This year we went on our autumn holiday to France without kids. At university there is no break between summer and Christmas, so Piet and Mary drove down together, with a trailer (but no horse!). Mary had bought a second hand couch to replace the two old ones in our house, and it was far too large to transport in the car. So Mary borrowed a flat trailer from her brother (used to transport his motorbike) instead of the horse trailer.
The week was spend mainly in the garden, getting it ready for winter. We mowed the lawn, cleaned the ditches, and did some work in our little swamp forest. Piet also took the opportunity to do a few bike rides, including a cycle up Alpe d'Huez. The weather was fine, sunny and relatively cold, and there was already some snow higher up in the mountains.
We also made a trip south towards Gigondas where we met with Frits, who was on his yearly wine trip in the Rhone valley. We visited the historic town of Vaison la Romaine, and then spend an afternoon visiting several wineries to stock up on reds from Beaume de Venice and Gigondas appellations. We had an excellent meal in the evening, and the next morning we did a nice hike in the Dentelles de Montmirail. Unfortunately these two days were overcast and very grey and the pictures of the grapevines in autumn colours with the Dentelles (teeth in French) in the background don't do justice to the stunning reality. After lunch and a last wine stop we drove back to the house to enjoy the last few days, with our own (excellent) red wine in the evening!
Piet is riding his book in the garden
Vaison la Romaine, the medieval part of town
Piet is walking in the narrow streets of Vaison
Piet and Frits are hauling their harvest from Domaine de Durban
Mary is walking in the vineyards of the Dentelles de Montmirail
An overcast, grey day in the Dentelles
The Dentelles is a prime rock climbing area
The village of Oulles in autumn colours
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