Autumn break in France

Piet and Mary went on their traditional October break to the house in France, to enjoy the last days of nice weather and get the house and garden ready for winter. Also a tradition by now is to join Piet's friend Frits on his yearly wine pelgrimage in southern France. After two beautiful sunny days at the house we descended to Bandol on the Mediterranean coast to meet up with him. There the weather turned, and rain started, and lasted until we left the next day. This didn't matter as we planned to visit a number of wineries to stock up on red wine in the afternoon. It is always enjoyable to talk to the proud winemakers, and it makes drinking afterwards a lot more fun!

The next day we did a hike along the coast on Chemin du Littoral. Unfortunately most of the path ran along the Port d'Alon private housing estate, that was closed off from the coastal trail. With signs it was made very clear that normal hikers were not welcome at all! Quite depressing, but probably not the only place along the Mediterranean coast were rich people are hiding behind a fence. The scenery was great, and we will try the other direction next time.
The rest of the week was spend in a relaxed manner reading books, working in the garden, on the bike, and enjoying a hike around one of the nicest villages in the region: Besse en Oisans. As usual the week flew past, and on Sunday we drove back to The Hague, and our third child Beau, who has been suffering from dental problems. More later...

A deer in our garden at dawn

Making plans for a wine tasting afternoon

Frits and Piet are tasting at Chateau Salettes

A case of wine

 At the oenotheque in Bandol

Hiking along the Mediterranean, in the rain

The ruines at Mornas, a stop on the way back to Bassey

Besse en Oisans, one of the most beautiful villages in our region

Hiking near Besse

View towards Plateau des Emparis

 The chapel at Bonnefin

Cape Town - revisited

In 2016 the project in South Africa Piet was responsible for was stopped for various reasons. But like happened many times before another opportunity was matured and a new project landed in Piet's lap. A meeting was arranged in Cape Town with the new partners to start the new cooperation. The first day was a geological field trip around the Cape peninsula, with an opportunity to take some pictures of known territory. This time it was all placed in geological context. The last stop was at the famous penguin colony at Boulders, in Simons Town.

After a meeting on the second day Piet returned home, ending a month with three business trips. Next is a break in France, taking a break from the busy life in The Hague.

Poor weather in Cape Town

Chapman's Peak, a beautiful stretch of road along the Atlantic Ocean

Cape of Good Hope, with Cape Point in the distance

Penguins at Boulders

Young penguin chicks

Returning from a swim

 There are many, many penguins....