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Amid the Confluence of History, Technology, and Natural Beauty There Lies Grenoble
Grenoble, France

One of my recent business trips to France was a beautiful experience that I’ll never forget. Because I have a knack of experiencing other cultures, traditions and history, my business colleagues have told me how I would love this trip. They were right.

I took a ten-hour flight from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Aéroport Paris Roissy Charles de Gaulle (Charles De Gaulle International Airport [CDG]), a modernized airport considered the largest between Paris’s two airports and one of the first airports in Europe to have an integrated train system. After checking in through customs, I hurried to take an airport shuttle to Terminal 2 to catch a connecting flight to Aéroport Lyon-Saint Exupéry (Lyon-Saint Exupery Airport [LSE]), located in Lyon, the third largest city in France. Once my flight arrived into LSE in the evening, my driver, a young man in his mid 30s, was already waiting for me. “Bonsua. Welcome Mr. Uli, my name is George and I am your driver to take you to Grenoble,” said the driver. He then took my luggage placing it into the car and off we drove away to the City of Grenoble, the capital of the Dauphiné region. Grenoble is where the French resistance movement became active during World War II. It is close to Switzerland, Italy and the Mediterranean coast and where the 1968 Winter Olympic Games events took place. Because Grenoble is situated in the heart of the Alpine mountain ranges, it is also called the capital of the French Alps.

We finally arrived to my temporary place of abode, an 18^th century château (castle) called the Château de la Commanderie. The metal black gate’s long 12-foot doors began opening, as we drove through onto an unpaved gravel road, which led us directly in front of the illuminated château. “Bonsua et bienvenu au Château de la Commanderie.” (“Good evening and welcome to the Château de la Commanderie”) said the desk clerk as he greeted and welcomed my arrival. It was a long day of traveling for me and I was exhausted from jet lag, so immediately after checking in and being escorted to my suite, I advanced directly to my place of rest and simply collapsed onto the huge king-sized bed and retired for the evening.

At the dawn of a new morning, I awoke to the sounds of loud chirping birds. Through the cracks of the windows’ long wooden covers I saw specks of the morning daylight shinning through, so I decided to check out the scenery and experience a morning in France. The château estate was built on a lovely acre of landscape, and with the combination of a large walled garden with tall trees created a perfect environment of charm and tranquility for privacy and relaxation. The combination of the cool fresh air, the chirping sounds of birds, a flowered courtyard, and tall old-century pine trees added to the estate’s beautiful natural environment. I was astonished of how the owners preserved the beauty of the château and maintain its historical value through the years. The history of the château dictates that the castle was formerly used as a resting place for the Knights of Malta, a famous medieval wartime group of knights well know throughout Europe. The rooms were spacious, warm and furnished with unique authentic French décor, antiques and arts that maintain an old medieval period ambiance, while at the same time also maintained a modern look offering modern hotel comforts like an automatic alarm clock with radio, a satellite color TV, telephone, hair dryer, air conditioning/heater, mini-bar, including a luxurious tiled bathroom with tub and shower. After a great hot shower and dressed in business attire, I was ready to have my authentic French made breakfast.

Normally, in Silicon Valley, California, business and professional people love to start of their morning by first enjoy sipping Caffé lattés, mocha java, and other kinds of coffee at either local cafés. As for me, I’ve always enjoyed the French culture of having my coffee with a butter croissant on the side. But since I was in France, I fervently vowed to master this culture and enjoy the pleasure of consuming the “real-thing”. “Bonjour. Good Morning Mr. Uli”, greeted the host as she escorted me to the breakfast dining room. I was told that both breakfast and dinner were served in vast 18^th century dining rooms.

As we ambled through the vestibule, I was immediately taken by surprise of the intimate atmosphere of a luxurious family home consisting of a large room having a small library containing old century books, beautiful wood furniture, fine paintings and family portraits, and an antique fireplace already burning fire that added to the warm cozy atmosphere. The awesome interior with exquisite, beautiful carpets and old period furnishings, created a stylish atmosphere of French medieval history. Arriving at the dining room I noticed the tall wooden doors with engraved designs, gleaming patterned hard wooden floors with wood furniture, magnificent wood patterned high-ceilings, long windows with French décor curtains, and some royal family portraits. I enjoyed the “Petit déjeuner buffet” (breakfast buffet) with freshly brewed French café and freshly baked butter croissants with a spread of homemade French jam. With my cup of café in hand I stood and looked out one of the large windows across the room where I felt at peace enjoying the sunrise. I thought to myself, “It is going to be a beautiful day.”

Other than being another region in France with rich in history, Grenoble is also known to be one of the major centers for technology in Europe. Besides having the University of Grenoble, an official French university and vital educational centre for Europe with full accreditation from the U.S., various high technological companies have made Grenoble their pilot site for emerging Internet technological advances – Grenoble is considered the Silicon Valley of France. My business meetings of the week were held at one of the high-tech companies famously known worldwide for their printers and computer servers. After the business meetings of the day, I met new French friends and business colleagues (Mathieu, Fabien and Ivan) who toured me around and took me out for lunches and dinners where they all collectively contributed in educating me about Grenoble’s culture, history and business antics. They all told me that before I leave Grenoble, I should go sight seeing of what history and natural beauty Grenoble has to offer its visitors. I had learned so much about Grenoble from my friends that I decided to take their suggestions and engaged in a self-excursion tour of Grenoble.

During the weekend I went on a morning leisure stroll around the neighborhood, walking on cabal stone roads and directly into a local cafés. Then I rented a car and drove all the way to Lyon where I visited the famous high-speed TGV train located at the Lyon Part-Dieu TGV Train Station and enjoyed the beautiful landscapes along the way. Afterwards I returned to Grenoble and strolled down Ave Jean Javier where I visited a public park named ‘Le Parc Paul Mistral’ (The Paul Mistral Park) that had various monuments and one tall, approximately 80 meters, towering monument. I continued my walked on down the rue Voltaire street and visited the ‘Quartier des Antiquaires’ (a charming neighborhood with shopping area consisting of stores selling souvenir and collector’s items). I visited the 16^th century erected building called the ‘Palais de Justice’ (Palace of Justice) which formerly housed the Dauphinois Parliament. An open farmers market was nearby where people were selling and buying various fresh produce while others sat and sipped cafés in the nearby café restaurant.

I visited place St-André and a 13^th century church of St-André that was restored. I visited ‘Parc de la Villeneuve’, ‘Parc A. Michallon’ including the Musée de Grenoble, the gardens of ‘Place Victor Hugo’, and then to the Téléférique (cable car) located on the riverside quai Stéphane-Jay. Visitors would take this cable car up to Grenoble’s famous Fort de la Bastille an old 19th century military fort over looking the city and the Isère River. The Isère River divides Grenoble into left bank and right bank areas. To reach across the two areas you must travel across a couple of bridges. Being the athlete that I am and because I was already accustomed to hiking up mountains from personal experiences of cultivating and laboring over plantations on one of the Polynesian group of islands, I took the challenge and hiked up to the fort. I walked across the Isère River on the ‘ Pont Saint-Laurent’ bridge and came to the Saint-Laurent area of town with a number of cyclist bike shops and pizzeria restaurants. Standing atop the Fort de la Bastille was indeed a breathtaking experience for me. I saw the City of Grenoble as it lies below with the backdrops of the surrounding mountain ranges and valleys. I then understood why the 1968 Winter Olympics events were held here. The snowcapped mountain peak tops created a spectacular beauty of nature’s landscape. The scenery was awesome and the best spot to end my excursion. I ended my day and treated myself to a delicious pizza at the Casanova Pizzeria restaurant. It was a perfect way to end my trip.

Back at the Charles De Gaulle International Airport waiting to board my flight back home, I purchased my last cup of an authentic French café. As I sat in the business lounge reviewing notes of the successful business meetings of the past two weeks, I thought of my new French friends and the personal experiences I had acquired from Grenoble. The citizens of Grenoble are pleasant, intelligent and simply great people who are willing to help you become acclimated with their culture and city. As I stood in front of a large window and watched the sunrise, I sipped my café and I thought to myself, “It is going to be a beautiful day.”