What Harry Did Next...

On Saturday we went to Geneva. For two reasons - to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and to buy Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Geneva's a wonderful place when you're English!

So we didn't actually see much of Geneva. We had a brief walk through the old town and the main shopping areas to the lake. We had a very nice lunch on the lake as it was Darren's birthday. Lake Geneva has a very impressive fountain. Called Jet d'Eau, it simply spurts water 140 metres into the air and lets it drop again. Id love to show you some pictures but somehow we've "lost" the camera (I sense a host of parents' eyes rolling). Bit too much of a mystery to go into, suffice to say it looks like we're going to get the chance to discover how good our insurance company are. Typically Mont Blanc has since put in an appearance, gleaming in the sunshine...

Darren finished Harry Potter on Sunday night, I'm about halfway through. If anyone wants to borrow it, let me know and I'll post it on to you - that's one weighty item that I DO NOT want to carry around Europe for the rest of the year! The film is really good. Did you realise that people watching with subtitles actually find out more because they get a translation of all those inaudible whispers...

And so to work. I haven't told you what we've been doing here have I? So far we have harvested:

Oregano (harvest is now over and it's been mown down)
Marigold flowers
Mallow flowers
Cornflowers
Chamomile flowers
Verveine leaves. Lots of them (it's the staple green tea crop. very nice too - slightly lemony, nice with a drop of honey)
Strawberries
Rhubarb (50kg!!!)

It rained heavily last night so this morning we sorted and weighed potatoes (about 180kg) and weeded the tomatoes in the greenhouse. The weeding was fine until the sun came out and it was like working in a sauna! Good for burning off all that cheese I've been eating! I hear that summer has bypassed you all in the UK, so you can console yourself with the thought of us working in such conditions. And I have a very strange tan - standing up in the sun means my shoulders and feet are going a lovely colour but my legs are still pasty white. And my hair is going the same colour as my oldest niece's!

Je Parle Trés Peu Le Français

We seem to have landed nicely on our feet here in France. Our latest farm is a herb garden on the French / Swiss border. The people are lovely, the view is amazing, the work is enjoyable and very interesting. The family speak varying levels of English, but it's all better than our French. We're working on that though, trying to learn some new phrases and words each day.

We're on a mountain called Saléve. Apparently on a clear day you can see Mont Blanc, but it hasn't put in an appearance yet. Francoise - who owns the farm - is taking us up to the top of this mountain in a minute (so this is a short blog!). I'm sure Darren will take some good pics for you all. Our train to Geneva was good fun. We had all day to catch it and still ended up running for it!

Must go now - will elaborate a little more when I next get the chance!!!

Arrivederci!

It's our last day in Rome and we're exhausted! We've done practically all the sights, picked holes in Dan Brown's Angels and Demons, and seen Genesis for the second time in a week. I won't tell you everything we've done (I've only got 20 minutes credit left!), but here are some highlights.

The Pantheon - As is so often the case, the sights you are most indifferent about seeing are the best. This quite literally took my breath away. The shaft of light from the hole in the roof is the first thing you notice when you walk in the door, and the scale and perfection of the dome - especially considering the age of the building - is the most astounding.

The Trevi Fountain - It really is amazing. And quite bizarre that anyone would want to build a fountain quite so large!

Castel Sant'Angelo - We went here on an Angels and Demons pilgramage, but it's definitely worth a look. Hadrian's mausoleum turned Papal fortress, it's reworkings reminded me a lot of the Tower of London.

St. Peter's Basilica - it was hard work in the heat of Rome, but the climb to the top of the dome does provide the best view over the city. And the church itself is simply vast and magnificent.

Pincio - take a walk through Villa Borghese and end at Pincio, with a breathtaking southern facing view over the huge Piazza del Popolo.

Genesis - they were playing at Circo Massimo near the Forum and Colloseum. It was incredibly dusty which made breathing rather difficult, but the dust did at least diffuse the light and make the show look even better. After seeing them from so close at Twickenham, it was great to see the lightshow in all it's glory. The atmosphere was fantastic as well.

Our hotel was right near Piazza Navona, and is fantastic. Never pay full price for a hotel! There's a lovely terrace where Darren's taken some great photos from (hopefully uploaded soon, see the address on the right!)

It's been incredibly hot, but a great start to our travels. Tonight we take the sleeper train to Geneva before heading over the border into France and our next WWOOF farm.

Nearly Gone!

There's just a few more days before we leave the country! It feels a bit odd because we're coming back for Christmas, but 5 months away from ol' Blighty and of course all the friends and family is still quite a long time. We're putting our photos on Picasa, which has a nifty map feature so you can properly see where we've been. How often we get to update it (much like here) who knows. The link is on the right there ---->

We managed to get a car in time for Glastonbury. It was quite an epic experience. The rain and mud might be some kind of tradition, but it makes it all very tiring and you know you'd have a better time if it was dry and sunny. We saw nearly 40 acts in all. My most memorable moments were Carrie Tree in a really vibey little tent on the Thursday, Guy Pratt, some brilliant dance acts and chilling out on Kings Meadow on one of the rare sunny moments. I'd love to go again, I'd just love it even more if it was good weather!

In other news, I am once again a proud Auntie! Lucy Dudman just couldn't wait to see me and spend a little extra time with me, so she was born over a week early last Tuesday. Mother and baby doing really well, as are father and older sister. Aww, I'm gonna miss them two!