Above the clouds on Crêt de la Goutte

Yesterday R and I worked on the driveway again in the morning. As the forecast predicted a beautiful day...we decided to take advantage of the wonderful weather with a hike up the mountains nearby. A quick drive led us to a little parking area at 1400m. R normally parks the car at 1100m and does a longer walk, but yesterday, my thighs/hamstrings were already sore after squatting for hours weeding the driveway. Thus we parked at 1400m and took a small forest trail that led us to a large clearing which opened into a field of pretty cows grazing on the mountainside. There must have been 50 cows up there. Minutes after our arrival, R and I spot an old fox high up who tears down the mountain, dashing into the field of cows and quickly disappearing into them. By the time we make it to the cows, the fox is long gone.

We planned to hike up to the highest point, Grand Crêt d'Eau, a summit which promised a spectacular 360 degree panoramic view of L'Ain and Haute Savoie. We started up 2 peaks, and did not find our peak. In the end, we ascended the highest point we found, Le Crêt de la Goutte. Huffing and puffing up the steep part of the hike, I stopped to take pictures and make the following observations. 

Graduation and modern amenities in the country

Congratulations to my cousin T who’s graduating and speaking at the Babson commencement ceremony today. Good luck on your speech and I can’t wait to see pictures and hear about your day later.

Day 4: I’m still feeling a bit wasted this afternoon from major jetlag. R just woke me up to watch the last few minutes of the French Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on TF1 a French public TV channel. For my friends who've inquired about my access to Internet and TV (in jest I hope), it's a "oui". In addition to French TV, we also have Dutch satellite TV where many of the shows are in their original languages. Most days shows and movies during prime-time are in either American or British English with Dutch subtitles. As for French TV, most shows are dubbed to French with no subtitles. I'm happy about this actually because it's going to force me to learn French toute de suite. Right now, we’re watching Obama talk about the BP oil leak on Aljazeera TV in English. The oil spill is apparently 5 to 15 times larger than they originally anticipated. I learned today that they are collecting human hair cuttings to absorb the oil—did you know human hair can absorb up to six times its weight?