D25–BRIANÇON, FRANCE – ALPINE LIVING

You don’t just stumble upon Briançon, France. You have to want to go there…and that entails driving through long tunnels, climbing high passes and descending multi hairpin turns before you even get a glimpse of Briançon the town.

After clearing the Col de Montgenèvre, we stopped at this spot more to get our bearings than to take a picture. If you look way in the distance, where the bases of the mountains meet, that would be the approximate location of Briançon and it’s all downhill from here.

The history of Briançon goes back to Roman times when a fortress like this guarded the trade routes to Vienna and Geneva. It’s France’s highest city at 4,350 feet and 11,645 people live here in an area more suitable to the elusive, sure-footed Chamois. Flat ground is at a premium as most everything is on a slope.

 In later years it became known for the curative powers of the local water, but when skiing became popular that became the big draw enlarging the population up to 30,000 during the winter season.

That’s all very interesting but none of it the reason why we’ve come all this distance. The purpose of our trip is to see a baby…and to visit friends Estelle and Tim Young and Estelle’s parents, Michelle and Alain Aymard.  Here’s a brief history. We’ve known Tim, youngest son of Marilyn and Dale Young, since he was a boy living in Calabasas. He ended up working in Zurich as did Estelle. They met on their morning train commute and quickly went from nodding to nestling and finally to marriage…three times. Married once in Zurich by the mayor; once in Briançon by the priest and again in Los Angeles by a minister from Bel Air Presbyterian. We attended the latter ceremony and following dinner. Since the Aymards speak only French, we were paired and spent the evening talking about the weather and cars…more about the latter than the former.

Now, some 1 ½ years later, two month old Marcel Dale has come into their life and they brought him home to meet his grandparents, Michelle and Alain, in the environment where Estelle was raised.

We had a lovely meal at a gourmet restaurant in the old town and discussed our plans for the next day. That would include a day trip to a mountain chalet owned by the Aymards.

Alain, a former French Air Force pilot, met us at our hotel and promptly put the Nissan 4WD in low gear for the climb to a mountain pasture area some four kilometers (2.4 miles) from Briançon. Doesn’t sound very far out of town does it? But, when the road is a reconstituted goat path that rises straight up from the valley floor, your environment can change quickly at 7,800 feet.

We arrived at their chalet in an area called Les Ayes. “It’s not really a chalet,” claimed Alain. “It is more like a shepherd’s hut converted to a vacation home.” This area is where cattle are still brought for summer pasture. The “shepherd” lived on top while the cattle had the run of the first floor. Alain purchased it some 45 years ago from a family member and spent two years doing the work of converting it to a getaway for his new family.

Over time he’s developed a skill with wood shaping and carving. He’s especially proud of this table that folds up to make more space in the one upper bedroom, one sort-of guest bedroom downstairs.

Today they’ve invited neighbors, Robert and Noelle, to join us for a typical day in an alpine environment. Of course, it will all center on the dining table. While they prepared their version of a pitch-in, I took some photos around the chalet and the area.

Part of our lunch was being cooked in this outdoor pizza oven that has a barbecue grill on one side. No chance of this heating up the house.

This appears to be a cow filling station but it really is used as a wine cooler.  You can hear the cows everywhere because of the large bells around their necks. They’re not harmful but it is best to watch where you step around here.

While the women prepared the food, the men have the task of opening up all the window coverings. They’re designed not so much for weather but to keep the cows from breaking in. I guess they get a little tired of eating grass all day and sometime just get curious.

For orientation purposes, I took this photo showing Briançon in the distance. Close but not too close. At this altitude the air is a little thin as I noticed some huffing and puffing.

At noon we all gathered around the table and started the meal with two pizzas.

That was followed by a large salad,

and then prosciutto followed by sausages and potatoes.

As a capper there was a tray featuring all the local cheeses, and of course, plenty to wine to wash it down. After three hours the meal ended with a sweet dessert

The room noise during the meal reminded me of my Belgian grandparents table. Everyone talking all at once and no one listening…and all in French of course.

After lunch the more athletic ones went outside for a game of boulle, a very popular game in France. It’s played with a small leader ball while the players try to get as close as they can to it with larger balls. As you can see, this is not a manicured boulle court so success depends as much on luck as skill. Louise and I opted to snooze on the couch, blaming the lunch but certainly not the wine.

 We ended our mountain experience with a short walk to another cow barn/chalet conversion by Alain who must have a sharp eye for bargains. This could be called a condo as the Aymards own the back half…the part that is painted.

 Alain did all the modernization and wood work in this chalet as well. It’s intended for use by friends and family or overflow. In this event, he served us some sort of homemade alpine elixir that is carefully sipped not gulped.

The day ended with picking our way down the mountain road, passing only people who were on their way to fish or hike.  I did notice that all the vehicles I saw at that altitude were four-wheel drives made in Japan.  “They make the best,” said Alain with nodded agreement by Robert, as he started his Nissan 4WD.

During our visit I’d been reminding Alain that I was interested in seeing his collection of cars. When he was in Los Angeles for his daughter’s wedding, he mentioned that he had about 20 cars of all types and in all stages of restoration. “If you’re ever in Briançon you must see them,” he said, probably thinking that would never happen. “Well, here I am so where are they?” I asked. “Just wait and see,” he said.

Tune in for next episode as we experience a Briançon barn find.

Bonne nuit from the Haut Alpes.

Louise and Ray