Day 5 of GR5 Hike: Peisey-Nancroix to Valezan

 The Refuge de Rosuel is in the valley of Peisey-Nancroix, below, which is near Bourg St Maurice in the watershed of the larger Isere river.

 This day was basically crossing from the south side of the Isere valley to the north side.  Still, we were very happy to find the nice Auberge Le Valezan, with dinner below.

20 km; 521 m ascent and 837 m descent.

Glacial Features in the Valley of Peisey-Nancroix

 End moraine, above.
Side moraine and hanging valley below.

Uneven ground below is the vegetated surface of rocky till that was left as glacier deflated.

 Boulders left by the glacier, above, and below.

There is no glacier left in this valley now; only the evidence of past glacial action.

Day 4 of GR5 Hike; Tigne to Refuge Rosuel

 The town of Tigne, above, is a ski development project tied to a large dam.
There are many small clusters of condominiums and ski facilities, all fed by electricity from the dammed river project.

 Ivan, above, is a young American man hiking the GR5 and camping.
Near the Col du Palet, below is at 2652 meters.

 The valley below Col du Bresson also has ski resorts of Peisey-Nancroix and Villandry.
There are many glacial features in the valley, see chapter above.

17 km; 552 m ascent and 1100 m descent.

Day 3 of GR5 Hike; Col de la Vanoise to Tigne

 We had reached the Refuge du Col de la Vanoise in the fog; on the next day the clouds had parted and a beautiful high mountain landscape was visible, above 2,500 meters.

 This is the French National Park de la Vanoise, the first (created around 1960) and it gets a lot of visits by French hiking groups.  Below, the beautiful valley leading up to Col de la Leisse at 2758 meters.

 The Col de la Leisse had much late lying snow.

Day 3 was 21 km, with 659 meters of ascent and 1073 meters of descent.

Day 2 of GR5 Hike; Up to Col de la Vanoise

 We left German hikers at the refuge, 1,911 meters and headed up into the mist.
This route is an old trading road going back to Roman times, for carrying salt up into Europe.

This days weather deteriorated so that at the spectacular Col de la Vanoise (2517 meters) we could see nothing.

Day 1 GR5; From Col de Chaviere down toward Pralognane

 The north side of the Col de Chaviere had loose talus boulders and a lot of snow.
The trail was hard to follow and we were cold.

 Even with discomfort, there were beautiful scenes, and a refuge at the end of the 20 km hike.

This day was over 20 km, with 1750 meters of ascent and 950 meters of descent.
Too much for the first day!

Day 1 GR5; Climbing Col de Chaviere

 The valley from Modane up to the Col de Chaviere was the sight of action during WW II.  There are many shell casings visible and the landscape is pockmarked with depressions from explosions.  Note shell casing lying on the ground below.

 As we ascended, the temperature got colder, the wind got stronger, there was more and more snow - and we were much higher, up to about 2800 meters.  Alan at the top of the col points the way down the valley on the other side.

From Italy into France to Start the GR5 Hike

 On the train from Turin up the Valley of the Susa, children on a hiking trip, above.
Below, a family plays a game before dinner in the border town of Bardonnechia.

 Our GR5 long distance hike began at Modane, near the border with Italy.
Of course, the trail goes up right away.

June 2012 in Bologna Italy

Alan and Cyane spent the last week of June 2012 in Bologna Italy, coming for the film festival of old movies put on by the Cinoteca di Bologna:  La Cinema Ritrovato.


The themes in the following pages are: movies (all day every day during the festival, and into the night), walls, arches and arcades, doors, gates and courtyards, and the enveloping heat.  Please note the saturated glorious colors of ochre, red, pink which saturate the frame of view and the photos that follow.


Here is a list of many of the movies attended during the seven days at the festival:
1930 The Big Trail; Director Raoul Walsh, John Wayne
1933 Sonnenstrahl, Pal Fejos, German-Austrian
1927 Maldone; Jean Gremillion, French
1943 The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp; Michael Powell, English
1929 After the Verdict; Alma Reville, English
1930 Prix de Beaute; Augsto Genina, Italy
1916 Pillars of Society; Raoul Walsh
1931 David Golder; Julien Duvivier, France
1936 Partijnyj Vilet, Ivan Byr'en, Russia
1929 Gardiens de Phare; Jean Gremillion, France
1954 La Romana; Luigi Zampa, Italy
1961 Lola; Jacques Demy, France
1932 Wild Girl; Raoul Walsh
1982 Documenteur; Agnes Varda, France
1954 La Nave delle Donne Maledette; Raffanello  Metarazzo, Italy
1931 Madamu lo Nyobo; Heinosuke Gosho, Japan
1951 Distant Drums; Raoul Walsh
1936 Komedie om Geld; Max Ophuls, Holland
1937 Gueule d'Amour; Jean Gremillion, France
1954 Viaggio in Italia; Roberto Rossellini, Italia
1930 Mary; Alfred Hitchcock, England
1922 Kindred of the Dust; Raoul Walsh
1947 Pursued; Raoul Walsh
1939 Remorques; Jean Gremillion, France
1960 Meghe Dhaka Tara (Cloud-Capped Star); Ritwik Ghatak, India
1926 What Price Glory; Raoul Walsh
1933 Hard to Handle; Mervyn LeRoy
1933 La Tete d'un Homme; Julien Duvivier, France
1930 Murder; Alfred Hitchcock, England
1928 The First-Born, Miles Mander, England
1949 Samson and Delilah; Cecil B De Mille
1943 Le Ciel est a Vous; Jean Gremillion, France
1928 The Constant Nymph; Adrien Brunel, England

Walls and Wall Materials in Bologna Italy

 It is hard to appreciate the gorgeous colors of ochre and earth tone walls in Bologna, Italy.
There are also many wonderful types of stone, many calcareous, and bricks.
Here you see shots straight on of just a few walls observed walking the streets.

Many walls are functional and not intended to be beautiful.
There is graffiti everywhere.