We had a longish drive from Le Puy-en-Velay toward Grenoble today, and it was really a hot one – around 104 degrees. We were hoping that, as we approached the Alps – which were lovely to see in the distance – cool mountain breezes would start to waft around us and all would be well.
Not so. The higher we climbed, the hotter it got.
Our focus today was the small mountain town of Autrans. During the 1968 Winter Olympics in nearby Grenoble, it hosted a variety of events and was also a dormitory town for some of the athletes. It obviously built on that foundation to become a resort area, and has definite charm. The architecture is a bit unusual and does have an alpine feel, though the stair-step roof lines are something we haven’t seen before.
The reason we picked Autrans today was that it meant something to a New York friend who spent part of his 15th summer here – after the Olympics, but not quite in this century. His group stayed in the dorms, which are now in a state of some neglect but still in a lovely setting. It must have been fun, Harold. Hope this brings back some good memories!
Beautiful! And, yes memories abound around some your photos, especially of the dorms-look the same, but are a beat beat up from neglect. Why are they no longer used, even if only as a hotel or hostel? The balconies on the side of the building were used to teach us how to rappel, before they took us onto the rock faces of the alps-not sure how much safer it was for us kids rappelling down the side of the building. My hair was long and it somehow got stuck in the carabiner clipped to the rope-they had a good laugh telling that story over dinner! Anyway, it all looks incredible, and sounds like you’re having a great, and very enriching trip. Enjoy! Thanks for including these photos -very cool!
So glad we could help you rappel down memory lane…