Catching up

Bonjour messieurs et mesdames. I’m here again, and terribly sorry for not posting for a while. Finding the energy to post after such busy days is sometimes a challenge. Anyway, I’m back with an update!

On our weekend break in Grenoble, John enjoys his favorite French treat – coffee!

And my French treat – a French baguette and cheese in the park.

After a relaxing weekend in Grenoble, our group is off to another busy start. From Saturday to Monday, we stayed in a hotel without host families because of the Easter holidays. Easter is a very big deal in France, and even this week, it was difficult for the Grenoble Rotary Club to find people willing and able to host us because so many people are on vacation. We kept ourselves busy over the weekend, including going up in the gondolas to Fort de la Bastille, which overlooks Grenoble, for a beautiful panoramic view.


Kent enjoys the snow at Chamrousse.

We met with our new host families bright and early Tuesday morning. After lunch, we visited Chamrousse, which is a long ride up the mountain, to see the ski lifts and the beautiful view. That evening, there was a meeting with the Grenoble Rotary Club, and we made our presentation for the fourth time. It’s getting easier, I must admit! After dinner, Kent traded banners with the Grenoble club and thanked them for their hospitality. Amid much applause, he emphasized our purpose for being here – to show that Rotary promotes understanding and peace with all nations and the opportunity to learn from others.

Wednesday was very busy, starting with a visit to the distillery where Chartreuse is made. We learned the history of the monks who created this elixir. St. Bruno was the founder of this group of monks, because he wanted a quiet, isolated place in the mountains to meditate and grow closer to God. There were difficulties feeding the monastery and several methods were investigated before the invention of Chartreuse, a rather strong plant-based alcohol. The distillery makes a million bottles of Chartreuse a year, and only three monks know the secret of exactly how it is made. They are able to control the computers from the monastery, and there is one room in the distillery in which only these monks are allowed to enter! The liqueur cellar is the largest in the world at 164 meters in length.

The Museum of the Grand Chartreuse.

After visiting the distillery, the team visited Le Musée de la Grande Chartreuse, the museum of the monastery, to learn more about the history of the Chartreuse monks and their dedication to God. These monks are some of the most solitary in the world and have survived much social and political turbulence. The monastery and monks are only a couple of kilometers away from the museum, but visitors to the monastery itself must travel on foot and are not allowed inside. In the evening, we meet with several Rotary clubs for dinner. Conversations are always interesting at the meetings because there is a wonderful mixture of English and French language, along with the sharing of ideas, jokes and wine! I have found that the French Rotarians are patient and understanding when speaking with me in French. And I am constantly surprised at how much I understand of the French conversation and how much I’m learning!

Early Thursday morning, despite the rain, wind and cold, the team went on a walking tour of Grenoble. What a lovely city! Grenoble is the largest city in the French Alps. Our bilingual guide showed us where the old Roman wall used to stand, and she pointed out the part that is still left. We learned about the different monuments and statues around the old part of the city. Grenoble rests between three sets of mountains – the Vercors, the Chartreuse and the Belledonne. The Isère River, which runs at the edge of the city near the Chartreuse, is 290 kilometers long, making it the longest river in the French Alps. I talked with our guide about her former job as a correspondent for a newspaper. She said she liked the work, but didn’t make enough money so she had to stop doing that job. I explained to her some of the problems that journalists are having in the U.S. It’s very interesting the number of journalists I’ve met unexpectedly on this trip.


One of the statues in Grenoble. This one depicts a man mourning the death of his beloved deer.

Dinner that evening was with our host families, which is always an interesting experience. The food is magnificent, and seeing the culture from that perspective is irreplaceable.

Friday morning there were more professional visits for team, and then we attended another Rotary lunch for another presentation. Then, we were off to our new host families in the region of Haute-Savoie. Today, we visited a clock museum, which displays clocks and parts from at least as far back as the 9th century. People have been creating methods of measuring time from so long ago, and it’s incredible. In another part of the museum, the tools for creating these clocks are displayed, and one of the staff showed us how one of the machines from about the 1930s worked.


Richard, our host dad, is quite a competitive pétanque player!

We won – beginners’ luck!

Also Saturday, we learned a bit more about French culture. John and I played a couple of games of pétanque with our host father and some other Rotarians. Such fun! The idea of the game is similar to horseshoes, but still very different. Check it out. Kent and David played in the snow! For dinner we gathered at Kent and David’s host family to enjoy good food and good conversation.

Thanks to all who are reading!