Half a year in France

It has been exactly six months today since we have moved to Grenoble. We are truly enjoying this little city in the French Alps, but regretting a bit that we have not traveled around as much as we wanted to. From Grenoble, Geneva is 1.5 hours, Milan 4 hours, and Barcelona 6 hours away... It is sinful that we don't visit, especially Nathan now has every second Monday off.

On the other hand, we are getting some more local traveling done, thanks to our friends, with special spice added to it.

The first weekend of February, we were together with a friend who I met through Open House Grenoble, an international support group. She is accompanying her husband (mathematician!) on his sabbatical together with their dog. We instantaneously became friends for having so many things in common. On Saturday, the journey began in their leased vehicle; 4 humans and 2 dogs. We drove up to Autrans in the Vercors, where we headed out for a nice afternoon walk in the forest. It was great until their dog (half the size of Chana) decided to go hunting deers for 4 hours. The sun had set, the missing had been reported to the Gendarmerie (cf. RCMP), some tears had been shed, and we were at a loss. Luckily or almost miraculously, the dog appeared in front of the restaurant we had eaten earlier that day. They said that was the last day of freedom for their dog... Chana? we were lucky that she was after the treats I had in my pocket.

The second weekend of February, we were together with three ladies who we met in October during hiking in Lans-en-Vercors. We kept in touch via email, and finally this weekend we got reunited. We spent a day in Lyon visiting places, eating Lyonnaise food, and chatting incessantly. On the following day, they took us to Perouges for an excursion and hosted us at one of the lady's apartment (a 1/4 of an old castle!). How this friendship emerged is truly amazing. We happened to be at the same mountain on the same day around the same time, and they went through all this effort to host us, almost strangers, for the entire weekend.

So even though we are staying close to home in Grenoble, our experiences are rich and deep. Most importantly, we are meeting some great people. Half a year in France so far, Nathan, Chana and I are going strong, happy as always!