Moving to Grenoble, France for plant ecology post-doc role: Anne Thomas an ecologist, writer, reader, and traveler alike, has a fascination to understand what makes a place. Plus love & Nice and more
My husband is always asking "why is this town here?". And as we have found, mostly for WATER! We were lucky enough to move to France and made it our home. We moved to a little village in Southern Burgundy; not knowing anyone of the 200 inhabitants. It tuned out to be magical. Ceasar was there (at least near). There were prehistorique caves and streams everywhere. We were there for 20 years and after selling our two little homes, I still haven't recovered from leaving my paradise with such darling friends also.
So, you just might find that in Grenoble!! Keep an eye out and try to speak to whomever you see outside. Work on your French and a whole other world will open up. Good for YOU!
Perfect timing. I was finishing up the beginning of some travel research last night for a 5 month stay in France. Grenoble and one other are what I had narrowed down to. Thanks for a great blog and wonderful writing.
What a lovely piece, Anne. Our flit to France puts us in the heart of the country, agricultural Vienne so your urban descriptions sound thrilling, fascinating, very real ... love the balance - it is far from rose-tinted. Oh and "rain rinsed the sky" ... dreamy writing.
Just saying it as it is. Lovely sense of 'place' in your words, Anne. We're planning a trip to Alpe d'Huez in the Summer and I'm sure we'll aim to pop into Grenoble.
Thank you for your comment! yes, this is why I'm thrilled that Anne is now a Contributor. I'm sure that you'll also enjoy her future work. She writes beautifully and I don't know about you but I don't get to read alot from people like Anne.
You're right, Judy ... there's a lovely balance in the pieces I've read in her own Substack (and we've swapped notes a couple of times) between her astonishing knowledge of the landscape, geology, flora and this sort of beautiful travelogue. It's a rare skill.
My husband is always asking "why is this town here?". And as we have found, mostly for WATER! We were lucky enough to move to France and made it our home. We moved to a little village in Southern Burgundy; not knowing anyone of the 200 inhabitants. It tuned out to be magical. Ceasar was there (at least near). There were prehistorique caves and streams everywhere. We were there for 20 years and after selling our two little homes, I still haven't recovered from leaving my paradise with such darling friends also.
So, you just might find that in Grenoble!! Keep an eye out and try to speak to whomever you see outside. Work on your French and a whole other world will open up. Good for YOU!
A Huge contrast to my wild hill in the Aveyron also... a knowledgeable and beautifully written piece Anne.
Perfect timing. I was finishing up the beginning of some travel research last night for a 5 month stay in France. Grenoble and one other are what I had narrowed down to. Thanks for a great blog and wonderful writing.
What a lovely piece, Anne. Our flit to France puts us in the heart of the country, agricultural Vienne so your urban descriptions sound thrilling, fascinating, very real ... love the balance - it is far from rose-tinted. Oh and "rain rinsed the sky" ... dreamy writing.
You’re all so kind, thank you!!
Just saying it as it is. Lovely sense of 'place' in your words, Anne. We're planning a trip to Alpe d'Huez in the Summer and I'm sure we'll aim to pop into Grenoble.
How fun!
haha, we might not be saying that as we cycle up the hill!
Oh you’re CYCLING at Alpe d’Huez! I salute you 🫡
As long as we're allowed to. We're there to watch the final stage of the Tour de Femmes so we thought, why not!?!
Thank you for your comment! yes, this is why I'm thrilled that Anne is now a Contributor. I'm sure that you'll also enjoy her future work. She writes beautifully and I don't know about you but I don't get to read alot from people like Anne.
Judy
You're right, Judy ... there's a lovely balance in the pieces I've read in her own Substack (and we've swapped notes a couple of times) between her astonishing knowledge of the landscape, geology, flora and this sort of beautiful travelogue. It's a rare skill.