Oh, Petzl Volta rope, how I covet thee

Turdman and Hornyman

Musee, town

MSM

did the montee de saint martin, slooooowly

I did pass some teenagers though -- haaa ha.

Saint-Antoine l'Abbaye

We went to one of our favorite small towns with James and Christine today.  Lunch was local ravioli, which was followed up by walking around, touring the perfume museum, etc etc

Via Ferrata

We went to the via ferrata with Christine and James.  It did not go exactly to plan (sorry Christine!) but we still had fun

Later on, James, Christine and I walked up to the Aiguille de Quaix:  A rock finger that is visible from many places in the valley below.  There are bolts and some manky fixed ropes at the top.

Q: what does a $15,000 bike look like

A:

And this is what a Zoe looks like, after being attacked by whipped cream

Let us give thanks

That the Tarte Tatin never goes out of style

Also, this is a vending machine… for worms!

which is a pretty great idea, actually.

Chloe and I got to go for a MTB/run together.  She tortures me on the climb up to Quaix, even on my bike

James and Christine here!

First stop:  The antique market.  We bought this blanket box.

then:  Climbing

and bike racing!

and more climbing (in flip flops)

and then cycling

Hooray! off to Hamburg

looking for a hot water boiler?

of course you are.  This one is fantastic (having melted two cheaper ones already.  We are a tea-heavy family)

Another excellent ride with Hank

Up the infamous climb from Sechilliane to Luitel:  Tiny, very steep roads!

Spring is here

And the cherry and plum blossoms have arrived

Zoe and Alex sidcovered that Nutella come in family size today

and I saw a balloon floating down the Isere

Quaix

Zoe has been going up to Quaix with school for field trips -- they have been doing hikes, nature discovery and today she brought home a chausson pommes that she had baked in a wood fired oven.  Excellent!

A ride up to Proveysieux and down by Quaix.  The Tour de France will ride up this road this summer.

A hike on the Neron

with the kids!  

They are getting much better about hiking, finally.

Trieves

It had been a long time, but I finally rode with Hank again!  A wonderful and scenic ride through the Trieves:  what a wonderful area.  There is something very unique about it, but I haven't yet put my finger on it.

Skiing

Today was the last day of skiing classes for the imps.  Chloe and I drove up (chloe was somewhat sickened by the ride, unfortunately) into the snow to watch the last few seconds of their skiing and to see them get their medailles.  All this time we had been terrified that theyw would not have enough food to eat, but discovered that they get all sorts of snacks and drinks.  At one point we turned around to find Alex, cheeks stuffed chipmunk like with marshmallows.

Cheese

For Chloe's going away party

which was then finished by our little fromage-enthusiasts