A fun-filled weekend on the shore of Lake Serre-Ponçon.



Noah and Gaia, enjoying the (mostly) downhill ride!



Recently, we spent the night at the foot of the Alps, on the shore of Lake Serre-Ponçon.  The outing was sponsored by the Pierrevert mountain bike club (Natur' Bike), so most of the  weekend get-together revolved around biking.  This included an exhilarating bike ride which took Noah and me from the montain top resort all the way down to one of the lakefront beaches, with breathtaking views and a wonderful breeze all along the way.

Later in the day, we continued our adventure by crossing the lake and driving to La Sauze du Lac, a charming village with, you guessed it, panoramic lake views! Just past the village we stopped at La Montagne aux Marmottes, an unconventional animal park where the animals have lots of room to roam in the natural habitat.  They had groundhogs, goats, birds of prey and a really cool fossil and mineral museum overlooking the lake. 

A hawk flies over the lake

I never get used to living so close to such a diverse array of natural landscapes.  The mountains are just an hour away, but so is the sea with its quaint villages and sandy beaches.  I've never been to California or Hawaii, but I keep hearing that Provence compares very well in terms of diversity.