Snow dust and signs of winter

A few weeks ago I visited a monastery in the region. It had been cloudy and cold up until that weekend when there was a ton of beautiful sunlight that illuminated all of the colorful leaves and grass. There was an area of silence surrounding the buildings of the monastery and it was nice to enjoy the gorgeous mountains.

Autumn changing into winter in France with wisps of clouds and colorful trees

The monastery tucked in the mountains

More trees and fallen leaves

The sun sets early in the mountains

Back in Grenoble, there are sure signs of winter as well. The breeze has a frigid winter smell and all the boutiques and stores are starting to sell Chirstmas toys and decorations. I can already tell people are starting to feel the frenzy of the holiday season and I am looking forward to seeing how Christmas will be different in Europe opposed to the northwest United States where I have spent every other Christmas of my life. This year I will be spending Christmas day in Rome, but plenty of time in Grenoble leading up to the holiday.

Place Victor Hugo on a Saturday afternoon

Snow dusted Alps

A couple days ago there was a winter sports expo in the middle of campus to get people interested in skiing and snowboarding in the Alps. It is actually fairly cheap for students to do either for the day.

People juggling. I'm not really sure how this is winter sports related, but I thought I would include a French person with dreads.

A steep mountain-resembling thing that you could go down on a sled or on your skis or snowboard. I'm not sure how good of condition your equipment would be afterwords though.

I bought a new watch. It ticks kind of loudly, but I like it.

Although I haven't seen any Christmas trees or lights up yet, a lot of stores have already started selling Christmas gifts such as these stuffed animals that I thought were cute.

Félix, the cat that lives around my dorm.
He is very adorable and cuddly, more so than the bunnies above.