[ampere]

Mahesh,

Still waiting for Grenoble to arrive (but I am not in a hurry!)
Very nice. Did you visit any educational institute there?

Grenoble is supposed to be the academic capital of France.
I have not across in Europe, but trekked (or rather walked) a lot on the French Riviera Monaco/Nice/Cannes terrain and it was beautiful.

Your drive reminds me of all those places!

Rated 5 Star.

[mjothi]

Originally Posted by ampere

Mahesh,

Still waiting for Grenoble to arrive (but I am not in a hurry!)
Very nice. Did you visit any educational institute there?

Grenoble is supposed to be the academic capital of France.
I have not across in Europe, but trekked (or rather walked) a lot on the French Riviera Monaco/Nice/Cannes terrain and it was beautiful.

Your drive reminds me of all those places!

Rated 5 Star.

Thanks for the rating.

I don't have much pictures of Grenoble. Since it was like nothing new to me.

But will post some I had managed to take this time at the end of this mountain climb.

No I have not visited any institute this time. But have visited the Polytechnique and one more (don't remember now) institute around the station during my previous trips.

Yes, Grenoble is a Academic hub. They have cyclotron facilities very near to the town and other research centers. I have seen many Asians doing higher studies in here with scholarships.

[mjothi]

After like 40min, I got completely exhausted and cant keep even one step further. Seeing my condition they offered water. But my mind did not listen to that. I asked them to continue and sat on a shadow of a tree.

View of the hills while climbing.






Look at me. Even when surrounded by beautiful nature not able to enjoy it fully!


For a moment the beast in me was telling me to return back and head to car. But on other side, it also was laughing at me seeing my inability. So, i decided to make sure I climb what may come go.

After say 10min of rest, I started again. Now I see many people crossing me in groups. Most of them had the stick something like sky equipment for support. It certainly helps when the climb is steep or decends.



The trails are well marked. They have a red-white combination to mark the trail to the top. The wrong route is also marked clearly. You need to follow this markings. If you blindly follow this, you are sure you will reach the final destination.



But sometimes, the signs are little confusing. Atleast for me. Both RED & GREEN point same direction. So, what it means!!!



After walking for another 30min, I was feeling even worst. Sat down for almost 15min and thinking if to go ahead or return.

When I was sitting, I see many gliders flying around there and many people jumping with parachute. Seems to be a famous spot for parachute over there.



Then after starting through those narrow climbs, I finally see this water stream. I was so happy to see water. Initially i thought it may be harmful to drink those water.




But then decided to drink and touched the water. It was so cold. Used it to wash the face and drink. Finally i was brisk and refreshed to continue my onward journey.

After couple of minutes I see these 3 grannys climbing the mountain.



This gave me more courage like if they can do at this age, why not me. That one thing helped me to fly to the top.

Almost there...


Finally with so many difficulties reached the top.


One view down and all the pain I had went in no time.









There I met the same couple. They were so surprised and astonished to me making it. Said they thought I would never make it and would have returned. Lol.

[StarVegabond]

Originally Posted by mjothi

After like 40min, I got completely exhausted and cant keep even one step further. Seeing my condition they offered water. But my mind did not listen to that. I asked them to continue and sat on a shadow of a tree.

Look at me. Even when surrounded by beautiful nature not able to enjoy it fully!

For a moment the beast in me was telling me to return back and head to car. But on other side, it also was laughing at me seeing my inability. So, i decided to make sure I climb what may come go.

After walking for another 30min, I was feeling even worst. Sat down for almost 15min and thinking if to go ahead or return.

When I was sitting, I see many gliders flying around there and many people jumping with parachute. Seems to be a famous spot for parachute over there.

There I met the same couple. They were so surprised and astonished to me making it. Said they thought I would never make it and would have returned. Lol.

Hey Mahesh, Amazing and inspiring story.

i had a similar humbling experience when i visited Great Wall of China.

Bottom line is we need to get fitter, healthier.

[mjothi]

Originally Posted by StarVegabond

Bottom line is we need to get fitter, healthier.

Exactly. We keep saying that foreign guys use all machines, no work etc and follow the same pattern here in the name of comfort / time / luxury. And at the end of the day, we see them more healthier and strong. Atleast those Asians I think.

This reminds me of the conversation we had with a 50+ yrs lady in japan.

We were going for a walk and see this old lady sweeping the road. And then she started to smoke. My friend immd said to her,

Excuse me, smoking is very bad.

You know what was the response from her?

"No problem. My mother, 85yrs old. Still smoking. No problem."

Yes, they do smoke, drink. But they do even more work then others. And at the end, they live more healthier and longer.

Time to go back to olden days.

Sorry guys, if you take this as an example or excuse for smoking.

[mjothi]

Here is the GPS tracking for the hike. I did not fully track it, but almost when I was on top.

Hiking Workout | Endomondo



And look at how brisk and enthu I was when starting the climb.

From this


To the contrast, how "energetic" i am when reaching the top.

To this

[mjothi]

Some pictures from the top of the mountain.

For some reason, they don't allow our NANO's here


The path to reach the Table top marked with the different hills


Table top with the information on hills


Various moods of MJ.

Happy!


Relaxing!


Cheers!


Howzzat!


Me on top!

[mjothi]

Here are those 3 old ladies I was talking about.

Strong & brave


Felt proud to take a snap with them.



While returning, it was a almost without any stop. just had 2 stops in between. And we were able to make it in less than 2 hour. This was possible because i had a good company for talking with these couples.



Some more blankets of flower in the town.




one more panoramic view

[mjothi]

Originally Posted by ampere

Still waiting for Grenoble to arrive (but I am not in a hurry!)

Here you go...

A vintage collection



Look at the gear.This is the first time I seeing something like this. Coming from below dash.





Indo-Srilankan Restaurant


How do I call this? 3 Wheelie?


Entrance of the Grenoble Museum.


The Grenoble famous - Bastille fort.


Closer shot of the cable car.


Fountain on the roads

[hvkumar]

You appear to have had a fun time, train-ing, driving and hiking. Are car hire rates still depressed or have they bounced back? I recall last year, they were low thanks to recession.

[akbaree]

Great log mjothi. You rock...

[mjothi]

Originally Posted by akbaree

Great log mjothi. You rock...

Thanks Sir.

Originally Posted by hvkumar

You appear to have had a fun time, train-ing, driving and hiking. Are car hire rates still depressed or have they bounced back? I recall last year, they were low thanks to recession.

It depends. When I rent it in the city, its atleast 20% cheaper than the one from Airport. Renting from Airport is very expensive. But then, paying for taxi is equally expensive. So you are left with no option.

Btw, I paid almost 80Euro per day (with GPS) for my last trip. I rented KIA ceed this time. 1.6 CRDi.

[gajadonga]

Nice travelogue and good pictures.The train drive looks to be good.The credit card getting stuck in the machine and the trekking to the mountain with old ladies while going and coming back with the couple good narration.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

You appear to have had a fun time, train-ing, driving and hiking. Are car hire rates still depressed or have they bounced back? I recall last year, they were low thanks to recession.

Mahesh! As HVK said, looks like you had all the fun! Trekking is the best part in that country ! Exotic places, helpful people and view to die for!

Too Good!

[mjothi]

Originally Posted by ampere

Mahesh! As HVK said, looks like you had all the fun! Trekking is the best part in that country ! Exotic places, helpful people and view to die for!

Too Good!

Thanks. I still remember working all days and night, Saturdays and Sundays during my most of the trips back in early 2000s. But then, it took me some years and maturity to enjoy the foreign land and nature.

So, now I make sure I visit atleast one near by place to admire the beauty of the land I am staying.