Love my English family

We are in Shropshire at the moment spending a couple of days with our English family and they are just wonderful.  We are staying with my cousin, Christine, and her husband Steve and it has just been delightful.  They have looked after us so well and we have had a wonderful day today in Shrewsbury, Much Wenloch (where the modern Olympics were started) and preparing for a Beer Festival.  We are off to dinner tonight but have just had a wonderful day.  Yesterday when we arrived on the train from London and after lunch with Muriel and Chris, Pete, my cousin also, came around and took me fishing for four hours.  It was so relaxing sitting out on Lower Hill Farm by the side of a stocked pond and fishing and talking and barbecueing.  Haven't seen these lovely people for quite a while but it was very easy and comfortable to renew our friendships.  Wish we didn't have to leave tomorrow.

Our last couple of days in London were spent either at the theatre or wandering around places we hadn't been last time we were there.  Went to see Singing in the Rain on Tuesday night which was great fun.  Believe it or not they had it raining on the stage and I think the people in the front rows got a bit wet.  We went to the British Museum and Buckingham Palace and other places in between.  Probably the highlight of our time in London, beside spending time with our good friend, Alana, was going to see War Horse on stage.  It was the finest production I have seen on the stage - anyone who is London soon go and see it - you won't regret it.  We got the tickets just by walking in to the theatre at the right time when someone had just cancelled so we were lucky and then Alana also got a ticket the same way.  We all thoroughly enjoyed the show - it was mindblowing.

Tomorrow we head off to Edinburgh on the train.  Although we are looking forward to this stage of our trip it will be sad to leave our good friends here. 

Congratulations to our baby girl on her fine results in her Uni degree.  Good talking to everyone this week.  Take care.

Love English speaking countries

Writing this from London where we arrived on Sunday after a lovely couple of final days in Belgium.  We had a pretty quiet day on Saturday after our big day in Luxembourg.  Went for a canoe down the Ourthe River which proved a bit of a challenge.  After our float down the Dordogne this was a bit more "dangerous" as the river was quite shallow and full of rocks.  Thank God for kayaks that skim off rocks especially when the water is cool.  Still it was lovely and we find paddling very relaxing.  Caught up on a couple of pubs in La Roche in the afternoon, John visited the "crumbly" - the castle overlooking the town - and we had a nice dinner out.

Sunday we drove acrosss to Lille and caught the Eurostar to London where our friend, Alana Britton, met us with Oyster Cards and good advice and brought us back to her place.  We basically threw our bags in and went down to Greenwich, not far from her place.  The Cutty Sark has now been remodelled and is their in all her glory.  Greenwich was buzzing on Sunday afternoon and we enjoyed walking around and going to a book shop or two, wandering through the market and then having beef and ale pie at the King's Arms.  Perfect. 

Yesterday we got up early to go out to Wimbledon for the first day of the tennis.  We had to sort out a problem with the return of our car in Lille so we were delayed a bit and got there about 8.45.  Well, Lanie and Ben, you will know what I mean when I say the queue was amazing.  We got ticket number 5704 and 5 and they issue 6000 ground passes a day.  It is so well organised and very civilised.  Can imagine this happening in other country and it sends shivers up my spine.  But not in England.  They have it sorted.  We got into the ground about 12.30 - the tennis started at 11.30 - and there we were at Wimbledon.  Had to pinch ourselves.  We went straight to a court where Carsten Ball (the Aussie) was playing doubles and got good seats and watched him.  He did not play well and they lost.  Had a good walk around.  We were surprised - it didn't seem as crowded as we thought it would be.  We got seats at every match we wanted to watch.  It's good going early in the tournament as although we didn't see any seeds you see the up and coming players who are so determined and very well matched.  Think I would rather see that than Federer win 6-0, 6-0, 6-0.  We didn't leave Wimbedon till about 8.30 pm and really enjoyed the day.  It is predicted that the weather will be iffy (well it is England) for the next two days thought today I wake up and it looks good outside. 

Glad you are home safe and well, Phil and Bea, and found that nice apartment.  You did very very well.  We didn't get to see Sam Stosur play but I tell you when we are in the country she always does well.  Like Mark Webber - I hold great hopes for him for the British GP as we'll be here.  Carmel, you look after yourself.  That does not sound good.  Look forward to our catch up on our return.

Take good care everyone.

One more day in Europe

We only have one more day here and tomorrow we are off to London where our good friend, Alana Britton, is meeting us and we will stay with her for four days before heading up to our rellies in Shropshire. 

Belgium has been very relaxing and we have seen quite a bit of the local area.  On Thursday we did a lovely trip to the south where we followed the Semois River Valley and ended up in Bouillon.  All along the river where little villages and scenic outlooks.  It was just lovely. 

Yesterday we had a full day in Luxembourg.  What a great little country.  Apparently it's the only country in the world where its name doesn't fit in its space on the map.  But there's lots to see and we had a delightful day exploring.  Started off in Esch sur Sure a small town set in the loop of the Sure River.  Did a walk here up to the top of the hill.  Well, John went to the top and I went till I couldn't go any more.  Then off to Bourscheid Castle and a scenic drive down to Luxembourg City.  Our first stop here was the Villeroy and Boch outlet shop where we had bought a lot of china years ago.  Well for the price of my dinner set then, I bought a plate.  but it is pretty and I hope gets home in one piece.  Really enjoyed our time in Luxembourg City and did a walk around.  It's a vibrant city and there was lots going on - bands, buskers, outdoor eating etc. 

From there we went to another town on the German border called Ecthernat.  I forget how to spell it but it was also a cutie with a huge monastery and basilica and a quaint town.  We wanted to check out some mediaeval towers which they have turned into apartments and suss them out for future trips.  Vianden was our next stop with its imposing castle and village in the valley.  As John said, if anything happened they obviously would kiss the villagers goodbye.  This was my favourite.  We had a beer there in the shadow of the castle and then drove home via Clervaux. 

So all in all a charming day seeing this wealthy municipality.  Very enjoyable indeed.

Hope all is well at home.

Photos of Belgium

 I'm not good at manipulating these photos.  Sorry they are all over the place.

Cavalry on the charge - Waterloo




 

Legends Tennis at Namur

Dinner with Phil and Bea

Our place is the one on the end at ground level



Bruges



Gotta love Belgian beer



Tyne Cot Cemetry near Ypres



Frites and mayo - no wonder the Belgians are big and strong

Dinant

John's happy in the beer shop

Menin Gate in Ypres - last post played every night at 8



Pat Cash at Legends Cup



At our place by the river

Canon

La Roche-en-Ardenne

It was two very despondent Aussies who said goodbye to the Swiss Alps on Saturday.  We were very happy and relaxed in our mountain chalet and did not relish the thought of a long drive.  We had grown very attached to our lifestyle here and really enjoyed the hiking and beautiful scenery.  But move on we did and we are now settled in La Roche in a beautiful apartment right on the river Ourthe. 

We always knew that on the day after we arrived at this quaint and pretty town, we would go over to Waterloo as it was this weekend when they were celebrating the anniversary of Napolean's defeat.  So we headed off again on Sunday for the start of what would turn out to be a brilliant day.  Firstly we went to a village called Plancenoit and watched a reenactment of the battle.  We sat on a hillside and opposite was a mown field and a huge wheat field.  We then watched for two hours the French and British fight a battle in these fields with canon and muskets and calvary and pipers.  It was really stirring.  We had read where it was not so good and had decided not even to go to the battle reenactment but as we drove right by Placenoit on our way over and people were streaming in we decided we would go.  Got some great photos which I will put up later.

From Waterloo (after going to the Lion Mount etc) we headed for home and decided to pop into the town of Namur for something to eat.  We went for a walk and once again there were people streaming in.  They had set up a clay tennis court in the square outside the cathedral and were playing the Legends Cup.  Well, lo and behold, Pat Cash and Peter McNamara were playing Guy Forget and Yannick Noah.  So we got tickets and sat in the stands and watched three great matches.  John had a chat with Pat Cash and we just had a wonderful unexpected afternoon. 

When we arrived home we had an email from our friends we met in the Dordogne, Phil and Bea, and they were staying in town so we went and collected them and we all had another wonderful dinner together and a catch up on our travelling news.  So all in all a simply fabulous day.

We have visited some of the towns around La Roche including Dinant and Rochefort but none compare to our little town with its meandering river and pretty buildings and wonderful eating places.  The Belgiums offer chocolate, frites and sauce, and beer.  What more could one want in one's diet.  I can't think of anything.  La Roche is a vibrant little town and unlike French villages there is always something going on. 

Yesterday we drove to Bruges and Ypres - this was a revisit - and we enjoyed both these towns again.  Bruges is a gorgeous town with its canals and squares but becoming very touristy.  Ypres has just reopened last weekend its "In Flanders Fields" museum and we spent a couple of hours looking at this and the Menin Gate. 

Today we are just relaxing.  Might go out later this afternoon but need a catch up.  Very happy here and loving this lifestyle of one week in each place. 

Hope all is well at home.  Thanks for your emails.

Deb and John

Val de ree val de rah val de rah ha ha ha ha ha val ...

We have been wandering along the mountain tracks over the last few days and absolutely loving it.  Briefly since I last wrote we did get out on that miserable day and went to the Trommelbach Falls, a glacial waterfall flowing through a mountain feeding all the water from the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau mountains.  It was wild.  The water just pelting through.  Then over to Grindelwald in the next valley.  On Wednesday when we woke up the weather was perfect and we caught the first cable car up to Mannlichen - but alas but the time we got there it was soup.  So we thought we would make the most of a cloudy day and cable car-ed over to First and then did a walk out to the Bachalpsee, an alpine lake.  Most of this walk was done in a blizzard but when we reached the lake the clouds parted and a bit of blue sky appeared.  It was well worth it as the lake was gorgeous.  The good news is that the last two days have been perfect and we have spent up to eight hours in the mountains each day, walking, eating, drinking, gazing.  I will let the pictures do the talking here.  Today we did a glorious walk along the North Face of the Eiger.  John nearly climbed up to the rock face.  The alpine wildflowers are all out and everywhere you look is spectacular.  Our last stop was Mannlichen where the view just takes your breath away.  We have clicked off hundreds of photos but not one will do justice to the beauty of this place.  We both want to come back. 

The Big Three - Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau

Walking close to the North Face of the Eiger

Dinner at Chalet Trogihalten

360 degree views on top of Mt Mannlichen

Our chalet

Our village, Wengen

Up at the Top of Europe, nearly at the peak of the Jungfraujoch, 3450 metres

John at Kleine Schidegge at the start of our walk beneath the North Face

Can you see a grey speck in the bottom right hand corner -
that's John climbing to the North Face

Up in the mountains

Lunch at Alpiglen

Sad news today that George, my friend Carrie's Dad died in Bristol today.  Had a bit of a cry up in the mountains when I said goodbye to them and another one when I read that news.    Hope you enjoy the photos.

We love to go a wandering

along the mountain tracks but when it's cold and very cloudy and wet we would rather stay in our warm apartment and watch Game of Thrones, which is what we are doing today.  Sad but true, the weather is being very fluky and unstable here in Wengen.  Don't know what's happening cause we ordered good weather for this week particularly.  Still it looks like tomorrow might be better, Thursday better again and Friday pretty good.  So we are grinning and bearing it today as the clouds roll in and we can hardly see 10 feet in front of us.  No point in being out today.

Yesterday was another story and we did a glorious walk along the ridge on the other side of the valley out to another little village called Murren.  The scenery is out of this world and for a while we could see (nearly) all of the Jungfrau, Monch and Eiger.  Not for long though.  Still it was a treat and we loved it.  We have bought a pass where we can use cable cars and rack pinion railway at will so really want to get out and get value so at the end of the day we rode the train up to Kleine Schiedegg where you are so close to the big mountains you could reach out and touch them.  You can see the glacier faces (is that what you call them?) and the mighty peaks. 

Murren is the place to go and cable car up the Schilthorn but it was in cloud so not worth going.  We really want to do the trip up the Jungfrau where you can go right to the top but it is very expensive so only worth doing if the sky is clear.  Also we want to go paragliding.  Would be beautiful to do here and although we probably both have reservations about jumping off cliffs we are going to do it!!!!  But this all depends on good weather. 

Not to worry nothing one can do about that so we will enjoy whatever is offered and we both agree this is a place we could come back to over and over again.  Our apartment is extremely comfortable and probably has one of the best views in the valley with a lovely balcony to take advantage.  It is a little wooden chalet so if anyone is considering coming this way let us know and we can help you out with good digs. 

Started using walking sticks yesterday.  Not the cane types but the European types.  It was a great help and I think the Grammar hill would be a lot easier, girls, if we all had a set.

Jungfrau from our balcony

On our walk to Murren

The whole view from our balcony

Inside our sitting room which leads out to the balcony

Hope you are all enjoying our blog.

Dam the expense it's worth it!!!

Cause no other country in the world offers the scenery that Switzerland offers.  Now I know that's a rash statement and many will disagree but for pure spectacular glory I have never seen better.  Mind you it comes at a cost but it's bang for your buck in Switzerland where everything is very organised and clean and easy.  When we went to the tourist office at 5.45 pm yesterday, John said "I can't believe you are open".  Her response "Oh, have you just come in from France, have you?"  It can be hard in France where nothing seems to open till 10, shut at 12 till 2.30 and again at 6.  Nothing open most of the weekend.  You could never call the French stressed.  But maybe that's a good thing cause you could call them fit looking, optimistic and happy.

After a big drive yesterday, took us 11 hours to get here with a few stops, we arrived at the little town of Lauterbrunnen where we have left our car for the week, and caught the little red and yellow train up the mountain to the village of Wengen.  Found our chalet which is beautiful.  Has all the requirements - geranium window boxes, nice balcony, comfortable couch, coffee machine, comfy bed with two pillows, and good shower.

The view from here is drop dead gorgeous.  We look straight up the Lauterbrunnen Valley to the mighty Jungfrau - mind you this has been in cloud since we arrived (the top of the Jungfrau, not the valley) but it's looking promising at the moment and I pop outside every 30 seconds to check if it's out.  There are major waterfalls tumbling into the valley quite nearby.  We are at about 1200 m at Wengen and the mountains tower above us.  It is a dream come true for me and when we had our rum out on the balcony last night it felt very right.

It was sad to say goodbye to Carmel and Gerry and Phil and Bea yesterday.  We had a marvellous week together.  They were great company.  We had a relaxed last day at Le Prebytere.  Carmel and Gerry and John and I went into Souillac and brought some groceries to bring with us.  We had a French cappacino (now that has to be good for you) and a stroll around this delightful town.  Our last dinner out on the terrace was wonderful and a last game of cards.  Thanks guys.  It was a week to remember - hope you enjoy the rest of your trips. 

What an amazing day

We had the most incredible day yesterday.  It was fantastic.  John firstly prepared us a lovely brekky out on the terrace.  Porridge and scrambled eggs seems to be the favourite and it is lucky John is great at both of these.











Canoeing the Dordogne



From there we headed out to do some canoeing.  The plan was that John and Bea would go to La Roque and go on little boats they have there and the rest of us would go canoeing from Vitrac to Beynac.  We called into Vitrac on the way to La Roque to get details of time etc and we asked about canoes for the disabled and he said "no problem".  They had a three man canoe with two actual seats in it.  So there we were the six of us out on canoes with Bea sitting up in the front of one and loving it.  For those of you who don't know her, she has a disease like MS.  She is permanently in a wheelchair and has been for many years.  We were very worried about taking her in a canoe but her and Phil approached it with so much excitement and ease that we had to go along.



We all loved Daniel our French chef, the essential kitchen appliance



Carmel was also pretty worried having had a bad experience once on a canoe.  So off we set with Phil (an old canoer from his fossicking days in the Yukon), Gerry and Bea in one canoe, and John, Carmel and me in the other.  We had the most glorious couple of hours - all of us - paddling past little villages and big chateaux and enjoying the peace and calm on the beautiful Dordogne River.  The company we went with were marvellous and had Bea's wheelchair waiting for her at the other end where there was also a cafe for coffee and hot chips.  It all went perfectly, everyone loved it.



Third course - seafood



We came home and Sam Stosur's match had just started so we sat and watched that.  Pity she lost but I'm sure that Italian girl must be on something illegal.  She did well to get to the semis though.  The owner of our house was here when we got home mowing and fixing up the garden a bit.  He was the most delightful Frenchman, mind you they are all pretty delightful, and gave us three bottles of wine before he left.  It was great to meet him after having a lot of correspondence with him. 



His brother, Daniel, was our chef for the night.  He has been a chef for 30 years and is now retired so Daniel also arrived with all the produce for our meal.  We set our big table inside the 16th century salon and got dressed up for our French meal.



Fourth course



We started eating at about 6.30 and finally finished about midnight.  It was so delicious.  We had seven courses.  First course, which Philippe the owner had with us, was fois gras, a speciality of this area.  Second course, truffles (1000 euro a kilo.  Daniel had bought two little ones and put them in a light egg mix).  Third course, seafood (scallops, prawns and cray) with beautiful sauce and salad.  Fourth course, duck legs and rare mushrooms.  Fifth course, duck breast with sauce to die for and vegies.  Sixth course, warm goat's cheese from Rocomadour and walnut salad.  Seventh course, a beautiful strawberry and custard and cream concotion which was Daniel's signature dessert.  We had eight bottles of wine at the end of the table - all empty - and a couple of champagne bottles in the bin.  So by midnight we could hardly move.  It was just amazing and every mouthful was delicious.  Don't think I will need to eat for the rest of my life.



Fifth course - duck breast



Today (Friday) we are having a day here as it is our last day.  We might pop into Souillac to pick up some groceries to take to Switzerland with us tomorrow but other than that a relaxing day around the pool and packing ready for an early start tomorrow is in order.

This has been a wonderful week.  We have all got on so well and everyone has done their bit - not just in cooking, cleaning, etc but in making our time here fun and memorable.  Thanks everyone for a great week.



Seventh course



Seond course - truffles in omlette

Visiting the villages

Have had a wonderful time over the last couple of days visiting a few of the stand out villages of the Dordogne. On Monday went to Domme and La Roque Gageau (not sure about the spelling of this one) with Carmel and Gerry while Bea and Phil decided to have a quiet day at home.  We had a wonderful day strolling around these two beauties.  Domme is set on a hill and looks out over the Dordogne River and the beautiful countryside in this area.  La Roque is set beside the river and is built into the side of a cliff.  At both places we had walks and coffee and sometimes little pastries that make your body sing (better than bananas!!!)

  

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At Romomadour





Yesterday we went to Rocamodaur, another village set into a cliff face.  You park at the top and it was great for Bea as they had a lift which took her and Phil down to different levels.  This made it easier as the early builders did not have "disabled access" as one of their criteria when they created cobblestones.  I pushed her around in Beynac for a while over cobblestones and it was not easy.  Phil and her are amazing how they handle these situations and they try everything. 

When we got home from Rocomadour, we all went swimming and had champagne down by the pool looking back at our gorgeous house.  It was a wonderful afternoon.  We realised the tennis was on and Tsonga and Djokovic were in a tight tussle so watched that for a while as well.  Lucky we are all avid tennis fans. 

We have dinner out on the terrace every night and always make an effort to have a lovely table setting with flowers etc.  We eat extremely well.  Last night Phil made us salmon and scallops which was amazing.  Cards is pretty popular at night and Phil and I remain the 500 champs though Gerry and John came back last night with Carmel's help. 

So all is well in paradise.  We have our French chef coming in tomorrow night to give us cooking lessons and dinner.  We are all very excited.  We are also going canoeing tomorrow.  So it should be a good day.  Even Bea is considering coming canoeing.  Today we are off to the market in Sarlat.  It is a bit drizzly this morning but seeing as though they predicted drizzle for the whole week and we have had perfect weather think we can put up with that.

Take care and love to all.



Our piece of paradise



Drinking wine in the afternoon ...

Carmel and John on the terrace

What promised to be a rainy day has turned to sunshine and dinner will again be on the flowered terrace with grape vines sheltering us from the sun at 8.30 pm.  Maybe a swim before dinner if the wine doesn't take effect too soon. 

Our room in Le Presbytere

We have definitely landed in paradise at Le Presbytere in Nadaillac de Rouge in the Dordogne area of France.  With four of our friends we are having a wonderful relaxing time.  Met Gerry and Carmel and Phil and Bea in Souillac yesterday and drove our to our beautiful accommodation by about 3 pm.  Cracked out the wine and the pate and the terrine and the olive sausage and the crunchy bread and the camembert and after a swim in the heated pool partied on till midnight.  It was a great day with great friends.  Everyone loves it here and today after a late start we went to a local market at St Cyprien and then over to Beynac to the castle and village.  We now have a glass of wine and are watching the French Open - Stosur about to play. 

Had a very relaxing last day in Languedoc visiting a few villages, basically doing a coffee crawl, and then packing and cleaning and going to Carcassonne at night to see this beautiful town by night.  What a sight.  We both love Carcassonne and the fact that we lived half an hour away let us appreciate it to the full.  Left early to drive up here going via Cahors with its amazing fortified bridge. 



The AA Cult





Carmel and Gerry bought us all a fleece with Aussie Amis France 2012 on so we had this picture taken of all of us looking like cult followers.  Loving it here with very easy company and good wine and food.