Resident Grenoble Life photographer Suzanne Bonnefond invites you to discover the Diois region of the Vercors mountains near Grenoble.

Le Diois is a superb region in the South of the Vercors range near Grenoble, which already suggests the light and colours of the Provence. It can be reached via the Col de Menée, near Mont Aiguille, or the Col du Rousset. The latter pass, which descends on Die, is particularly spectacular.

From the Col de Menée you find the tiny village of Benevise and can easily do a fantastic walk in the Vallon de Combeau.

There’s a lot more to see: le Cirque d’Archiane, in the valley near Menée village, a hamlet surrounded by pink cliffs, from where there are numerous trails towards the plateaus of the Vercors.

Resident Grenoble Life photographer Suzanne Bonnefond shares a mini photo-essay about transhumance … and if you don’t know what that is, you’ll have to read on.

Transhumance is an ancient tradition. Herds of sheep from the South of France return to the summits of the Alps in search of fresh pastures, to stay there all summer.

In the past, these herds accompanied the shepherds arriving by foot across the Alps. It took them several days, sometimes weeks. They took the paths we now use as trails for hiking. They have been immortalised in literature by the works of Jean Giono.

These days, the herds arrive by lorry. This one came in from the Alpes de Haute Provence, having crossed the col du Lautaret.

Arriving in Chazelet, in the spectacular setting of la Meije, a herd of a thousand sheep returns to pastures 2000m in altitude, where it will stay until October.

We can easily see them on hikes in the Oisans, Belledonne or the Vercors.

Finally, if you want to hear what the transhumance sounds like, click here.

Resident Grenoble Life photographer Suzanne Bonnefond presents another idea for a short expedition from Grenoble: “I suggest a trip to ‘Indiana Jones land’, just near the city, les Gorges du Furon in Sassenage. Visitors are always impressed by the beauty of the place”.

Now that the snow in Grenoble has almost melted (insert a “boo!” or “hurray!” here, depending on your proclivity), here is a reminder of what you may or may not now be missing - some magical photos of the city under the snow from our resident photographer Suzanne Bonnefond.

Oven-cooked, stuffed 'Potimarron' pumpkin!

Regular Grenoble Life contributor Suzanne Bonnefond takes a seasonal opportunity to share her photos of Foire A L’Ancienne Et Aux Potirons in St Antoine l’Abbaye, and her recipe for stuffed potimarron pumpkin. Enjoy …

by Suzanne Bonnefond

On October 25^th there was the Foire A L’Ancienne Et Aux Potirons in the medieval village of St Antoine l’Abbaye, Isère. On that note, here is a stuffed pumpkin recipe.

Stuffed 'potimarron'

Stuffed potimarron

Potimarron is the small orange variety of pumpkin that you can find in all the markets.

Rub a little oil on the pumpkin to give it a nice colour once cooked. Boil the whole potimarron in water for about 10 minutes, so that it will be easy to cut. Then, open it and remove the seeds, fill it with cooked vegetables, and add fresh cream or water, grated nutmeg, and salt and pepper. You can add gruyère on top if you like but personally I keep it simple, as it already has a delicious chestnut-like taste.  Cook in the oven for a good half an hour, the flesh of the potimarron will be very tender.

Enormous pumpkins: St Antoine l’Abbaye

Pumpkin cart: St Antoine l’Abbaye

All manner of 'courges': St Antoine l’Abbaye

Walnuts and 'courges': St Antoine l’Abbaye

The market in St Antoine l’Abbaye

Il y avait une foire aux courges à St Antoine, et j’en profite pour vous donner la recette du potimarron farci

Recette du potimarron farci

Le potimarron, c’est la petite courge c ouleur orange que l’on trouve sur tous les marchés.

Enduire le potimarron avec un peu d’huile pour lui donner une belle couleur à la cuisson. Faire cuire le potimarron entier dans l’eau bouillante pendant 10 minutes environ, ensuite on pourra le couper facilement. Le couper pour pouvoir le vider de ses graines, puis le remplir de légumes déjà cuits, avec eau, ou crème fraîche, et de la noix de muscade, sel, poivre … on peut ajouter du gruyère … je n’en mets pas je le fais le plus simplement possible, car la chair a un délicieux goût de châtaigne. Laisser cuire au four une bonne demi heure … la chair du potimarron va se détacher …

1. The plateau of St Hilaire, where the Coupe Icare takes place

Suzanne Bonnefond is an enthusiastic amateur photographer and contributor to the Grenoble Life gallery. In the first of a series of posts on local walks, she takes us to a ruined mill near St Hilaire du Touvet.

by Suzanne Bonnefond

An interesting place to go to on a fine autumn day, ideal for those who like unusual historical spots …

Near St Hilaire du Touvet, go to “Les Gaudes” and leave your car in the car park just nearby. It is next to the paragliding launch point – if the weather is fine you can watch them taking off (photos 1–3). Then, follow the yellow signs to “Porte Traine – Cascade des Dioux” a twenty-minute walk across the fields (photo 4). Next, take the little trail that goes down along the stream (photo 5) – be careful as it can be slippery – and admire the waterfall “Cascade des Dioux” (photos 6 –7). A bit further down, cross a bridge (photo 8), and there you will discover this strange place: old millstones covered with moss, a medieval oil mill (9 –13). We would like to imagine this place is haunted by Jacques de Porte Traine, the miller of the Bishop of Grenoble, who ran the place in 1275 and – with Photoshop – it’s possible (photo 14)!

2. Paragliders

3. Paragliding

4. Morning on le plateau des petites roches

5. the path

6. la cascade des Dioux

7. cascade des dioux

8. the bridge

9. le moulin de porte-traîne

10. le moulin de porte-traîne

11. Millstone

13. Ruined mill - we can imagine we were in the jungle

13. le moulin de porte traîne

14. Ghost of Jacques de Porte Traine

Par une belle journée d’automne, une promenade idéale pour ceux qui aiment les lieux insolites : le plateau des Petites Roches, la cascade des Dioux et le Moulin de Porte Traîne … un lieu historique et mystérieux

Prendre la direction de St Hilaire du Touvet,  puis les « Gaudes » . Se garer sur le parking des Gaudes … On est tout près du terrain de décollage des parapentes, alors s’il fait beau, c’est un plaisir de les voir décoller (Photos 1–3). Puis suivre les pancartes jaunes « Porte-Traine – Cascade des Dioux »  20 mn – c’est donc très proche – une courte ballade à travers les prairies (photo 4). Puis on emprunte un sentier (photo 5) – qui descend, et qui peut être très glissant car il longe le torrent, et admirer « la cascade des Dioux » (6 – 7). Un peu plus bas, on traverse un petit pont (photo 8) et voila un lieu mystérieux : un ancien moulin à huile qui date du moyen âge … Il reste quelques meules de pierre… (photos 9–13). On se plait à imaginer ce lieu hanté par Jacques de Porte Traîne, meunier de l’Evêque de Grenoble, qui exploitait ce moulin vers 1275 (photo 14). On en rêvait !! Photoshop l’a fait !!

A barn in Vercors

Suzanne Bonnefond is an enthusiastic amateur photographer and contributor to the Grenoble Life gallery. A long-term resident of the Grenoble who has also lived in Paris and London, she kindly agreed to share her sightseeing photos around Grenoble.

by Suzanne Bonnefond

Photography is my hobby. I like to take pictures of scenery, romantic places and close-up portraits of flowers. I always try to give my photos a poetic touch.

In Grenoble we can easily reach a lot of beautiful places without having to walk for a long time. These photos will show you wonderful places for family walks.

waterfall near la Grave

in summer … Lavaldens

Chartreuse, le Granier

la Meije

Fishing in a mountain lake in Belledonne

le Chazelet, Oisans

le Chazelet in July

Wild flowers in Oisans – Gentian

Just a leaf

le Chazelet

The glacier – la Meije (you can reach it by cable car)

la Meije

la Meije

The glacier – la Meije (you can reach it by cable car)

la Meije seen in summer from l’Alpe d’Huez