france
Summer holiday
Yesterday we returned from our summer holiday. We’ve been to France, camping most of the time. We started just south of Calais, where we stayed for two nights. My brother and sister-in-law were over from Bristol for a long weekend, so we met them there. After that, we drove on to a small village south of Clermont-Ferrand. We did some walking thereabouts, amongst others to the summit of the Puy de Dome.
Because the weather wasn’t great, we went further south after five days, to the Gorges du Tarn in the Cevennes. There we did a lot of walking (and climbing!) on the steep slopes of the gorges. But we also visited a castle (Chateau de Peyrelade), caves (Grotte d’Argilan), Le Chaos de Montpellier le Vieux and we went canoeing on the river Tarn one day. Oh, and of course we went to see the famous Viaduc de Millau.
Flaine
This morning we returned from our skiing trip to France.
We stayed in Hotel Aujon in Flaine, in the Grand Massif.
We had a very nice week, although the first few days we had a lot of snow. Because of that, a lot of pistes and lifts were closed. As the weather got better, more pistes were opened, and by the end of the week, we had skied most of the 265 kilometers of piste.
Nice detail about the village of Flaine: the site was not discovered until 1959! In 1968 the resort was officially opened.
Gorges du Verdon
Last week, we were on holiday in France, camping near the Gorges du Verdon. We were in a small village, Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, just north of the Lac de Sainte Croix, on the camping St. Jean (which I can highly recommend).
We had a great time. We have walked le sentier Martel (14 kilometers, 6 hours), rented waterbikes, swum in the lake, visited Cannes. The last morning, we went canyoning! That is really very much fun to do (if you’re not afraid of heights!). It’s part walking and abseiling, and part swimming, wading through the river and jumping off waterfalls. Very spectacular!
On Provence Web there is some more info about the gorges, about the village of Moustiers and about the lake.
And take a look at this site, which has some nice pictures of the gorges and the lake.
Update (July 16): The photos are now available from photos.bvrolijk.net, if you have the correct username and password, that is.
Skiing trip
Last Saturday I returned from my skiing holiday. With a couple of friends I went to Oz-en-Oisans, near Alpe d’Huez, only a few kilometers from where my girlfriend and I stayed this summer.
It was great fun, and very nice to see what it looks like in winter. I’ve been to the same places and have taken photographs on the same spots as I did then.
Unfortunately, the weather hasn’t been very good all the time, we had a couple of snow storms, but luckily also a few very beautiful days.
On Tuesday we celebrated my birthday with a very nice dinner in a restaurant in Les Deux Alpes.
Update: The photos are available on my photo gallery.
Back from France
We returned from France, yesterday.
We had a really perfect holiday, with magnificent surroundings, and beautiful weather!
My girlfriend and I stayed on a camping in Allemont, in the Vallée de l’Eau d’Olle, about 50 kilometers east of Grenoble.
From our tent we looked out upon Alpe d’Huez, and the mountain range of the Grandes Rousses with its glaciers.
We have done a lot of walking, up to 7 hours and 900 meters of climbing. We have swum in a small mountain lake at 2100 meters altitude. We have done something called Hydrospeed on the river Vénéon, and we threw snowballs on the glacier on Pic Blanc at 3330 meters altitude!
The weather was very good, 35 to 40 degrees mostly, except for the two times that we nearly washed down the mountain. Rain and thunder up in the mountains is not much fun when you still have to descend for an hour and a half to get back to the car… But we got home safe alright.
All in all, we had a wonderful holiday together. Only way too short…
Update: A selection of photographs is now available on my site (if you have the password, of course).
There and back again (twice)
I’m off for the weekend, leaving for London on Friday morning.
I’m going to visit my brother and sister-in-law, whom I haven’t seen since their wedding. And I still haven’t seen the photos I made that day.
Furthermore, they have got a book for me, and I’ve still got half of their wedding present 
And of course, a weekend in London is always nice, there’s lots to see…
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