Brian visits...

... and we return to the area Juan and I abandoned when the typhoon struck a couple of weeks earlier- This time taking no chances with the weather, and booking into a gîte just outside the village of Trescléoux in the Hautes Alpes.

Mr Sanchez in swimwear (rejected by Bourg d'Arud swimming pool; see here)

this scene - in the Méouge gorge - had transformed to Brighton Beach when we returned 2 hours later

the Roman bridge

A couple of days later Brian and I were at Lac Lauvitel, in the Ecrins. A parks guide pointed out chamois, high on the horizon. By midday the lake was a very popular spot. But we were the only ones to plunge into the joint-numbingly cold water.

It was lovely to have Brian staying and he tolerated the rainy interludes, and our absurdly quiet lifestyle, very well. (How many books did you say you read, Brian?!)

Château de la Muzelle

The website over-eggs it, of course, but Château de la Muzelle, in Bourg d'Arud, was a very pleasant hotel located in a fabulous haute montagne hamlet that we've driven through, and thought "that looks nice", a zillion times. So here was a great excuse to implement the philosophy of "less is more", and base ourselves in this very congenial spot for 36 hours.

The low spot was Juan being stopped from wearing his brand new swim shorts in the adjacent municipal pool because they weren't the regulatory "trunks" style. You're wondering why? See this Guardian article. Or, more briefly, because of concern about hygiene. "Bermudas or bigger swimming shorts can be worn elsewhere all day, so could bring in sand, dust or other matter, disturbing the water quality". Ha ha. Other matter...

Naturally, Juan exploded ("That's it! I'm going home!!") - before he remembered his wife was with him, waiting to swim. Swallowing all pride he followed up the pool attendant's suggestion and borrowed a pair that conformed, trying hard not to imagine quite how many others might have preceded him. The high point of the weekend (for me) was seeing this event unfold, hysterically funny as it was. That - and going down the water slide with all the kids.

And yes, there was a bit of walking of a low-key kind because we can't forget this, can we:

We had lovely views of the Venéon valley from new angles:

walking downstream into Bourg d'Arud - magical and a complete surprise 

looking towards Bourg d'Oisans from Champ de l'aiguille, above Bourg d'Arud

Venéon valley between Bourg d'Arud and la Danchère

... hamlets and paths we hadn't explored before:

the hamlet of l'Alleau

and a favourite waterfall:

the Pisse... see me in foreground, for size reference

All in all a wonderful couple of days.

an unusual Thursday

So, there we were - not enjoying non-doing in a sunny campsite, as planned. Having returned at midnight last night because the mud fest was more than we could cope with, we had a mini existential crisis and then...
1. washed the living-room curtains - yes, I kid you not; after only 9 years they were submitted to a thorough thrash in the machine
2. listened to Best of Deep Purple on Youtube - more thrashing
3. Juan finished scraping the carbonised rhubarb off the saucepan I incinerated mid June - what a hero
4. booked into a hotel for tomorrow night at Bourg d'Arud in the Ecrins - in an area we know well from day-tripping and refuge-sleeping perspective but not as deluxe tourists.
5. had several apéros and half a bottle of Corbières...

All deeply unusual activities. For us. Over and out.

a sunny, green and pleasant land

Just back from 2 glorious weeks in the UK. A truly Best of British experience...

Highlights included storming around Dhyrum Park gardens with Mum and Dad...

... the Kaffe Fassett expo near Bath...

... a walking tour organised by my friend Brian, singing tudor anthems in five Oxfordshire churches; an exceptional treat...

Daylesford Church

picnicking at Adlestrop churchyard

... strolls around Oxford with friends who've known me for over 30 years...

Alison at the Isis pub

Mad and Susie at South Hinksey

... lounging time chez les parents in their beautiful garden...

... seeing family at Buff and Colin's stunning new house...

sorry, Poppy, I did indeed catch you gob full...!

... and some ravishing views across the south of England...

All this, and then 3 days in good company at a shiatsu training weekend.

Meanwhile, back in the sodden Alps it's beginning to feel like a dream. But tomorrow the sun returns and Juan and I will be heading south for a non-walking-lounging-around couple of days at a river-based campsite. Can we do it? Watch this space.

Update We managed one whole, perfect day (swims in campsite pool, picnicking in the comfort of having - for the first time - a table and two comfy chairs) before a cracking storm created such a mud bath that we had to decamp back to Vaulnaveys, even before the end of the day. A bitter-sweet "holiday".

goodbye Berlitz

In my excitement about reaching the top of the Taillefer last weekend I "forgot" this milestone on 3 July. Piggybacking on the annual summer apéro I bid farewell to the teaching team, a nice bunch of people - who tolerate better than me the vagaries of being a Berlitz trainer. A civilised ending.

up high... (the Taillefer)

Luring Juan with rumours of interesting flora, we agreed we'd see how far up the  (2587m) Taillefer massif we could go. This huge lump of a mountain is an iconic landmark in the Grenoble area.  (A propos of nothing, Wikipedia claims that "At the Battle of Hastings, Taillefer recited the Chanson de Roland to the Norman troops while juggling with his sword." Love the thought of that.) 

Starting from the Combe de l'Oursière, just NE of the ski-resort village of La Morte, we walked through mosquito-laden azaleas (see here for the utterly different winter version of this scene).

... then up and along the Crête du Brouffier, up the Pas de la Mine and the Arête de Brouffier - an interesting knife-edge...

... to get to the summit. Yes, we made it. Yippee! These photos don't do justice to the exceptional views.

view SE towards Ecrins

My favourite: bird's eye view of Lac Fourchu ("forked lake"). The clouds came and went and it didn't feel particularly hot. Damn chilly, in fact. Classic conditions for major sunburn. I am now sporting beacon-red legs. How can that happen to someone my age?!

Looking SE down the Malsanne valley towards La Mure

Looking from the Arête de Brouffier to Beauregard and the Vercors

 After 10 years of procrastinating, we were very chuffed, and grateful, to have made the 1200m climb without being anything other than completely shattered. Awesome.

Juan at the SEA (Sociedad Española de Astronomía)!

On behalf of Schott, this is what Juan is going to present in Teruel in September. (I want to know what's lucky about the Lucky Imager...?)