Piet and Mary went for a week to the house in France, for their traditional autumn break. They had no big plans, and just wanted a week to relax and get the house and garden ready for the winter. The weather was nice, sunny and a bit cold, but good enough to work in the garden and for a few bike rides. As Mary is still suffering from her achilles tendons they didn't go for any hikes, but she was able to walk around the garden with her noisy tools. Piet managed to cycle up Alpe d'Huez, but noticed that being 6 weeks off the bike doesn't help!
Around the house the main projects of this summer were finished by one of our neighbours, the owner of a large construction company. The cables and wall anchors were placed in the barn to complete the stabilisation project. In addition the gate, that was brought over from Egypt, was finally installed. Due to the weight of this gate separate concrete pillars had to be constructed, but now there is an entry that matches the rest of the house.
Also a tradition by now is to catch up with Frits, one of Piet's old friends from university, who is always in southern France in October to stock up on his wines. This time the village of Mazan was the meeting point, and after visiting 3 wine houses (Fondreche, Pigeade and Amadieu) they landed at Les Florets, a nice hotel in the Dentelles de Montmirail, in Gigondas. The remainder of the day was spend on the terrace, and finished off with an excellent dinner. The next day Piet and Mary left Frits to buy some more wine, and drove slowly back along some scenic roads, to screen the area for nice villages and hiking opportunities for the next visit.
The highlights of the week were the absence of an alarm clock, internet and the opportunity to read books and newspapers at leisure, and of course drinking a nice glass of red wine in the evening!
The highlights of the week were the absence of an alarm clock, internet and the opportunity to read books and newspapers at leisure, and of course drinking a nice glass of red wine in the evening!
Mary sitting on our new wall
The new gate - finally!
Mazan
View on Mont Ventoux from Mazan
Frits and Piet are discussing wine at Fondreche, Mazan
Gigondas, winery Pierre Amadieu
Piet and Frits are discussing the worlds' problems at Les Florets
La Garde-Adhemar, one of the many beautiful villages in the Rhone valley
La Garde-Adhemar
Getting ready for the last bike ride
No comments:
Post a Comment