The aim of the three-day weekend was twofold: finally take the time to discover the Trièves, I've been driving through this area regularly for more than 12 years on my way to Lyon, without ever really stopping there, and I'm sure you'll agree that it's a great place to visit. take advantage of Van Life Expo in Grenoble. All this without going too far from home, so as to get a first real-life test of the Roule Merry.
Three days, a bit of hiking, a few bivouac spots, a vanlife exhibition... and above all a good excuse to see if our new way of travelling lived up to its promise.
First trip on the Roule Merry: to the Trièves and the Vercors in the Isère region
With the 8 May bank holiday, we had a real luxury in front of us: three days to hit the road. The perfect opportunity to officially inaugurate the very first roadtrip with Roule Merry, our van.
In the end, the idea for the weekend was quite simple: to take this road north of the 05 that I've used for more than twelve years to get to Lyon... but this time, to stop simply crossing it. Take breaks. To explore the corners a little more. To finally discover the Trièves, which I'd often watched go by without ever really taking the time to stop.
Even before the roadtrip really gets underway, we make our first stop at the plan d'eau de Veynes. We'd heard it existed, but we'd never been there before. So, out of curiosity, we made the obligatory diversions.
It's downright chilly. Not exactly the kind of weather that makes you want to get out your swimming costume. But the place is pretty nice: a calm, natural stretch of water, with an impressive number of frogs providing the soundscape. There's not much of a swimming beach to speak of, but rather a friendly, family-friendly spot, with picnic tables and a peaceful atmosphere that we imagine will be very pleasant in fine weather.
Then this time, the roadtrip really begins.
Management La Faurie, in the north of the Hautes-Alpes, to discover the Marmites du Diable.
On the spot, a sign announces a very reassuring “round trip: 40 minutes”. It's perfect. We don't get too stressed. We put on our hiking boots and appropriate clothing... but without a bag, without water, in “a quick stroll”.
It's a mistake.
The 40 minutes was handwritten. And we finally found ourselves on board a loop of more than two hours.
It had rained the day before and the rocks were still very slippery in places, so rather than turn back, we ended up following the full loop back through the village of La Faurie.
And honestly? No regrets.
The Marmites du Diable, These are rock formations sculpted and polished by the water, with incredibly clear water that really gives the place its charm. The loop is varied, pleasant and, frankly, a lot of fun to do... but it still deserves a little more preparation than a simple 40-minute stroll. Typically the kind of outing where you congratulate yourself for at least thinking about hiking boots.
After that, a well-deserved picnic break on the banks of the Buëch at La Faurie, before picking up a small geocache on the ruins of the Saracen Tower, to La Rochette.
The day continues with a climb towards Lavars, in Isère, where we had spotted a bivouac spot.
And then we literally spent the day playing hide-and-seek with the weather.
We followed the rain radar image almost live to try and get round the showers and target the rare weather windows that were still spared. And against all the odds... it worked.
When we arrived at our spot, it was raining all around us. You can see the curtains of rain in the distance, you can hear the thunder, the sky is heavy in every direction...
Except exactly where we are.
The sun.
Unlikely weather hole.
In other words, we had it all done.
We set up relatively early and, in retrospect, fortunately, because we were able to grab the best spot before other vans arrived a little later to set down not far away. The spot, found quite simply on Park4Night, was big, quiet and above all with a lovely view of the Trièves.
Because every time I'd drive along this road, I'd look at this very area and think how nice it must be to explore it a bit more. Even back in the days of the rooftop tent, I'd often said to myself that the day we went on a roadtrip in the area, we'd have to manage to get through here and find a spot in this zone.
Finally...
That's exactly what we did.
And for this first night in the Merry ?
Frankly, we slept really well.
Truly serene, on our own two ears. No pitching the tent, no questioning the set-up, no wind shaking the canvas in the middle of the night. Just a super-comfortable first night, in great conditions, with a beautiful view and weather that, for once, had decided to leave us alone.
Between Himalayan footbridges and artificial lakes
On this second day, we get off to a slow start at the Ebron bridge.
We didn't stay very long, just long enough to admire the view and learn a little more about the history of the place. The bridge dates back to at least XIVᵉ century, And that's just a little more interesting when you consider the number of travellers, herds and stories that must have passed through here over the centuries.
Then, off to the hiking the Ebron Himalayan footbridge.
The original plan was to make two Himalayan footbridges in one day. Except that my knee had decided to start its own counter-programming. I was already in pain the day before, so much so that we had to cut the day short and arrive very early at the bivouac spot. Unfortunately, on the second day, the pain returned quite quickly.
We were still able to hike as far as the Ebron footbridge... A word of advice if you want to do this hike: absolutely avoid the days following rain or snow. The course was archi muddy, At times, it was downright unpleasant. At the same time, the hike is very shaded for most of its length, so with the rain of the previous few days, nothing had really had time to dry out.
Despite this, it's still a superb ride. Expect to pay around 1h10 round trip for 147 metres of ascent. The views are really beautiful and the footbridge is well worth the diversions. I'd even go so far as to say that it's a must-do walk in the area.
And if the weather - or your knees - are more cooperative than mine, continue the loop at the Drac footbridge must clearly be worth the effort.
After the hike, it's time for a stage we've been looking forward to almost as much as the rest of the roadtrip: the Aux 2 Daims restaurant.
And yes, after over the age of 12 without ever managing to eat there. It has to be said that there was a very simple explanation for this: I always took this route in the evening or late afternoon... even though the restaurant only opens at lunchtime. In the end, this roadtrip was even organised around the desire to finally try out the restaurant.
The verdict? We enjoyed ourselves. Home cooking, terrace with a lovely view, simple and pleasant atmosphere... quite frankly, we recommend 100 %.
In the afternoon, we alternate between looking for places to sleep and geocaching.
In particular, we find ourselves on the side of Notre-Dame-de-Commiers, It was a good idea to take a walk near the EDF structure for a little geocaching. There were several really nice places to spend the night...
Already all taken. When he was barely 15h. We already tend to get to the spots early, but this time we were clearly ahead of them. So we changed our strategy.
As the next day's objective was to reach Grenoble for Van Life Expo, At the end of the day, we decided to start gaining a bit of road and gradually climb towards the town. We finally end up on the side of Jarrie.
We're not going to lie here: we're clearly not on the dream bivouac spot. (although we still had a very nice view).
Our first stop was the castle, which is currently being renovated. The place was advertised as a spot on Park4Night, but it's no longer possible to sleep there and, with the work in progress, it's not necessarily the most aesthetically pleasing place in the area. That said, it should be very nice once the renovation is complete.
We continue with a short tour of the pond before simply contemplating the night... in a car park. Yes, a real car park.
The Etang car park was also listed on Park4Night, but a number of negative reviews didn't inspire much confidence in us for a quiet night's sleep. So we opted for discretion and moved next door to another, more discreet car park.
Shower.
Meals.
Bedtime.
Simple. Efficient.
And it was precisely at that point that we decided that the Merry completely changed our way of travelling.
Because, to be honest, with the roof tent, we'd probably have had to travel quite a few extra kilometres to find a natural spot that was suitable enough to spend the night.
That's it? All we did was make a discreet stop in a car park. The Merry still has its cab/rear separation, so visually, it's really a classic van. Nobody would suspect that we were sleeping inside.
The result is that you can sleep very discreetly, even in more urban areas, without having to look for the perfect spot in the middle of nowhere.
Van Life Expo Grenoble: driving rain outside, vanlife atmosphere inside
On this third and final day, we head for Grenoble. Well... almost. Because before that, we were treated to a particularly effective wake-up call: the rain pelting the van. It's impossible to pretend not to hear it.
In the end, it worked out rather well for us, as we found ourselves up earlier than planned. Breakfast in the Merry, quick preparation, then off to the Grenoble Alpexpo for the Van Life Expo.
Result: we arrive even before the opening, We were almost at the head of the queue. We'd already booked our tickets online, so I'd say the organisation was pretty straightforward.
Originally, we were going to do the Van Life Expo on Saturday. But when we saw the weather forecast, we finally changed the programme. And clearly, we did very well. Because in the end, while the rain was doing its thing outside, we were comfortably ensconced in the dry, fully-covered halls of Alpexpo.
The day before, the weather was perfect for hiking. So on this last day, we swapped our muddy shoes for immersion 100 % vanlife well protected.
We witnessed a very interesting conference, We went round the stands several times and discovered a number of applications, camping chains and solutions that we'll probably be using in the future... including for some holidays... with the roof tent from this summer.
It also gave us a chance to spot some equipment, see different layouts, glean ideas and, above all, simply enjoy the very special atmosphere of the vanlife shows where you spend your time alternating between “oh that's clever” and “this would look good in the Merry”.”.
We had planned to eat there. Except that between us and the exhibition catering, there was an unexpected obstacle: music much too loud. And honestly... it scared us off pretty quickly.
So we decided to take the long way home. But returning via the’A51. Instead, we choose the Route Napoléon, It's always a much more pleasant way to round off a weekend like this.
And that, in the end, was how this first real roadtrip in Roule Merry Between hikes, capricious weather, improvised bivouacs, discovering the Trièves, the vanlife exhibition... and the confirmation that we had definitively validated our new way of travelling.
Weekend budget: diesel clearly stings the most
Budget-wise, in the end, the biggest item of expenditure is clearly fuel.
At the time of the roadtrip, diesel exceeded 2 per litre, which is never a pleasure when it's time to fill up. And even if you try to drive as economically as possible, it's hard to work miracles when you're driving one car after another. mountain roads. As a result, we ended the weekend with an average of around 7.3L/100 km with the Merry.
When it comes to food, the budget remains fairly contained. We're not counting the on-board meals, as they are broadly the same as what we would have eaten at home. In terms of the vanlife menu, we were looking for something very sophisticated: instant noodles, one or two slices of chicken ham, and of course the ritual aperitif with wine, comté cheese and sausage.
The only real extra on the meal front was the 2 Daims restaurant, which we've been wanting to test for years.
Finally, it couldn't be simpler: the only cost of the weekend is the tickets to Van Life Expo in Grenoble. Between hikes, geocaches, viewpoints and bivouacs, the rest of the programme was essentially free.
In conclusion
The verdict after this first weekend: 100 % satisfied with the Merry.
This roadtrip clearly confirmed our decision to move from the roof tent to converted van. With its discretion, comfort, ease of installation and flexibility, we could tell the difference straight away.
This trip also gave us the opportunity to test the layout in real-life conditions. There are still a few improvements to be made, but overall, it did the job.
In short, all we want to do is : leave. And just as well, because the next roadtrip is already planned: four days in the Vaucluse.