From Grenoble to Valence

For 1 week we rented a car to go to the South East part of France to visit some friends I haven't seen for 14 years !
Our first stop was Grenoble. We took some cable car to have a panoramic view of the city.

We also made a detour to go to Alpes D'Huez, a famous ski resort and one of the main Tour de France step (not this year though).

A lot of people cycle the 13.8km to the top (average climb 7.9% and 21 hairpin bends) everyday. The view from up there is spectacular.

Then, we had to go to Piegros-la-Clastre, South of Valence. We chose to take the small roads going through the Vercors Regional Natural Park instead of the motorway (it would have taken 2h instead of 1day). The roads are very picturesque but there are treasures hidden in the mountains.

We stopped at the Choranche caves. One feature of this cave, unique in Europe, are thousands of very fine stalactites (4mm diameter) called "soda straw". The temperature inside, constant all year round, is 10 C.

The water in the cave is joining the Bourne river.
A few kilometers from Choranche, we stopped at the beautiful medieval village of Pont-en-Royans, renowned for its suspended houses over the Bourne river.

Then, just before arriving at my friend, we spotted the first lavender fields, typical of the Provence area.

More later...