Destination: Grenoble, France (September 2018 Edition)

During the third weekend of September, I decided to take some time off from work to get out of town. Although I’d only started teaching two weeks prior, the itch to travel was too great to resist– plus, my schedule for the semester was flexible enough for me to shift my classes around, so with that said, I decided to give myself a four-day weekend to visit the city of Grenoble.

Even though it’d been less than ten months since I last visited Grenoble, I wanted to revisit it, as the last time had been in bone-chilling winter. With the glorious Indian summer lasting throughout September, I wanted to see how different the city was in the sunlight, clear blue skies, and lush vegetation. Plus, round-trip Flixbus tickets were less than 10€, so it was too good not to go!

With that said, I left Thursday morning to catch my ride to Grenoble. The ride took about two-and-a-half hours, and soon enough, I arrived at the city’s gare routière around half past 11. I set out on-foot towards the city center, where I would be meeting my Couchsurfing host with whom I would stay during the weekend. In fact, the host had reached out to me on the website, offering to host. After exchanging back-and-forth a couple of times, I agreed to stay with her, which turned out to be an enjoyable time.

My Couchsurfing host lived in the very heart of the city, near the Galeries Lafayette where shopping, eating and, in general, city life all came together. She greeted me outside of her flat before letting me inside. My host was a Spanish girl who’d just moved to the city three weeks prior to work as an au pair and to study French at the university. We mainly communicated through French, as I don’t know Spanish and she wasn’t very comfortable expressing herself in English. It worked out for the both of us, as we both needed to practice French, anyway!

Aside from going on a day trip together with some of her friends, the Couchsurfing host and I didn’t spend too much time together in Grenoble, as she was busy working on Thursday and Friday when I stayed. However, we had some good conversations, and we did have a couple of kickbacks in her flat with some of her friends (all au pairs) and a night out in town. I hadn’t Couchsurfed since June, let alone had a female host in a long while, but all the same, I had a good time, and I suppose my host did, too.

Since I arrived on Thursday, I didn’t see my host much aside from receiving me upon arrival. She had to work in the afternoon, so I was left to explore Grenoble on my own. I’d already visited town last November, so I knew my way around the streets and squares, more or less. My second time in Grenoble, then, was just a matter of re-exploring the tourist attractions and familiar spots.

I headed towards the Isère River, where along the banks was les Bulles, bubble-shaped funiculars that took you up to the Bastille fortress. While it’s possible to hike up from the base, I was in no mood to do so, as that could take easily an hour. If it were cooler weather, I might’ve considered, but since it was such a warm day, I preferred just to save the sweat for another day and pay about 4€ for a single trip.

Once the doors of the funicular shut, I was immediately trapped in the heat. I was absolutely sweating as it ascended to the top. All the same, the views of the city getting smaller and smaller, along with hazy silhouettes of the mountains in the backdrop, were absolutely stunning, and it was true that the hot weather, despite being somewhat oppressive, made the experience all the more worth it.

Within a minute or two, the funicular reached the Bastille, and I was relieved to exit my pod to be able to breathe again, as well as cool down. The views from the ancient fortress had been lovely back in November when I first visited, although it’d been rather overcast. It’d been atmospheric, though, and returning in September definitely offered a different experience. I could see just how red the rooftops of the city center was, as well as how green and lush the mountains surrounding them were. The Isère river was a shining baby blue, and overall I felt the warm, positive vibes throughout (before the start of the winter chill, that is).

Of course, I spent some time wandering the Bastille, along with taking plenty of photos. I tried to see Mont Blanc (as one can on a clear day), but alas, it wasn’t clear enough– there were actually very-distant clouds that obstructed it, so unfortunately, there was no Mont Blanc for the day. It wasn’t too disappointing, though, as the other mountain peaks were visible, and they were lovely to check out. I also revisited the Mandrin “grotto,” which is actually a pseudo-grotto just a 10-minute hike from the Bastille. Although there’s nothing much to see inside of it, I found it such a nice respite from the afternoon heat– temperatures were significantly cooler inside the cave, as I took my sweet time walking through it before having to exit out.

After making the 45-minute descent to the base, I returned to the city center where I wandered around Place Victor Hugo and Place de Verdun before getting dinner at a restaurant grenoblois. I ordered a traditional dish called the gratin ravioles du Royan, which is essentially a casserole made of small, spinach-cheese ravioli and covered in plenty of cheese and cream. It also came with charcuterie and salad, which was more than enough to make me full. All delicious, all the more enjoyable!

That was my only full day in Grenoble, as I did day trips to nearby towns and cities after that. However, I did get boba and Vietnamese food upon returning on one of the days, as well as getting drinks with my Couchsurfing host and her friends on the weekend. Overall, it turned out to be a pleasant stay, and it was a good idea to take the four-day weekend trip.

More adventures to come soon!