A few pictures of the last few months of 2022. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Piet was asked to go to Windhoek again to support the local team for the Namibia project he has been working on since 2013. He spend two weeks in the office working on many aspects, to get ready for an offshore drilling campaign that will start in December. They also took the opportunity to visit the Orange Babies, a charity that is sponsored by Shell, to deliver books that were collected in The Hague.
He spend two weekends, and took the opportunity to visit Dusternbrook Farm and Eagle Rock Lodge, to relax and spot some wildlife. These places are close to Windhoek, but feel like the middle of nowhere. He also spend time to catch up with long term colleague and friend Dennis, who leads the local team. Hopefully this was not his last trip!
In October we went to our house in France again, for a week of work, followed by a week holiday. We had variable weather with some days of rain, but also sunshine. And when the sun is out the colours in the mountains are stunning! In between work we did several hikes with Pippin, and discovered some new trails in the valley, after 25 years of exploring the region. It was also hunting season, and and we had to make sure Pippin was wearing his yellow vest ('gilet jaune'), to avoid he was mistaken for a deer.
The second week Piet managed some bike rides, and we made our traditional pelgrimage to Gigondas, to meet our friends Frits and Paul, and to stock up on red wine. Also in that area (Dentelles de Montmirail) we did some hikes to make sure Pippin would sleep quietly in our hotel room. The second day we went to Chateauneuf du Pape to taste some of their expensive wines, and buy few bottles only.
The last few days were spend cleaning the house and the garden, and making it ready for the winter, as we don't know when we will return. All was not helped with almost a day without electricity in the village. After the drive home Piet had 2 days to prepare for his next trip: Namibia!
We spend many weeks in our house in France during the summer, the first part of the holiday with several visitors, the second half with just the three of us (counting Pippin as one). It was very hot in July, and more pleasant in August. Our days were filled with the usual activities: cycling, hiking and work around the house and garden. Piet also did some days of 'teletravail', working from home.
Piet had trained several months for L'Etape du Tour, a cycling event on the same roads as the Tour de France stage (see previous post). Unfortunately he contracted Covid-19 the day before, and had to cancel. His cycling mates Marcel and Ragnhild, who stayed with us, did participate, and did really well. Piet recovered in a week, and was back on his bike again.
To keep Pippin sharp Mary joined the local dog training with several private behavioural lessons, and a weekly agility training, something he really had to get used to. In the end he mastered his fear for tunnels, and understood most of the obstacles. The last lesson we took many pictures, and a few are shown below. Back in The Hague we handed the keys to Dorien and Lars for their French holidays.
This year the Tour de France arrived in Alpe d'Huez again, after an absence of 4 year. This time the stage started in Briancon, and passed the Cols du Galibier and Croix de Fer. As usual we walked up halfway, with Paula and Jasper, to see the publicity caravan and the cyclists. The stage was won by Tom Pidcock. The next day the Tour left from Bourg d'Oisans, and once the whole circus left normal life returned to the valley. And during these three days of madness our garden remained an oasis of peace!
