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If Ardèche in Southeastern France Isn’t on Your List Yet, It Should Be.
I had been wanting to explore Ardèche for some time, so when a good friend and I finally had two days to do it, we knew we would have to be selective. There is far too much to see in one weekend, and trying to do everything would have defeated the point. We chose a handful of villages, left some room for walking and wandering, and knew that at some point we would head towards Villefort for the activity I was most looking forward to: the Via Ferrata above the lake. What I hadn’t expected was how much I would enjoy everything that happened in between. For anyone unfamiliar with…
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Three Days in the Beaufortain: Mountains, a Campervan and the Joy of Going Back.
There are mountains that demand to be conquered, and there are mountains that invite you to belong. The Beaufortain belongs to the second category. Nestled in Savoie in the northern French Alps, within sight of the Mont Blanc massif and close to the Vanoise, the Beaufortain remains surprisingly discreet beside some of its more famous Alpine neighbours. Perhaps that is part of its charm. It doesn’t rely on fame to leave an impression. It seduces slowly. This is a landscape shaped as much by people as by nature. Generations of farmers, shepherds, cheesemakers and mountain communities have left their mark here. Tarine and Abondance cows graze on high pastures. And…
