return Ollie and take Lachlan up. Great one-on-one time for him with the boys. Jarvis rested his very sore feet today.  They are all pretty happy with the skiing - very high, very long runs with surrounding trees (a good difference for the boys from NZ skiing).



                               




The Grande Gargouille,
 meaning the great water spouter - water stream flooding
 right in the middle of the street to provide water when there is a fire



 Coloured facades of Cite Vauban.

Ramparts of Briancon.

11/03/2015

 

Chris decided to have a day off from skiing today - he must have been really sore.

So we had a pretty 'cruisy' but great day - went for a picnic lunch at the park (not that they really seem to do picnics here). Was pretty amazing, the park being at the bottom of a very dramatic gauge. The boys were pretty interested in the ice on the lake and pretty amused watching the ducks on it.





Le parc de la Schappe

At the park was the first playground that I have seen in France that was really really good - quite artistic too, suitable for young and old and in a fabulous setting. We gobbled our baguette sandwiches(baguettes are another subject, you really need to know your baguette-type here, I have a lot to master - I still smile at the sight of people walking around with several baguettes under their arm) and pastries(that we purchased in our best French language from the nearest Boulanger & Patisserie  - they are really good) as the wind set in. After a bit more exploring(past a great tree-adventure style playground) the ice on the ground stopped us in our tracks so we headed back.

Le Parc de la Schappe.

Early evening we headed up to the old town - 'Cite Vauban '. I had previously raved to Chris about how incredible it was (covered on my walks when he was skiing), so it was gratifying to see how amazed he was. As he said 'It is like walking through the most amazing museum but even better'. We circumnavigated the fortified town(admittedly Lachlan spent a bit of time on Chris's shoulders - those days are limited - Lachlan is getting big) taking a side-step to see the famous 'Pont Asfeld' (Asfeld Bridge). It straddles the 'Durance Gorge', between the 'Fort des Tetes' and the old town, with a single arch over the river 55 metres below. The bridge was built between 1729-1731 to allow troops to move rapidly and safely between them. It remains one of the great technical engineering achievements of the "Ancien Regime" - awesome.

Cite Vauban - Old Town



Pont Asfeld.



The north gate - Porte Pigneral, complete with drawbridge and 'dry' moat.

Cite Vauban - Old Town

We moved on to dinner at 'La Gavorche', a traditional style restaurant in the main street of the old town. I had read that it was 'quirky', but fabulous - and 'Yes' it was. What a great place to dine if you are looking for a great 'traditionally-quirky' experience. Chris and I practised our best French language and weren't once interrupted by English. The interior of the restaurant was quite bizarre, they obviously had a liking for polar bears and took an oddly perverse interest  in 'hunting' - there were many extremely artificial animal heads on the walls + a bicycle hanging from the ceiling + a basket full of teddy bears ...

We decided to do the fondue thing. One oil(with meats) and one cheese(with bread), plus sides of salad and potato dauphinoise and fries and more bread. Was a lot of fun. We had pondered whether we should brave a raclette meal - all I knew was that it consisted of some sort of grilled cheese. Instead we took great interest in studying all the neighbouring tables' raclettes - seemed to be very popular. How on earth can people eat so much cheese - a huge wedge under a grill(heating from two side) where people scrape off the melted part. I could see couples sharing what I would think would be one between ten quantities - I assume there is a lot of wastage. Walked back down the hill to our apartment feeling pretty elevated and admiring the night views over an amazing town. Wondered when the fondue was going to take effect.



Dinner at 'La Gavroche' - Old Town

 

13/03/2015

 

More walking for me today, and more skiing for Chris and Lachlan.

Found that two things caused me anxiety in my walks - snakes(which make a lot of rustling noises on the banks and give me  the 'jeebies' ) and dog poo(which is all over the pathways and is hard to avoid). Also observed that there are a strangely large number of coiffures(hairdressers), multiple on each street. I have noticed that most peoples hair looks very well maintained - sadly not mine included. Not too much English heard on my walks, actually I've only overheard it spoken once. Sadly as soon as I say 'Bonjour' I am normally let of the hook and am spoken to in English(usually they can always speak better English then I can French, but I am trying).

 

 

More photos of the Old Town.

Amazing bread - but I have no idea how to choose.

 

Look at the bread I came across today.

 

 

Will be leaving Briançon tomorrow morning for St Martin de Belleville(a ski resort in 'Les Trois Vallées' ('The Three Valleys' - the largest ski area in the world)). We have had an amazing time in this beautiful town. A week of blue skies and friendly people.

 

I think I need to get Chris to blog on his and the boys ski adventures. But I will include a couple of photos.

 

 

 

 

BBQ area on the slopes of the Serre Chevalier.