Lausanne, Gigondas, Carcassonne and Cahors

After several days at our house in the Oisans we drove north to Lausanne, to visit Paula and Jasper for the weekend. We had seen Paula recently, as she was in The Hague for two stag parties that she helped organising. However, it is always great to catch up with them in their own surroundings, as they are well and truly settled in Switzerland. As usual we took the opportunity to plan a hike in an area they hadn't been before; this time near the French border, southeast of Lake Geneva, to Col de Coux. The scenery was stunning, and we even had coffee and cake at the Col, in a refuge that was an eyesore in the landscape. The next morning we walked along Lake Geneva, which is always very pleasant. The shore is bordered by a walking path, and many parks and sports facilities, supporting the healthy lifestyle of most of the inhabitants of Lausanne. After lunch we drove back home, and ended in the middle of the French student protests in Chambery. The main highway tunnel was closed, and we were guided into town, where many streets were blocked as well. It took us more than two hours to get to the other end of the tunnel, a kilometer further on...

After a day back in the house we drove south, for the yearly wine pilgrimage to the Gigondas with our friend Frits. Once we arrived it started pissing down with rain, but we still needed to walk Pippin. The tracks in and around the vineyards turned into muddy rivers, and we had to cut the walk short, and took shelter in one of the cafe's. Here we met Frits, and together we visited the Gigondas winehouses of Cayron and Bosquets. Our usual champagne sundowner on the terrace of Hotel les Florets had to be moved inside; this was followed by a nice dinner. 

The following morning we split up for one day: we drove to Carcassonne for a tourist vist, whilst Frits stayed in Gigondas to tast and buy some more wine. In Carcassonne it was finally dry, and we hiked around the cite, an almost intact medieval city on top of a hill, and one of the most famous tourist destinations in France. There were quite a few people there, but it was still very pleasant to walk around. We just don't want to think about a visit in the high season! We ended the day with a dinner in the restaurant on the top floor of the hotel, overlooking the illuminated cite.

In the morning we drove northwest to the Cahors wine region, which we hadn't visited before. There we met Frits again, and did some tasting of Cahors wines (made with malbec grapes) at Passelys and Resseguier. We stayed in the city of Cahors and had an excellent dinner at Chez Suzanne. The next day we drove west to Albas, a beautiful village on the river Lot. There we did a nice hike, before meeting Frits again for a wine tasting at two of the top Cahors producers: Chateau du Cedre and Clos Triguedina: it was well worth it! After another night in Cahors we drove back to the Oisans for our last few days at the house.

Lunch on the way to Col de Coux

Mary arriving at the Col

Coffee and cake in the refuge on Col de Coux

Low clouds above Lake Geneva

Talking terroirs at Domaine des Bosquets in Gigondas

Walking in Carcassonne

The cite of Carcassonne, one of the several entry points

Walking along the impressive walls of Carcassonne

View from the hotel towards the medieval cite of Carcassonne

The passionate and entertaining winemaker at Domaine le Passelys

Tasting a rose wine at Domaine Resseguier

The famous Pont Valentre in Cahors

The beautiful village of Albas

Albas is located on a rock above the river Lot

Viewpoint above Albas and the river Lot

Chateau du Cedre, one of the top producers in the Cahors wine region

In the cellar of Clos Triguedina

France (2026 - V)

We had our last stay at our house in France in October, with two short trips in the middle (see next post). On the drive down we stopped halfway, at Bar sur Seine, for a rainy walk through the Champagne vineyards, an excellent dinner and an overnight stay. We are enjoying splitting the ride down over two days!

In our village we had beautiful autumn weather, and spend most of the time outside, hiking, cycling and working in the garden. Mary had a small operation on her left hand just before we left, and couldn't cycle unfortunately, and was also somewhat limited with the more hardcore gardening activities. One of the main tasks was the splitting of all the wood we collected during the year on our terrain, from several  trees that had fallen down in the winter. Luckily our neighbour and friend Robert helped up with his hydraulic splitting machine from the sixties, saving us (read Piet) chopping a mountain of wood with an ax. It is now all stored in our barn, and drying out before we can burn it in our fireplace.

We had time to catch up with friends and the village neighbours, do some dogtraining with Pippin, and spend the last few days clearing everything away, cleaning and getting the house ready for the winter. We locked up, drained the pipes and will be back early next year; but no firm plans yet...

In the Champagne vineyards near Bar sur Seine

Lunch near Pied Moutet, with the Oisans valley in the background

Pippin is a real mountain dog!

View towards Auris

Piet in Entraigues, on the way back from La Mure

Pippin is recovering on our terrace

Gayle and John are cycling up to Col d'Ornon, from the south side

Cows in the valley, near La Paute

Ornon village, with the first snow on Alpe d'Huez

Italy: Via Francigena

The Via Francigena is a long distance pilgrimage, from Canterbury to Rome, with similarities to the Camino, but much less known and with far fewer people. Paulien retired in the spring and to manage her transition from a very busy working life to her pension she decided to walk the whole 4 month route in one go. She had been actively looking for walking partners, who could accompany her for a couple of days. Mary signed up for 4 days, for the stretch from the foothills of the Alps into the Po valley.

The Via Francigena follows an ancient route, based on the travels of archbishop Sigeric of Canterbury around 990. Every day a distance between 15 and 30 km is covered, mainly dependent on availability of accommodation. Accommodation is generally in hostels, in dormitories with shared bathrooms. As a luxury a simple hotel or B&B can also be booked. For the route there is a detailed booklet, an app and many signs on the way. Decisions are mainly choices between a shortcut along a busy road, or to take a longer, more scenic and hilly trail.

Piet joined the first hour, turned around in Carema and drove back home with Pippin. Mary and Paulien then hiked together to Ivrea, Viverone, Santhia and Vercelli, chatting, finding their way, and looking for water, food and coffee. As Mary didn't know Paulien very well beforehand there was lot's to talk about! They walked through vineyards, and fields with rice and corn, crossed many tiny villages, passed churches and chapels, and stayed overnight in small towns. Meeting a few pilgrims on the route and in the accommodation added further spice to the trip. In short: very enjoyable! And Paulien, who started early July, still had 6 weeks to go when Mary left her with the next friend. Mary returned by train and bus to Grenoble, where she was picked up by Piet and Pippin, and we spend the last few days together at our house.

The highlight of Pont Saint Martin: the roman bridge

Mary and Paulien starting their trip on the roman bridge

Pippin is keen to lead the way

Along the route there are many signs; here a shutter of a shopwindow

In the vineyards of Carema

Paulien is checking the route in the vineyards

One of the many typical villages in the Po valley

Rome is that way

Luxury shared accommodation in Santhia

Sunrise over the Po valley

One can collect pilgrim stamps in many of the villages and towns

Arrival in Vercelli, Mary's endpoint

Italy: Bormio

Piet has a short bucketlist, with only a few wishes. One of these was a trip to Bormio, to cycle up the mythical Stelvio and Gavia cols, well known from the Giro d'Italia. This year was a perfect storm to tick these off: firstly Mary planned to join Paulien for a few days on the Via Francigena in northwestern Italy (see next post), and secondly Piet had trained a lot for L'Etape du Tour, and was in his best physical shape since years. 

We booked a one room apartment in Bormio, a small, pleasant town in the centre of an active outdoor holiday area, with an excellent cycling infrastructure, and many wintersport facilities. It is a great location for hikes and bike rides, and the start for the long climbs up to the Stelvio and Gavia passes. It took 7 hours to drive down from our house in France. 

The first day we did a short hike near our apartment, and after lunch Piet cycled up to Passo dello Stelvio. Unfortunately it was a Sunday, and very nice weather, so Piet had to share the road with hundreds and hundreds of motorbikes and many tourists in cars. At the top (2758 m!) it was a real circus, with souvenir shops, parking areas, hotels, restaurants and a huge skilift. The descent was not a lot of fun either, with motorbikes whizzing around him, and several dangerous tunnels. Mary cycled up part of the col, and turned around at the first tunnel.

The next day we hiked around Bormio, and in the afternoon we cycled together to the Torre di Fraele, a spectacular, quiet road, with many, many hairpins. The following morning Piet left early for the Passo di Gavia, with the plan to do a loop including the Passo del Mortirolo. The road to Passo di Gavia was quiet and scenic, and at the pass there was just a parking and a small restaurant. After a short stop Piet descended the other way, ending up in the Oglio valley. Here the climb to Passo del Mortirolo started, a another famous (and steep) Giro d'Italia col. From there Piet descended back to the Bormio valley, and slowly climbed back to the apartment, completing 110 km and 3000 m of height difference. And adding two ticks on his bucketlist! Mary and Pippin had a more leisurely day, with another nice hike near Bormio.

The final day we drove back up to the Gavia, to do a beautiful hike high in the mountains, with very few people around. The next morning we packed everything and drove a few hours west to Pont St Martin (very Italian, despite the French name), north of Turin. Here we met Paulien, a friend of ours who was walking the Via Francigena.

View from our apartment, just outside Bormio

A sign on the road to Passo dello Stelvio

View over Bormio from one of our hikes

In the town of Bormio

The many hairpins on the road to Torri di Fraele

Mary arriving at Torri di Fraele

First col of the day, Piet still in good spirits

Finished the second (and steep) climb of the day

Hiking near Passo di Gavia

Pippin the mountain dog, near the Gavia

Lunch in the mountains, close to the Gavia

France (2026 - IV)

In September we returned to France for a few weeks, with a trip to Italy in the middle (see the next two posts). The summer weather was still in full swing, and despite shorter days and cooler mornings we spend all of our time outside.

On our drive down we had an overnight stay near Bar sur Seine, and did a nice walk along the Seine river, which is only a shallow stream in this part of France. After a dinner in the garden of the hotel and a good nights sleep we drove down to our house. We had a short week of cycling, hiking and some work in the garden before leaving for Italy. Unfortunately wild boars had dug up part of our field in front of the house, searching for roots. They have become a real nuisance in the valley, probably due to the absence of rain since May, and the lack of food in the woods. This is part of living in the countryside!

After returning from the trip to Italy we had another short week of summer weather, living outside and leaving the inside jobs for future rainy days. We returned to The Hague, and have planned a last trip back to France in October, before the winter season starts.

Pippin is cooling down in the Seine

A tunnel on the old road to Villard Reymond

With John on Col Agnel, the highest mountain pass in the region

View from Col Agnel towards Italy

Mary on Col d'Ornon, on the only cloudy day

Hiking near Vizille, with the Vercors in the background

Cows are enjoying life near Vaujany

The hiking trail between Vaujany and Enversin