Magic Mountains....

Ever been to the Pyrenees?

We went this weekend and it was wonderful.

Now where we live we have hills but no mountains we have to drive for a whole day to get to mountains in Australia. Here 90minutes and there they were. 

Today we returned to our city apartment and this is what we saw on the way home.....

 "All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost."

~JRR Tolkien

 We drove up a well know track called the Col du Tormalet.

Remember my crush from 2010.

We are big fans of the Tour de France. This is a popular leg of the race. It is ridiculously steep in the car. We have a new appreciation for how mental the race is. Watching old footage the roads were mere goat tracks and when the cyclists fell down the cliffs they were hoisted up by ropes. Crazy stuff.

The ravine down to the river bed is vertical for a long stretch with only short rock walls for protections. 

We didn't get all the way to the top as snow fall had closed the roads this weekend there.

We drove for 2hours around the mountain to the other side to Pic du Midi. 

 This was our first time seeing snow, ice or frost. This autumn the mountains were capped by it. 

In the summer they are quite brown and in winter the whole area is snowed in. Skiing is big here.

We were excited to find a little bit. Disappointed we didn't get to go up further to jump in it.

There was enough for an Aussie family to sing like the VonTrapps and play till our gloves were wet and hands got cold.

 We wound our way around the mountains.

Around every bend a vista to make you shout "BEAUTIFUL" or laugh that it is so ridiculously spectacular.

 Then we came to Lac de Payolle.

It was a little piece of heaven on earth.

The afternoon was clear and if music had piped down from the sky i could have thought we had died.

 The forests were dense and a shade of green i have only seen in a tube of paint.

The cows were doing what cows do as light streams down on them.
They were very fluffy.
Obviously due to the extreme conditions they have to endure in the winter months.
One had a bell that clanged as it avoided excited tourists and little kids.

 This horse was so gorgeous i thought it was going to grow a horn and magic us into a land of unicorns and forest sprites. The cabins around are for rent and this is a place that would be great to stop and visit for a short perfect while.

 As you travel around the weather changes rapidly.

As you ascend and get closer to the clouds the majesty descends upon you like a royal cape.

Make sure you bring one, with a beanie and scarf. 

 The Cirque de Garvanie is an amazing rock face
with frozen waterfalls and glaciers solid from last year.

 People do live here. 

 Autumn makes the contrast of the white more vivid.

"Delicious autumn! 

My very soul is wedded to it, 

and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."

~George Eliot

 The water falls, gravity is visible here.
It is a force which requires a lot of attention and maintenance.
Its colour & power truly does move mountains, just one rock at a time.

 Love this use of colour in a place where for a while there is none.

 Today we had plenty of colour and fresh air.

May your day sparkle & do a twirl cause you can.

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