Pyrénées hiking

Beginning of July was the dog days in France. 

So I took this opportunity, Jul 7, 2015, to make an hike in the Pyrénées mountains trying to find a colder place.

But I was wrong due to a temperature inversion. 

The GPS screen confirms the temperature inversion

First destination: the cirque de Troumouse

The Cirque de Troumouse is a cirque in the central Pyrenees, in south-western France.


It is located close the commune of Héas, 
department of Hautes-Pyrénées.

On the way to the cirque you can see 

a beautiful waterfall 

It’s also very known for its summer pasture

A mountain road will bring you to the cirque with parking slot ...

Hiking loop made

...and start point for a number of short (30 mn) and long (04h00) walks in wild mountain nature

The Cirque de Troumouse is a large rock amphitheater formed at the head of a valley glacier by erosion.  Situated at the border of France and Spain, it extends for over 10 km, bordered by several peaks of over 3000m

17 peaks form the 270 degree "wall" of the cirque, all of them well over 2500 m and this wall also forms the French Spanish border. The culmination of summits reaches 3,000 meters.The highest, Pic de la Munia, is 3133 m

The French part of the cirque de Troumouse  is part of the Pyrenees National Park 

a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Major features of the cirque are la Vierge de Troumouse (Virgin of Tremouse) and the lac des Aires (lake of Aires) 

Other destination:barrage des Gloriettes (Gloriettes dam)

Located not very far from Gavarnie
 and its famous Cirque

The Gloriettes dam, a concrete arch structure on the Gave d’Estaubé River, operated by Electricité de France (EDF) is located in the French Pyrenees. It was constructed between 1949 and 1951.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Four Spillways: channels that carries excess water over the dam

                                               

A typical Pyrenean house built in stones with its roof covered with shingles

Two odd candidates for going back with me into my car

Don’t make a mistake for your next destination!

Behind me... 

the Lake Gloriettes Dam in the Pyrénées Mountain 

or 

its homonym in the USA: Lake Gloriette Dam, New Hampshire Latitude: 44.8667145   Longitude: -71.3028578 County: Coos Area: Dixville Notch Elevation: 564 meters - 1850 feet ?

Franco-American party in Sadirac

First day of July 2015 

In order to celebrate the visit of our US friends (KD and his daughter Paige) we have organized an evening party in Sadirac

Sadirac is a place with a small population in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Padouens 

The number of housing of Sadirac is 1 320 (to be updated) including our home located at Padouens

Padouens, quiet area, surrounded by forests

 A very good place to have a barbecue party, but ….

July is a nice month in Bordeaux area due to the wonderful mid-summer weather. With temperatures 

ranging from a pleasant 15 to a warm 26°C (59 to 79°F), it’s one of the hottest months of the year.

The hottest day of 2012 was August 17, with a high temperature of 39°C (102°F). Now the hottest 

day was probably Yesterday with temperature exceeding 40°C (104°F). Today when the party 

started, we could read 36°C (97°F) at 07:00 PM!!!

Due to that weather, the menu was adapted …

Attentive look to the menu

So the barbecue was off and the refrigerator full of cold drinks

Thanks to the shade from the banana tree and the oleander we could appreciate the Spanish appetizers 

                                                                                                                                                                   

late evening, at last, the temperature is dropping

Probably as a thank-you gift, our American guest offered us a final entertainment

 Fortunately the recovery vehicle wasn’t very far!

Have a nice trip back to Indianapolis

Rugby tournament in Cénac

« Plateau »… a French name for a little tournament…

A RUGBY plateau took place in Cénac (SW of France) 

on Saturday March 28, 2015

Ambiance was fantastic and the numerous attendees very enthusiastic

Find an extract of that meeting, watching the below video

Humorous song: false rhymes

Listen and have fun...

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LhwLGQiImWj0duSoPKGL8ElOStb7IrKm/view?usp=sharing

Roma the eternal city

One of the most important tourist destinations of the world

Roma with 2.9 million residents is the 3rd most visited city in the EU, after London and Paris, and receives an average of 7-10 million tourists a year

Only less than two hours flight!

As we well know London and Paris (visited several times), we decided to have a tour to the capital of Italy from Dec 15, 2014 to Dec 19, 2014

Roma celebrates its long history with monuments, churches and restored ruins dated from the great Roman Empire. So, the list of what to see in Rome is very long

Among all, we tried to explore 

the best attractions and world famous sites…

• Colosseum

The most famous Roman amphitheater and the most impressive monument of ancient Rome

 The Roman Colosseum celebrated the gladiator games at this huge entertainment arena 

The first bloody fight took place in A.D. 82, starting a tradition of battles between men and beasts in a public forum with could seat about 60,000

The Roman Colosseum celebrated the gladiator games at this huge entertainment arena

• Arch of Constantine

Outside of the Colosseum, is the Arch of Constantine, which was built in 315 to commemorate the victory of Constantine over Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius 

• Roman Forum

In ancient Rome, the Forum was the center of city life, playing host to festivals, celebrations, funerals and rituals

This gigantic ruin was the home of all Roman government, the site of Julius Caesar's assassination, and the home of Rome's Vestal Virgins 

• Piazza Navona

The loveliest squares of Roma with the large public

   

The square contains 3 fountains, and the largest and most memorable is Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers with each of the 4 statues representing a river from different continents

• Trevi Fountain on the Piazza di Trevi

The tradition is to toss a coin into the fountain over your left shoulder to ensure you come back to Rome soon!

Unfortunately we couldn’t do that because we found some works in progress restoring the god Neptune riding in a shell-shaped chariot led by seahorses

                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Money collected (nearly €3,000 each day) is used to support food programs for the city's poor

• Piazza di Spagna and Spanish Steps

The Spanish Steps may be the longest and widest staircase in all of Europe

A Barcaccia fountain bubbles
at the foot of the steps 

Vatican City

Even though it's located in Rome, Vatican City has been an independent state since 1929 with its own flag, coins and stamps

It even has its own militia, the Swiss Guard, which protects this state, the Pope and the 800 full-time citizens and visiting residents

The first impressive site is St. Peter's Square itself designed by Bernini in the late 17th century then St. Peter's Basilica

Zoom to the pope Francis during his audience

There was a party atmosphere at the Vatican on Wednesday (December 17, 2014) as hundreds of pilgrims sang Happy Birthday to the pope and thousands danced the tango to mark his 78th birthday

We were among the crowd of pilgrims singing Happy Birthday 
to Pope Francis as the pontiff turns 78
(video from theguardiannews linked below)

http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2014/dec/17/pope-francis-78th-birthday-tango-video