France
Our journey through France started down a Provençal country road outside of Bédoin with a jaunty beret upon our head and a hot baguette in our bicycle basket, or the more sweaty reality of that scenario. Our students’ reality was somewhere between the joy and freedom of the hot wind in their hair while whizzing downhill, to the excruciating pain in the ass after disregarding the padded bike shorts requirement on the packing list. Either way, it was an accomplishment by all to cover the 100 plus total miles up the Gorges de la Nesque and the hilltop town of Venasque. Salt crusted faces were usually rejuvenated after a float in the pool each day. The bicycling miles were titrated with market shopping, meals cooked by students, and a hike to the top of Mt. Ventoux. Evening meals were passionately cooked by students, and proved both tasty and entertaining. Entertainment came in the form of miscalculated ingredients, cook times and methods often reimagined into “logical” procedures professional chefs have yet to learn. The good news was no one starved, no one got food poisoning, and a good time was had by all.
After Bedoin, we headed to Annecy to relax, eat gelato and use hydropower to launch our bodies through a canyon. The canyoning journey resulted in a lot of firsts—first time being lowered in a waterfall, first time jumping off a 35-foot rock outcropping into mostly deep enough water, first time to have a ponytail blown out by the sheer force of water, and the first time to swim under a “sketch” rock. It was an adventure for sure, and not for those with any hesitations.
The final France stop was Chamonix—a perennial favorite. Here, we woke up early and rode up the gondola to 12,000 feet, strapped on crampons, harness, and ropes and crossed the Valle Blanche, one uneven step at a time—always careful to spread out in case someone broke through the snow and fell deep into the glacier. The entry to the glacier was a jaw dropping icy ridge, and serious business. One wrong step and….it’s best not to think about it. The beautiful day was full of challenging altitude (and sometimes a bit of attitude). The views stretched from Mont Blanc to the Matterhorn and the crevasses we jumped over revealed icy windows into the past. For us, this was one of the favorite experiences of the entire trip.
Other activities in Chamonix rounding out the France experience were visits to the Mer de Glace, more hikes, paragliding, and ruckus evenings at the Folie Douce—the obvious Queen of aprés ski, even in the hot summer. The France portion of the trip took us all to geographic and emotional highs and lows. Luckily for the safety and sanity of the group, no one was at either point at the same time and we were all secured withs a rope and harness!
