France (2025 - IV): summer

It was quickly time again to return to France, where we spend most of the summer. With the exception of a weekend with Paula and Jasper we had no visitors, and settled into a regular rhythm of walking with Pippin, bike rides with the local club UC Oisans, Pippin's training with the local Mountain Dog group, and work around the house and garden. Rides with UC Oisans were arranged twice a week: on Tuesday for the Col Series, when one of the roads in the area would be closed for traffic in the morning, and a Sunday morning social club ride, starting with coffee at Cafe de Paris (and the compulsory group photo!). Our evenings were spend watching the (recorded) Tour de France stages, and enjoying a glass of wine. We had a very relaxing time! 

We only did two longer hikes, as we are somewhat limited as Pippin is not allowed into the Parc National des Ecrins, or in any of the mountain refuges in the region. We did a two day trip from Entraigues to Corps and back, with an overnight stay in a hotel, and a long day hike to Lac de Belledonne with Paula and Jasper. We attended some of the local evening food markets, improved our canoeing skills and saw the pros of both the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana cycling by rapidly. As always, time flew, and before we knew we were driving back to The Hague again, with the outlook of one more trip to France, in October.

Fixing the gutters of our house

Pippin is trying to catch fish

A common sight at the Tour de France: the publicity caravan

The peloton charging up the Col du Glandon

Tadej Pogacar in the yellow jersey

Quinn Simmons "Captain America": the most colourful rider of the Tour

Day 1 of the hike to Corps

Col d'Hurtieres, above Corps

Notre Dame de la Salette is a very large monastery above Corps

It was very hot in the afternoon

The second day of the hike: Mary's Ascension celebration at Notre Dame de la Salette

On Col de la Croix de Fer, with Kevin and John

Mary and Sharon canoeing on La Rive in Bourg d'Oisans

Col Series: Col d'Ornon

Jasper, Piet and Paula in Villard Reymond

Lac de Belledonne

Mary on the hike back from Lac de Belledonne

Pippin and Jasper are waiting for the rest

Vuelta a Espana: the peloton is chasing the last rider of the breakaway

Vuelta: leader of the race in the red jersey: Jonas Vingegaard

Mary cycled up Alpe d'Huez during her last ride of the holiday

60

After the wedding season we came back to The Hague to celebrate the 60th birthdays of Piet and his friend Jochem. We did a boat trip through the canals in Utrecht, drinking several bottles of Champagne, followed by a dinner in a converted church with Het Derde Glas, partners and some of the kids. Another memorable evening, and luckily Dorien and Lars managed to join as well, just back from France themselves.

The remainder of the time in The Netherlands was spend in and around the house, mainly getting the garden in order, and supporting Mary's parents. But the Alps were calling again...

Boat trip in Utrecht

Mary and Jochem

Dinner with family & friends

Partners in crime since 1977!

Wedding season

Dorien and Lars planned to get married and decided to split the celebrations into two parts: a civil ceremony in The Hague, and a party at our house in France, a place they both love, and have spend almost all their holidays.

On the 25th of May a small group of family and close friends gathered at the townhall of Leidschendam, after Dorien and Lars got some stunning pictures taken in the beautiful Clingendael Park. Here they were married by an official civil servant and signed their wedding contract. Afterwards there was a Champagne toast at our house, and a dinner close by. The great thing was that Dorien's grandparents, with whom she is very close, could attend the whole day.

Four weeks later a much larger group gathered in the area near our house for three days of activities. On the Friday it was outdoor day, with a cycle & run up Col d'Ornon and/or Alpe d'Huez in the morning, and a hike, swim and puzzle at Lac de Buclet in the afternoon.

On the Saturday we prepared our garden, and one of their close friends re-enacted the wedding ceremony, and Dorien and Lars exchanged their vows and rings. This was followed by an informal dinner, and a party with live band at the nearby Goodwin Brewery, owned by one of our (former) village neighbours. And to finish things off we hosted a brunch on Sunday; by the time everybody left the 4 of us were exhausted, but very happy with how the whole wedding went: the weather was great, the guests mixed well, and food & drinks were to everybody's satisfaction. Dorien and Lars will not easily forget these few days!

On top of all of this we had another wedding, of our nephew Jeroen, with his Hannah. In between the two weddings described above, the whole family drove over to Turnhout celebrating another great event!

Dorien and her proud parents after the civil ceremony in The Hague

Pre-wedding activity: cycling up Alpe d'Huez with our nephews

Pre-wedding activity: at Lac de Buclet with Lars' parents

The guests are eagerly anticipating the start of the ceremony at our garden in France

The happy couple!

France (2025 - III)

Our third trip to France was in the middle of the wedding season (see next post), but was also part of the change after leaving Shell. The first week Piet prepared for, and participated with Alpe DuZes, one of the largest charities in The Netherlands, that is collecting funding for cancer research. The aim of the event is to walk, run or cycle up Alpe d'Huez as many times as possible during a single day, with the ultimate goal of cycling up and down six times. Piet joined the local team from Bourg d'Oisans, and collected more than 2,000 EUR sponsorship; many thanks to all that contributed! Part of the fund raising was a bake sale on the local market where the team members sold their home-made products. 

The day itself started in the pouring rain, and after the first climb and descent Piet had to be undressed by Mary, put under a hot shower to defrost, and slowly warm up again with 6 layers of clothing. Once the rain stopped the weather was pleasant, and Piet managed another three ascents. Mary joined her friend Sharon for a single cycle up, enjoying the cheering and general great atmosphere along the route.

The following weekend Dorien, Lars and Ollie arrived for a week of tele-travail from the house, and we left for the Ardeche to have a short holiday in a different part of France. We hiked and cycled in this very touristic region, close to the famous Pont d'Arc, and stayed in cabin on a large, luxurious campsite on the river. After this break we returned for a week of wedding prep with Lars and Dorien, but we still had time to cycle, see the pros at the Criterium du Dauphine on the Col du Glandon, walk with the dogs, and work in the garden. Once the first guests arrived we acted as hosts for about a week, with wedding activities spread over three days. The last few days were hot, and next to cleaning up we did very little; we were all tired. After almost 4 weeks in France we drove back to The Hague to see Mary's parents, and to celebrate Piet's 60th birthday.

The local team from Bourg d'Oisans, participating with Alpe DuZes

Alpe DuZes, after Piet's third ascent

UC Oisans ready for a Sunday club ride to Col de la Croix de Fer

A typical scene from the Ardeche, at our campsite

Cycling along the Ardeche

The Pont d'Arc, one of the most famous sites in this region of France

Hiking in Salavas, Ardeche

Criterium du Dauphine: Matteo Jorgensen is leading Pogacar and Vingegaard on the Col du Glandon

Dorien and Lars are watching the pros cycling up this very tough climb

Before the descent, in our family team kit

Post-wedding activity, with Piet's sister and her partner

Cascade de la Pisse, with Pippin and Ollie

Mary at La Danchere

France (2025 - II)

End of April Piet ended his job with Shell, after the umpteenth reorganisation he had to go through. There were many reasons for this decision, but the main thing was that both Piet and the company parted on good terms. And what is better to start the wind-down, after more than 35 years in the oil industry, than a break in our house in France!

We drove down the day after Piet handed in his laptop and entry pass, arriving in a bit of chaos around the house as we finally managed to get the local mason to upgrade our terrace. The old terrace was one of the first things we did after we bought the house, and after more than 25 years was in need of replacement. The result is great, as is the timing, as we will receive many guests for Dorien's wedding party in June. We also managed another visit to Paula and Jasper in Lausanne, staying overnight in their new apartment in Pully. We did two great hikes in the area, and cheered the pro cyclists racing the Tour of Romandie, whilst catching up on their new life.

Back at the house we spend many hours in the garden, getting it back into shape after the winter, and warm spring. We both did several rides with the local cycling club UC Oisans, and of course had a daily walk or hike with Pippin, who greatly enjoyed his time in dog's paradise. We also had the opportunity to catch up with our friends in the village and surroundings, and time passed quickly, as usual. We had to return to The Hague for an excellent reason: the upcoming wedding of Dorien and Lars.

Piet's last day at Shell

Mary in La Danchere, with her new outfit from the local cycling club

Le Rosai, near Alpe d'Huez

The first riders of the Tour of Romandie

The peloton speeding past

Croix de Chatel, in the Jura near Lausanne

Enjoying a glass of local wine from Pully

Lunch on Le Folly, overlooking Lake Geneva

Piet cycling towards Huez, with his friends from UC Oisans

Pippin enjoying a walk near our village