Summer holidays (II)

After Tony's funeral Piet, Mary, Lars and Dorien returned to the house in France, and Paula went on a hike in the Pyrenees, with some friends from her rowing club. This turned out as a typical Lambregts family holiday; we did some cycling, hiking, horse riding and work around the house. After a week Dorien and Lars returned to The Netherlands, as Lars was starting his new job in Shell, and Paula and Jasper came to replace them. The only change was the addition of rock climbing as activity.

Piet and Mary made a small trip to celebrate their 25 year wedding anniversary, and visited the famous Palais Ideal in Hauterives, did a hike around the Hermitage vineyards and finished the day off in the excellent La Cachette restaurant in Valence. The next day a planned hike in the Vercors fell into the water, as it rained most of the day. But this downpour was quite welcome, as it had been warm and very dry the whole month of July.

Hiking between St Christophe and Les Deux Alpes

Lars, Dorien and Piet above the Veneon valley

Ready for a ride

Paula and Jasper made it up Alpe d'Huez

Cooling down in the Sarenne

 Palais Ideal

Sad news

About 6 months ago Mary's brother Tony was diagnosed with a complicated illness in his lungs. The initial treatment resulted in a partial recovery, but he had to give up his work as owner of a professional cleaning company, and was re-adjusting his life. In July Tony had a relapse, and his health quickly deteriorated. In the end he passed away peacefully in his own house.

Mary returned from France to be with him and the family, which was a great support for them. We all managed to be present for the condolence session and funeral. This was an impressive farewell, also due to the presence of Tony's motorclub, who accompanied the procession, and lined up for a noisy 'row of honour' before the start of the remembrance session.
Although Tony looked tough on the outside he had a heart of gold; he was always ready to help anybody who needed it, and found it difficult to sit still. His passion was his motorbike, but also any other motorised vehicle. Despite our years abroad we have kept in touch, and Tony and family visited us in Norway, Malaysia, Egypt and France. He will be truly missed.

Tony Gijsen (1959-2019)

Summer holidays (I)

Our summer holidays started with a family week at the house in France. At the end of the Delft academic year Piet, Mary, Beau, Paula and her study and climbing friend Tim drove through the night, whilst Dorien and Lars took their own car and went ahead during the day to prepare our arrival. After a last minute colic scare with Beau we were happy to arrive safely, and get set up for the summer. Mary and Paula arranged a friend for Beau, which turned out to be Quinaille, who also spend the summer with us in 2017. After three lonely days (we don't count......) he was in his element. Due to health issues with his legs and back Beau will have a relaxing summer, concentrating on eating the grass in our garden.
Dorien and Lars came to relax as well, as they both had a busy year. Dorien has been combining her studies with the position of chairwoman for the Board of Slopend, and Lars completed his studies, secured a job at Shell (!), and had a surgery from which he was still recovering. They were planning an easy summer without commitments, with some hiking and cycling in our area, and a week in Italy with friends.
Paula and Tim, in her usual fashion, crammed a week full of activities with two main trips. The first was the climb of Aguille de Dibona, a very distinct steep needle of rock, visible from afar. Although the climbing level was not that high the main challenge was the airy nature and exposure during their ascent, but they managed without much difficulty.
The second trip turned out to be a family affair. Paula and Mary planned to go to Refuge de l'Aigle, the only mountain hut we hadn't visited in our 20 years in the area. The plan was to hike up to the hut, climb one of the summits in the neighbourhood, and descent. Piet and Dorien joined as well, Lars had to stay and mind the horses, as he was not yet fit enough. The hike up to the hut was an alpine tour in itself, it took 8 hours, and we had to cross many steep snow fields, manage a rocky descent on cables, and cross Tabuchet glacier to arrive at the hut, located on a spectacular point on top of a small rocky outcrop. This day was so strenuous that only Paula and Tim decided to continue the next morning to the summit of Meije Orientale. After they got up at 4 AM they continued on the glacier, but got stuck on an icy slope towards the summit ridge, and had to decide to turn around. Back at the hut we all packed up, and made the long descend back to the car passing the same difficulties as the previous day; with 1800 m of height difference this resulted in muscle pains for the next week (Piet & Mary)!
The rest of the week was spend playing games, looking after the horses, some short cycle rides, and watching the Tour de France in the evening. Then Piet, Paula and Tim had to leave work work, the next holiday and an internship, planning to return later this summer.

Dorien and Lars are cooling down Beau in the Sarenne

Paula, Tim and Lars on Col d'Ornon

Mary in one of the many steep snowfields during the climb towards l'Aigle

Descending towards Glacier du Tabuchet

In the Refuge de l'Aigle

 Refuge de l'Aigle has a spectacular location!

Paula is descending from the glacier

 Mary is arriving at te church in Venosc

Las Palmas

Piet went for 3 days to Las Palmas, on the holiday island of Gran Canaria. This was not for pleasure, but work. He visited a vessel that was starting offshore operations in Mauritania, to make a detailed survey of the seabed in preparation for future activities. Two days were spent on the vessel discussing the operations, cooperation, reporting and other issues. The third day was spent in a hotel for a session with all people that are going offshore, a so-called mobilisation meeting.

In the end there was little time to explore Las Palmas town, that is located on a narrow peninsula with a large harbour on the east side, and a walking boulevard with beach on the western side. In summary: despite the location and pictures below it was not a holiday.....

Piet on the bridge of the vessel

Leaving the vessel for the hotel

Las Palmas beach

Surfing on Playa de las Canteras

Spring break in France

We (Piet and Mary) went to the house in France for our usual spring break. We parked Beau at his horse hotel De Blis, where he would be enjoying a large stable, knee-high straw and lots of time outside. After a smooth drive we spend the first days in the garden, mowing the lawn, planting new fruit trees to replace two dead 'pommiers' (apple trees), and getting everything in order for our arrival in the summer. 

Then we drove to the Provence, to the village of Gordes, where we had rented a small cottage on the land of a retired farmer. We brought the bikes, and did two rides. The second ride was up Mont Ventoux, the famous white mountain dominating that area. As we were both not in great cycling shape we decided to attack from the east, from Sault, where a 20 km gently climbing road brought us to Chalet Reynard, on the main climb to the top. The last 6 km were the steepest, and we both reached the top without too much trouble.

The last day we did a famous villages tour, where we kept seeing the same faces of other tourists during the day. Apparently a circuit from Oppede-le-Vieux, via Menerbes and Bonnieux to Roussilon is on many to-do lists for the northern Provence. We also stopped at Chateau de Canorgues, where one of Mary's favourite films, A Good Year, was shot. We picked up some wine, notably Le Coin Perdu; this wine played a role in the movie, and Mary named our own house the same. For non-French speakers: Le Coin Perdu means 'the forgotten corner'.

The last few days were spend back at the house, with a bit of cycling and gardening, and lot's of reading. After a relaxing week we drove back to The Hague, looking forward to return to France for the summer. 

Mary is planting new fruit trees in the garden

View over Gordes

Cycling around Gordes

Mary is cycling towards Chalet Reynard from Sault

 Almost at the top

We made it!

Descending

 At Tom Simpson's monument

 Buying wine at Chateau de Canorgues

Champlis

This year's trip of the wine and dine society 'Het Derde Glas' by Piet and friends had one key theme: 'the handbrake'. As last year's trip had an enormous amount of driving it was decided to stay close to home, and a combined Champagne and Chablis trip was put together as 'Champlis'. The handbrake refers to the exceptional (and unusual) restraint that was demonstrated by all during the trip, with relatively modest purchases and a half-empty bus at the end.
After an early morning departure from Utrecht CS, and a good deed by assisting two young lady hitchhikers, we arrived in the westernmost part of the Champagne, in the village of Saacy-sur-Marne and winemaker Bombart. After a modest purchase (even a 'zero bouteilles' was noted for one of us!), we continued to Fallet Dart, a short drive away. They are located in a tight meander of the Marne, with vineyards everywhere. We were received by an English-speaking hostess, who presented excellent champagnes, but restraint was displayed again. Unfortunately it was a very grey day with low hanging clouds, making the drive through the beautiful Marne valley somewhat disappointing. When we arrived at the winery of Durdon Bouval, the owner sent us to his house, another 20 minutes away along tiny roads, and far outside the winegrowing region. Here his wife hosted the tasting of several bio-champagnes in their living room, with a bio-zero dosage representing the ultimate healthy option. The evening was spent in Reims, with a seafood dinner and a digestive walk through a deserted town. As the parking of the hotel wasn't open due to road works we had to park the bus in the open; despite some understandable concerns all bottles were still there in the morning.

In the morning we drove to Cote des Blancs, to the village of Cramant, starting a day of 'valuer sur', visiting only known quantities. First stop was Bonnaire where we were served by the house elf, a young lad on a two year apprenticeship, and using us to practice his English. At Moncuit it was the opposite, here the lady of the house, in her eighties, hosted us jointly with an American couple from New York. He was acting as the cheerleader for the house whilst the whole range of champagnes was tasted. A long drive south took us to Buxeuil, in the Cote des Bar, the southern Champagne region. The hostess of Noel Leblond-Lenoir didn't drink a drop of alcohol (!), but managed to sell us a decent quantity, including champagne of 100% Arbane grapes, a rarity. After a short drive to Chablis and a stop at Pommier the evening ended in true 'valuer sur' style: with dinner in Au Fil du Zinc. Recommended!

The following day we visited two houses just south of Chablis, in the Cote d'Auxerre. At Goisot we were hosted in a beautiful cellar. There was little for sale, and the lady of the house explained that in 2017 92% of their harvest was destroyed in a single hailstorm, and that climate change has really affected them, mainly due to unprecedented extremes. At Gueguen the same storm missed most of their vineyards, and they served their wines with a speed that was almost too much for us. But we managed! Now all purchases were complete, and a long drive back to the Belgian coast was next, to the town of Zeebrugge. Here we treated ourselves to a dinner at Restaurant Bartolomeus in Knokke, with 2 Michelin stars. It was full with properly dressed Belgians, and seemed quite stiff at first. The food was superb, and especially the young sommelier impressed us, with his in-depth knowledge and ability to convince us to go off the beaten track, with an excellent Syrian wine as highlight.

The next morning we had a short drive to De Kleine Schorre, a Dutch winery on Schouwen Duivenland. The wines were somewhat disappointing (and expensive) after our experiences earlier in the week, but their parking was perfect to sort and repack the wines. With an arranged pick-up by Mary at a petrol station near Rotterdam Piet and his wines ended up safely at home. Re-tasting is next!

Tasting at Fallet Dart

Happy at Moncuit

Loading the harvest at Moncuit

Serious business in the cellar of Pommier

The Grand Cru slopes in Chablis

High up in the Chablis Grand Cru, in the early morning

In Goisot's cellar

Piet and friends at Gueguen 

 Repacking at De Kleine Schorre

Nouakchott

One of the new projects Piet has been working on is offshore Mauritania. Like most of the projects in Africa the work is mainly done from the head office in The Hague, with support from a small team in country. In Mauritania this is still in its infancy, and the local Shell office is based in a hotel, with a Dutch country manager, and two Mauritanian staff.

To support progressing the project Piet, and a few colleagues, travelled to Nouakchott, the capital (an excellent quiz question!), located at the coast. This is a sprawling city, with typical Middle East and North African characteristics, only less developed than most places. Many roads are still unpaved, whilst new office blocks are being build, and are in various states of completion (or not). Piet and team met a number of stakeholders in the government and the state oil company, visited the potential new office and worked on the project from the hotel.
Next to work there was also an opportunity to see something of the city. They visited the fish market at the beach, and the local market in the Cinquieme and Sixieme districts, with many small shops and stalls, and an incredible amount of rubbish everywhere. Unfortunately the weather wasn't great, with strong winds and a lot of dust and sand in the air. The sun was not visible during the week.
Mauritania is an islamic country, and is completely dry. So no alcohol during dinner! There is hardly any entertainment, but the restaurants are of good quality. So as a place to live or to go on holiday Nouakchott is quite low on most lists!

View from the new office building

On the beach; there many, many small fishing boats

Nouakchott fish market

Nouakchott beach: small boats till the horizon

Nouakchott business district

The main mode of transport at the local market

Oranges from Morocco for sale

The pots and pans shop