09-12-2025 Entry

Travel day, turned out to be a longer drive than I expected, maybe because of the stress of driving on unfamiliar roads in France. We got up early, cleaned the apartment, and got checked out by Marie. We were on the road by about 9:00, stopped for gas at the nearby Intermarché, where Pat had some trouble paying while Ann got us some croissants. Then we were driving on a mixture of free and toll roads for about 2:45. Definitely felt longer, on the A-7 there was a steady stream of traffic to deal with and occasional slow-downs. Once we turned east toward Grenoble the traffic cleared and it was better. We drove to this little hotel and restaurant near Grenoble, Chavant, where Pat and Kit had stayed several times back in the 2000s and had a great time. We arrived early for our lunch sitting, so we walked around a bit and then sat in the lounge having wine and a very light appetizer before going into the dining room. This place didn't have vegetarian dishes on the menu, but they were very accommodating, making me a cauliflower soup and a vegetable risotto (with mushrooms, mashed parsnips, and fennel). Ann had a similar setup with her duck. Red wine with the lunch was decent, food was quite rich, well-prepared, and presented beautifully. It was not my usual kind of experience, but the different atmosphere was memorable, and the others also enjoyed it. I was getting tired, but there was a dessert of different nut preparations that was good, followed by lemon madeleines and homemade caramels. Thankfully, it was just a short drive to our Airbnb in Grenoble, located on the fourth floor with no elevator. Building okay, again not a super great neighborhood. Ann had a tough time figuring out how to get into the apartment and get the fob to open the gate into the parking lot, but eventually she got it done, with me showing her where to aim the fob to activate the gate. Lugged our stuff up the stairs, and I had a short nap to recharge my batteries (Pat did too). After we settled in, we walked over to a nearby market. This is more of a working-class neighborhood, fairly mixed in ethnicities and cultures. Got some food for dinner along with snacks, but our lunch was quite rich, so neither Pat nor Ann ate anything significant. I snacked on stuff we had gotten at the store, bread and cheese. We had a quiet evening at the flat.