A needed rest in Grenoble

I slept this morning in my little hotel room in Grenoble until I woke up around 8. I had planned to take a rest day today to think about whether I was ready for crossing the Alps to Italy. 

In Spain the unexpectedly rugged terrain along the northern coast had me intimidated and burned out. So I had wimped out and bypassed the bulls in Pamplona and avoided the Pierenies by crossing into France on the coast.

But in France when I got to the Rhone River and went north I committed to crossing the Alps if I was going to continue east to Italy. With the decision already made I spent the day getting prepared.

I found a good bike shop and had my breaks checked out and replaced the rear tire which had dangerously worn down to the canvas. I got some maps and talked to several people on the best route. And if i was up for the challange. Besides for the first day since Santiago on day #1, it rained ...... and not just a drizzle but a pouring rain all day long.

And I explored the city of Grenoble, which I really liked. It is not what I expected, a fancy, rich, tourist city of Olympic fame. But instead a gritty, college town with light manufacturing base whose best days were behind it, more like Worcester or Albany or Glens Falls at the foothills of the Aderondaks than, say a hip Bolder, Co. 

My hotel called "The Splendid Hotel" was in the center of the downtown.

Splendid Hotel ....

The town had a great trolley system with some major parts of the town under construction with a new trolley line being added. 

...... the trolley ........ and a picture of where I am headed with my beard ..... this in NOT me!!!....

All around the city were the looming mountains today shrouded in clouds.

Nice to see work still in progress with people working on the new trolley.

All in all it was a productive and restful day in town with another great Chinese dinner and an early night to bed in nervous anticipation for beginning to cross the Alps tomorrow.