SSSBLOG: A Free Day in Grenoble

Suzie had arranged to have the boys go to a tennis camp this week, so she and I had a free day all to ourselves yesterday. We parked the car in a residential area near the tennis camp, then spent all day walking through and around Grenoble.

Grenoble is a strange conglomeration of old and almost new. It looks like it went through a boom in the 60s or 70s, as most of the "newer" buildings look about 30-40 years old and are not particularly attractive. There is a lot of graffiti in some areas. But the city is remarkably clean, and once you get into the older sections it starts to feel more old European, with pretty parks and very old buildings and churches.

Oh, and there is shopping, too. Lots of shopping, even though many of the stores are closed because of the vacation season. The upside of it being the vacation season (and the end of summer) is that there were excellent sales in almost every store. Suzie shopped in clothing stores, and I, feeling very conspicuous in my New Balance low-tops, decided I needed to step up to footware that was a little more European. Voila:

Pretty groovy, no? Anyway, we didn't really do much else, except eat (we accidentally stumbled into an excellent lunch; mine was strips of beef in a light, creamy blue cheese sauce with rice and, for dessert, something called frommage blanc in a fresh raspberry sauce, tres bien). Photos follow (these you can click on for a larger view): Suzie licking her chops in a shoe store,