I am staying in Fourneaux, ribbon development along the valley south of Modane. The main street is lined with shops with apartments above, old and dusty but not ancient. These are sandwiched between the fast flowing River Arc and overgrown railway sidings. By no means a tourist town, one gains the impression it is in slow decline.
My apartment overlooks the river at its rear. The water is milky grey, its power captured by a hydroelectric station a little further downstream. There was a tea room / boulangerie near the apartment where I enjoyed breakfast and later a coffee and cake. Further on there was a supermarket for my shopping and nearby a bank machine for cash, so all my needs were catered for. In the afternoon I decided to try to visit the fort that looks down on the valley above a steep slope. Although I knew that you could not get inside it looked an interesting structure. My first attempt was blocked by a sign stating no pedestrians, rock falls. My second attempt, following red spots on the rocks, took me over loose rock falls and onto crumbly ground over a large drop. I decided that wisdom was the better part of valour, and gave up sweating profusely. (Next day, from the other side of the valley I saw a clear track up to the fort as indicated by my maps. Its start was probably hidden by parked cars. Shows I was not paying attention to navigation, but then it was my day off). After a bit more washing of clothes I finished with a meal at an Italian restaurant, celebrating my progress so far with a Limoncello (they had no cognac).
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