Category Archives: Europe

The Pyrenees by Moto – a week riding & hiking in these majestic mountains (Sept 2025)

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The Pyrenees Mountains… finally!  

Some fun facts:  the Pyrenees is a 267-mi (430-km) long mountain chain that forms a natural border between France and Spain, and spans from the Atlantic Coast to the Mediterranean Sea. 

We’d hoped to zig-zag through the mountains, criss-crossing between France and Spain but… it turns out there aren’t that many roads that cut through this high, snow-capped mountain chain. Ha! 

So for this trip, we decided to explore the French side.

To start our adventure, we drove up the long, winding road to the Col du Tourmalet, one of the highest paved mountain passes in the French Pyrenees at 6,939 ft (2,115 m). This pass is one of the most famous climbs on the of the Tour de France so, we were not surprised to share the road with some pretty darn amazing cyclists… wow!  

From there, we spent the week winding up and down more high-mountain passes (sharing the road with more amazing cyclists), meandering through beautiful quaint villages and hiking in some truly amazing mountain landscapes… alpine lakes, granite peaks and… so many waterfalls! 

Some highlights of the trip…

  • exploring the Réserve naturelle du Néouviell.
  • standing below waterfalls cascading down the glacier-carved granite walls of the Cirque de Troumouse and Cirque to Gavarnie amphitheaters.
  • meeting the statuesque Comtois horses at the Col de Pailhères.
  • hiking up to the alpine lakes and granite peaks in the stunning Parc National des Pyrenees.
  • marveling at the Chateau Carcassonne, the medieval castle said to have inspired the design of the Castle in Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty.

And did I mention… amazing mountains and so many waterfalls!

There was so much more to explore but alas… a chain of incoming storms forced us home earlier than planned. Oh well, it was a great introduction to the beauty of the Pyrenees, and we’ll be back for sure.  

But don’t take my word for it… see for yourself!

Enjoy!

Trekking the Stunning Tour du Mont Blanc (Sept 2024)

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Imagine hiking through the beautiful mountains of the Alps, crossing through France, Italy and Switzerland, to circumnavigate around Western Europe’s highest mountain… this is the Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB).

This iconic, multi-day trek has been on my bucket list for some years, and finally in September, I did it!

Trekkers seek out this iconic 110-mi (177-km) loop trail for the amazing scenery…. the picturesque valleys, lush forests, crystal-clear rivers, and charming villages. And of course, to be in the presence of giant mountains, and NOT just the towering Mont Blanc, rising 15,766 ft (4,805 m) above sea level, but all the adjacent mountains as well!

I would have liked to do this trek with Mathieu or my brother or a friend but no one was available, and I didn’t want to wait any longer, so I decided to do it solo. Given the trail’s popularity, with an estimated 20,000 people completing it each year, I was sure I wouldn’t be alone… something I found comforting and… a bit worrying.

Like many trekkers, I LOVE immersing myself in the natural beauty around me and find it distracting when I’m surrounded by TOO many other people. But… I also LOVE sharing the experience, the wonderment, the joy, and the challenge of trekking with others.

Lucky for me, mid-September was the perfect time to do it. The weather was good, the “trekker traffic” was fairly light, and I got to hike with some really great people. [*Special shout-out to Nathalie, Sebastian, David, Malgorzata & Piotr!] So, I got to immerse myself in stunning natural beauty AND… share the experience… perfect!

There’s a reason the Tour du Mont Blanc is such an iconic trek… both the views and the vibe are… epic. But don’t take my word for it… see for yourself!

Enjoy!

A Sibling Trek to Le Grand Veymont, France (August 2023)

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My brother, Jabal, and I, did an overnight trek to Le Grand Veymont, the highest peak of the Massif du Vercors mountain range, France at 2,341 m (7,680 ft).

We hiked thru beautiful alpine pastures, drank fresh, delicious spring water then zig zagged our way up the mountain to enjoy stunning views of the Massif du Vercors mountain range, Mont Aiguille and the Alpes, including Mont Blanc in the distance. Along the way, we saw Alpine ibex (Bouquetin des Alpes), marmots (marmottes), vultures (Griffon and/or Bearded) and other birds, lizards, and lots of gorgeous butterflies.

If you’re in the area, add this trek to your “list.” You won’t be disappointed. You could do this 20 km (12 mi) loop hike in a day BUT… you’d miss a magical sunset and sunrise on the mountain. But don’t take my word for it… see for yourself!

Enjoy!

Useful Info

  • WATER: On the way up, there’s a spring called “La Jasse de la Chau” about 200 meters off the trail along the GR 91. On the way down, there’s a spring called “La fontaine de Gerland” right on the path. You can check the status of the springs and get their coordinates here https://www.parc-du-vercors.fr/info-sources.
  • PARKING: We parked in the large, free parking lot “La Coche.”

A Beautiful Trek on the GR 91 (La Traversée du Vercors), France (July 2023)

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The GR-91 is a classic among hiking enthusiasts. This Grande Randonnée (GR) crosses the beautiful Vercors National Park which, lucky for us, is not far from home. The trek is split into two sections. After some research, we chose to do the section from Corrençon-en-Vercors to Châtillon-en-Diois which would take us through the Hauts Plateaux Nature Reserve where we’d traverse high plateaus, forests, and Alpine pastures, and have stunning views of the Massif du Vercors mountain range.

This trek had been on our “list of things to do” for awhile so we finally picked the dates and… did it! We planned for a three-day trek but after Mathieu spent the night on a deflated air mattress on top of rocky ground, we decided to cut the trip short.

Both days of hiking were wonderful but the second day from Jasse du Play to Châtillon-en-Diois was our favorite. This was where we finally had stunning views of Le Grand Veymont, the highest mountain in the Massif du Vercors (2341 m; 7680 ft) and saw the unmistakable mesa top of Mont Aiguille (2,087 m; 6,847 ft). And after climbing up onto the high plateau, we had amazing views of the snow-capped Alps in the distance. It was breathtaking! (Check out the video below.)

While it’s possible to do this trek in two days, I’d recommend doing it in three. If it weren’t for that darn faulty air mattress, we would have spent the second night sleeping under a nearly-full moon on the high plateau looking out over the mountains of the Vercors and the Alps (next time!).

If you’re in the area, add this trek to your “list.” You won’t be disappointed. But don’t take my word for it… see for yourself!

Enjoy!

Useful Info

  • WATER: At the time we did this trek (July 2-3, 2023), the springs along the trail were flowing so we had no problem getting water. But I’ve read that they typically dry up during the summer months. You can check the spring status here https://www.parc-du-vercors.fr/info-sources.
  • TRANSPORT: In Corrençon-en-Vercors, we parked in this free public lot near the trailhead (https://goo.gl/maps/zUR4HM3uf1aiEQjDA). From Châtillon-en-Diois, we hitched-hiked back to our car. It took five separate rides but was pretty easy, relatively fast and a fun way to meet some interesting people.

Ma vie en France (My life in France)

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Breakfast with Mathieu at La Borie (aka home) in the Drôme Valley.

By now, I’ve lived in France for a total of just over one year (excluding my months-long visits to the US), and I recently realized that I’ve never written a post about my life here!

Click HERE to go directly to the slideshow [NEW FEATURE!] or click “Continue reading” for a brief summary of my life in this lovely country.  Continue reading →