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