stormy weather for Sarah and Rog

Plans for a "normal" May had to be abandoned when snow fell as low as 1200m the night before the cousins' arrival. So we invented a Plan B. Juan led us a merry dance, orchid hunting above Pont de Claix...

The ridge walk between Villeneuve d'Uriage and Brié was its usual gorgeous self:

... and a swift taxi pick-up by Juan averted another douching.

At Gresse gentians struggled to emerge through the snow and Juan and I couldn't avoid starting every other sentence with "At this time of year we normally...".

Our walk up to the Pas du Serpaton clearly justified a bit of a splurge. So Sarah and Rog treated us to an awesome meal at the Chalet hotel. The chocolate and rhubarb bomb rounded off a perfect 3-hour gastro binge.

The last morning, after Rog found himself buying the biggest piece of Comté I've ever seen sliced, we rewalked part of the ridge again. At Grenoble Sarah discovered she'd "accidentally" booked first-class tickets for the journey north. Too soon!

deep and crisp and crazy at Lautaret

This time of year the pastures around Lautaret are usually carpets of daffodils.
Yesterday this is what it looked like:

the road up to Galibier - which eventually disappeared into a steeper incline than we felt comfortable with

 

We were so stunned to see sun, and the best winter landscape we've had all year - in May - that (despite wearing sun hats - clue!) we completely forgot to put on sunscreen. Four hours in near-summer sun intensity, with the added power of snow reflection, has left me the beetroot beacon of Vaulnaveys. Yow...!!

the year of the pansy

Nature may be a month behind but some plants are well happy with the cool, moist conditions.
The pansies that friends gave us a few years ago have colonised like never before.
in pots and through the gravel...

in the lawn...

around the birch...

Meanwhile, the rockery is coming to life...

alliums are exuberant in front of the "office"...

and (difficult to see in this photo but included as an aide memoire for me of plants that will need to be repositioned in due course) the "Christmas tree bed" is full of excitement (what a funny old couple we are becoming!)...

Our plans to drive over the Col du Lautaret had to be aborted because of the depth of snow (we weren't prepared to mess around with chains in mid May!). So we have spent a happy day dodging showers and lavishing unprecedented hours perfecting the garden. I have to say, it's looking pretty good.

an unexpected visitor

Everything is strange at the moment: snow almost within sight of the house, endless rain in the valley - and, just as we're supposed to stop feeding grease balls to hungry birds - a woodpecker has started visiting regularly, devouring the balls at such a rate that we are replacing them nearly every day. What is happening...?

photo © Juan

Turkish delight

Just back from a wonderful two-week holiday in the province of Antalya, in southern Turkey. We entered the country with shamefully little preparation, trusting that SNP - the Dutch company with whom we have enjoyed many self-guided hikes in the past - would smooth our way into a culture whose language is notoriously difficult for western Europeans. We weren't disappointed. Over a 10-day period their detailed route descriptions and maps (not for sale elsewhere) took us from the mountains just south of Antalya city to the coast at Karaoz.


We saw snow-peaked mountains, cedar forests, emerald-green high-mountain pastures, ancient ruins, stunning beaches and abundant flowers. We ate excellent food, met delightful people (and a very skillful kilim salesman!).These snaps, in no particular order, give something of the flavour:

how "We're not very hungry" turned into something else, at Gedelme

the brand-new mosque from our village home at Yayla-Kuzdere

above Yayla Kuzdere

evening at Cirali bay

dawn from above Olympus village

reluctant beach bum

a meadow above Yayla Kuzdere

café stop at Cirali

towards Mt Olympus (aka Tahtali), Cirali

by Cirali beach

I am already planning our return trip...