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| Light on horizon around 5.30-6am. |
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| Morning glow over rice fields |
Whereas Hue might have been a bit of a "miss" of places to go, this was a definite "hit". We arrived with a train to Ninh Binh- a town people choose as a base in order to explore these fantastic surroundings. The town itself is bit of scruffy and noisy thanks to the heavy traffic that the major "highway" of Vietnam takes through the city centre, but it serves the purpose as a base camp from where to explore the marvellous area just outside the city.
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| The most industrious women in action. |
Vang Vieng has so much more to offer than just the infamous tubing and I'd even claim that the landscape around the city is the best we have seen so far. There are countless activities in the area: visiting caves, biking around majestic limestone mountains, hiking, cooling down at the Laos Blue Lagoon. That's pretty much what we've been up to here! Additionally, hot air ballooning is available for only 80$ (if you trust the Chinese operator...)!
After 4 days in Luang Mantha we were headed to Nong Khiaw. And the road there required travelling surviving 7 hours in a local bus. The road was pretty 'challenging' to say the least- the last stretch of 80km took about 4 hours! Nong Khiaw is located along the Nam Hou river and it's surrounded by beautiful karst mountains. The area is ideal for so many outdoor activities (like almost everywhere in Laos): hiking, tubing, kayaking, trekking, mountain biking, to name a few. Just pick your favourite one! Whatever you choose to do, you can end your day in a relaxing herbal sauna and enjoy a BeerLao or two while watching the sunset!
Hike to a Viewpoint
After a scenic 4-hour bus ride we arrived in Luang Namtha. The town is located next to the Nam Ha National Protected Area where one can undertake many sorts of activities. We decided to go on a 1-day kayak trip, which turned out to be a fun day out! Here's some GoPro footage from the river...
On the Nam Tha River
This beautiful hike had an ulterior motive since we wanted to pick up some Génépi flowers to refill the liquor storage. For those who don't know, Génépi is a mountain liquor that locals have prepared themselves for ages. It's made of the flower of the plant, and nowadays there are some limitations as of what amount of flowers you're allowed to pick up. Anyhow, getting your hands on it requires getting to where the flowers grow, which is in rocky and steep slopes. So, only the real deals can and are willing to go for it! Let's just say that I wouldn't try it because even just watching Denis made me kinda nervous. But what wouldn't you do for a good digestive mountain drink!?
{All pictures @ Voyages of Discovery}
TIPS & LINKS
Lacs de la Casse Blanche
Starting point: Camping de Fontcouverte (roughly between Névache and Laval)
Duration: 5 hours
Difficulty: Some steep and rocky stretches
{All pictures @ Voyages of Discovery}
TIPS & LINKS
Lacs de la Casse Blanche
Starting point: Camping de Fontcouverte (roughly between Névache and Laval)
Duration: 5 hours
Difficulty: Some steep and rocky stretches
Our first time getting to this peak was a fantastic all day hike under clear blue sky. We got some great panoramic views from the top, especially towards the glaciers and the national park's 4000 meters peaks. We walked on rocks, snow, rivers and flower fields- and even came across to couple of ibexes and marmots! Definitely one of our new favourites...
Lac de Grand Ban, Lac Rond & Col des Cerces
Just a month before we had tried to get on this hike and reach the two big lakes with my parents. But the winter had been so long that we reached the snow limit really quickly. This time we managed to get all the way to the lakes and the little pass Col des Cerces. Denis went a little crazy, and dipped himself into one of the lakes...a lake that was still melting from ice! Brrr...
All in all, a beautiful and not too demanding hike- great for a recovery day...
It's true that you should start your day as early as possible in the mountains; not only is the air the freshest (afternoons are too hot to start climbing), but also the weather is at its best. Normally we don't need to worry about the latter one, because the Southern Alps are basically the sunniest part of France (read: almost 300 days of sun), but this time we knew the weather would close in later on. So we kicked off in the early morning while the air was still crisp, there were pretty drops of morning dew on plants, and we got some sunrays through the beautiful mist.
This summer we were so excited to get to go to the Alps twice for hiking and enjoying the pure mountain air. Nothing's better than a week of outdoors with friends and family from faraway! You may add the gorgeous weather, long home-made dinners, and the happiness of waking up to the beautiful alpine view- works every time. This time around we had the pleasure of having our Aussie friends Stacey and Alan with us the entire week, and we got to some pretty nice hikes throughout the week (I made separate posts from each hike, because I just had way too many photos for just one post ;))! But let's start with the annual high altitude grilling with bunch of food, light walking and generally just good times...
Les Ayes & Lac de l'Orceyrette
We always go on about our alpine adventures without mentioning one of the best part of those long hiking days: The post-hike relaxation. It's such an amazing feeling to kick off your shoes, take a long shower and enjoy a fresh beer in the late afternoon sun in our own backyard. And this backyard is literally the terrace with the views! And the mountain food...
We got to watch the 14th of July (Bastille Day or French National Day) fireworks above Briançon old town with the nocturnal mountain range as a backdrop...
Home trails:
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| The view from our home trail (that's literally above the house!) |
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| It's a really good place to see the town and the valley of Serre Chevalier... |
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The more the merrier definitely goes with people but not so much with the four people’s luggage squeezed into a small rental car- welcome to the road with us and our little Chevy that literally was bursting half of the time! This was probably the part we all had been waiting for the most, and finally the time had come to start our tour around this magical island.
Because there were simply way too many stunning places along this road, I’ve put together the highlights from the south coast on this post. So buckle up and enjoy the ride on one of the world’s finest roads!
The past winter was generally pretty long in the alpine region and the snow stayed longer on the ground than usually. We’ve been hiking in the Southern Alps many times before in June, and while it's considered a summer month, in the altitude it is often still springtime. It just actually fun not knowing if you’ll come across snow or if you’ll see some pretty flower fields and lush greeneries.
This June we came across all of the above, and I must say it’s quite something to have so many different elements combined in a scenery. Not to mention all the rivers and waterfalls that are running wild and plentiful this time of year! Although we were a bit limited by the snow and couldn’t go as far as planned on some treks, we ended up having great couple of days outdooring and spending time together with our parents. Also, we did a little riverside barbeque on one of the days- it's nice to have some downtime… and just eat, drink, and eat some more…
Les Thures
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| Swiss Alps: 1 - Us: 0 |
We also did some outdoors while in Switzerland, and for the first hike our friends took us to the Swiss Jura- to the French-speaking canton of Neuchâtel. The place is called Creux du Van and it’s a beautiful hike that takes you up to this stunning amphitheater-shaped cliff through green and lush forest. After few hours walk you reach a plateau where is a refuge/ tavern that offers hands down the best fondue known to humankind! Seriously, if you ever get there- ask for the cheese fondue with mushrooms (maybe sounds weird but it’s so delicious)! Also, we had a good local beer and a plate of cold cuts, all worth tasting! On the way back we followed the cliff that is pretty majestic with vertical drop of about 150 meters down and such wonderful views all over the valley down…
There's so much to love about Jura: The two varying colours of green that makes the lush forests so pretty, the unpredictable and sudden cliffs that follow after long flat areas, and the relatively low altitude. All of which makes it such a great hiking spot for spring time- and apparently a great spot for cross country skiing in the winter!
Also, to our surprise, we spotted quite a few ibex chilling on the edge- at least these animals are not afraid of heights, that’s for sure! All in all, the hike took us about six hours including the almost two hours stay at the refuge, and finally we still had about two hours drive back to Baden (direction Zürich). A long, but awesome day with three things we love the most: friends, nature and food! ;)
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| Terrace with the views... |
Growing up with four seasons, I’ve always had a soft spot for each season and I’ve always looked forward to the next one. Autumn’s no different. Although it indicates that the warm and sunny summer’s behind us, I find it refreshing to switch my flip-flops finally into real shoes, put up a candle or two as the nights are getting darker, and most of all, enjoy outdoors with all the colours nature is showcasing to us (Note: Denis would definitely want to mention here the opening of the oh-so-delicious Raclette season!). And what about that special moment when you look outside and the first snow starts falling- enchanting!
Meanwhile all this may or may not actually happen in Paris, it certainly does down in the Alps. Last autumn around Halloween we headed down to Briançon to make the best of the long weekend, and get on to those hiking trails. The train from Paris takes us directly to an Italian alpine village called Oulx and from there we need to cross a mountain pass (Col de Montgenèvre) with a car to get to Briançon. Now, we were informed that it would be snowing quite a bit on the pass and thus we took a shuttle bus* instead of someone picking us up (with summer tyres on the car). And good that we did, because as soon as we left Oulx, the road was covered in snow and more kept coming down! Pretty excitement-filled drive, I'd say...
It's always great to be back though, and every time we open the front door we can already smell the dinner that's waiting for us in the kitchen...
Over the next three days we tried picking up hikes that would still be doable without snowshoes or skis, and we ended up having three wonderful days walking on the first fresh snow, getting lost in the quiet nature and simply just breathing the freshest mountain air!
Chalets des Acles
A fun weekend with our friends in Rouen, including a day trip to the seaside. Little bit of hiking, goofing around with good friends, checking out Rouen downtown and even a hockey (!) game- plenty things to fill up one weekend! Let’s also not forget all the dining & wining! Without a further ado, here are some bits and pieces of our weekend escapade to Normandy…
Seaside Afternoon
We were in for a long weekend in Dublin, but figured that we’d have enough time to take a day to explore the national park just outside of the city. So we rented a car and hit the road towards Wicklow Mountains National Park, and eventually its own little treasure- Glendalough.
Shortly after getting out of Dublin the road took us right through some lovely Irish countryside: spectacular valleys with rivers, lakes and hills, farms with old grey stone houses surrounded by countless sheep, sun striking through the clouds every now and then, and all this polished with the autumn glow. As we followed the Old Military Road through this gorgeous scenery, we pulled over frequently to take in the views and snap some photos, and occasionally just to avoid running over some stubborn group of sheep…
Rise and shine! Although I wouldn’t describe myself as a morning person, I love the occasions that I actually do get up early. Nothing’s better than a fresh summer morning showcasing nature that’s just waking up. In Murat, the early morning was particularly charming: morning fog rising from the fields, first rays of sun striking powerfully through the bushes, and sounds of cowbells carrying over the fields. Now, adding a freshly brewed coffee and a real French croissant to the equation definitely results in matinée parfait!
