Autumn in France

It was mid-term autumn break at school, and we went to our house in France for a week of holidays. However, two things were different from other trips. Firstly, Paula couldn't come because at university there are no mid-term breaks, and secondly Dorien had twisted her ankle badly a few days before at freerunning, and she was unable to hike or cycle.

We had great weather all week, even better than most part of the summer, and we spend most time working in the garden: cutting the grass and trimming several trees. Piet managed to have a few bike rides, and Dorien spend a lot of time revising maths and reading an incredibly boring Dutch literature book. Mary practised some of her recently acquired horse training skills on Swallow, the neighbours horse.

Highlight of the week was a short trip south, to Mont Ventoux. One of Piet's friends was there to buy wine, and this was a good opportunity to combine it with cycling up this mythic mountain. This has been on Piet's wish list for some time, and Piet and Dorien continued training for this during September. We met Frits in Bedoin for lunch, and split up: Piet got on his bike, Mary and Dorien (unfortunately!) in the car, and Frits in another car to continue his wine journey. Piet cycled up within 2 hours, and without any problems. The only downside was the strong wind and heavy clouds near the top, many cyclists had to get of their bikes; Piet stayed on. It was bitterly cold at the top, and Piet descended the first few kilometers in the car, as it was too dangerous to cycle. We met Frits again in Malaucene for dinner, and stayed overnight in a hotel.

The next day we joined Frits on a wine tasting and buying excursion, and visited the beautiful villages of Gigondas and Seguret. We ended up with 6 boxes of wine, and drove back to Bassey at the end of the afternoon. 

At the end of the week we made the house ready for winter and drove home to our two lost children: Paula and Beau!

Bassey in the autumn, with the local herd of sheep

Dorien waiting for Piet on Mont Ventoux 


Piet in the Mont Ventoux forest

Piet on the famous "white mountain", the last stretch of the Ventoux 

Dorien at Tom Simpson's monument

and Piet cycling past as well

Nearly there, cycling into the clouds

Arriving at the top

Dentelles de Montmirail, between Malaucene and Gigondas

Suzette, another wine village in the area

Mary in Gigondas


Piet, Dorien and Frits in Seguret

 Piet being harassed by village pony Image

A short trip to Cape Town

Piet went to Cape Town again, for a number of meetings related to his South Africa project. There was little time for sightseeing this trip, and he only managed a few short walks in the evening. It is early spring, and the weather was just turning upwards. Piet enjoyed his stay, the collegues in the office were welcoming as always, and working with them in the same location beats emails, online chats and telephone calls easily!

 View from the office: clouds draping over Table Mountain: "the Tablecloth"

Camps Bay, on the Atlantic coast

Sunset on Cape Town boulevard: walking the dogs