Rick and Marie's Travels: Grenoble

Grenoble–May 20, 2023

Grenoble—Day 4

Today was another easy day where we just hung out at our hotel after breakfast. We walked about 5 miles all around the Old Town before picking up our rental at Europcar across from the train station. We drove directly to the carpark afterward and then headed across the river and up to the Bastille.

And after about 7 miles of walking we took a break at our hotel before heading back out for my birthday beer. Tomorrow is my 69th, and because it lands on a Sunday, we decided to celebrate tonight, having a pint of beer and a cider. (enlarge pictures by clicking on them)

Breakfast at Hotel Angleterre. They offer so much
more than pictured here and the coffee is great.

Hotel Angelterre dining room.

Getting lost in Old Town Grenoble.

Looks like a dead end but it's not.

Another market in Old Town.

We're heading to the Bastille up

there, 850 feet above us.

These signs indicate the distance.

Along the way, we cracked up at the

name of this pub.We returned later

for a birthday beer.

At the bottom of the stairs across from
the Saint-Laurent bridge. And here is
where we began our trudge up.

This looks easy enough.

Taking a break along the way.

And around the corner we have... Ya
more steps up.

Looking back to Grenoble.

Really? More steps?!

Looking back to Grenoble again.

The Cairns garden is enclosed within

the ancient walls of the Bastille and

half way up our walk.

The Cairns Garden is both an experimental and educational breeding ground for learning to garden with nature and cultivating biodiversity. The fundamentals of the garden are revisited and redesigned based on natural laws and principles. Soil and water management are thus at the heart of the garden, where various mulching and composting techniques are implemented. Various associations of plants are tried, and many insects, in particular bees, are invited to garden. This garden dedicated to agro-ecology is managed and gardened collectively by members of the AMCA association. (copied from garden website)

Still on our way up.

Still walking up...

and up.

Over half way up we decided to call it quits. This
abandoned building seems to be the party place.

The Telepherique is for those less
adventurous than us.

The view over Grenoble from the new
apartments/condos.

And back down we go.

Arch from Sainte Marie convent.

The marker of the ancient convent
of Sainte Marie (1621).

The former convent of Sainte-Marie-d'en-Haut (17th century ) has housed the Dauphinois Museum since the Grenoble Olympics, a popular museum which reflects the customs and mores of the original inhabitants of the Alps.

The final steps to the bottom.

Fountain of the Lion commemorates

the completion of the dykes of the

Isere River in 1843. The dykes

have prevented flooding ever since.

We wandered back into Old Town
after our sojourn up the Bastille.
Love the vibe of this bar.

Saturday market; St. Andre in background.

Saturday market.

St. Andre's (1228) north entrance.
.

Municipal Theatre.

The list of plays.

Just a cool door.

This photographic exhibition at Jardine de Ville
caught our eye, but we couldn't figure out who
they are or what they are about. No signage
explaining the exhibition.

Jardin de Ville is a typical example of a classic French garden. On one side, a sunken garden with a collection of roses, century-old palm trees and a few orange trees kept in tubs accentuate the classic aspect of the place. Twenty-four plane trees line the sunken garden.

Until 1620 it was only a meadow which extended to the Isère River and was called "the meadow of the treasury" where Catherine De Medici walked during her stay in Grenoble. Then the Duke of Lesdiguières, supreme commander of the French army, transformed it. In 1719 it became public.