Smoke On The Water

Last week it rained. A lot. This meant we couldn't do too much work, which sounds great but is actually quite depressing. We did go to Annecy one day - it's the biggest town in the Haute Savoie department, and has a very pretty old town. We spent the day browsing shops, and ended with a crépe. Last week we also had proper fondue which was delicious and very good fun!

On Saturday there were the closing fireworks for the Geneva festival. As we had the day spare we went in early to watch Ratatouille at the cinema. We then struggled to find a good spot to see the fireworks but we did ok in the middle of a closed street. Most importantly it had a barrier that no-ne else was leaning on where Darren could set up his replacement camera. We couldn't see much of anything low down but the big bangs during the 45 minute display were spectacular and at times relentless!

Yesterday we went up a mountain. We took the train to Chamonix and a cable car up l'Aiguille du Midi. In two stages it takes you to 3777m, a height gain of 2800m in just 20 minutes. It's fair to say that your ears pop! We went up to the top, then took a much smaller cable car across the Vallée Blanche and Glacier du Géant to Helbronner in Italy. We had a beer there (hmm, beer and lack of oxygen, probably not a great idea!) We then came back and took a lift up to the peak of l'Aiguille du Midi, another 60m. At 3842m (12605ft) it is the highest point you can get to in Europe without putting on lots of gear and hiking! Unfortunately the cloud had drifted over us so we didn't get any view at all. On the way down we stopped at the midway point to watch the cable cars go over the edge, then headed back into Chamonix for some food.

Alpine Adventures

Sorry I've been neglecting my updating duties! What have we been doing over the last couple of weekends..?

The weekend before last we walked up Le Petit Saléve. It was a 5 hour round trip, up the smaller peak of the mountain (899 metres) and back down through the nearby village of Monnetier Mornex. The hike was mainly through woodland but the paths were good and we had a nice view of Geneva through the trees at the top. There was a wedding going on in Monnetier, and we found ourselves having a well deserved beer amongst English accents!

Last weekend we spent another Saturday in Geneva. We had to report our camera missing for the insurance company (that was fun - the policeman didn't speak English and our French hasn't improved enough yet!) We then walked right up to Jet d'Eau, then back around the lake to Jardin Botanique. despite all the signs being in French it was quite interesting, especially the rockery area whiwh had examples of plants from mountain ranges all over the world. Geneva has an annual festival which began last Saturday and finishes this Saturday - we'll be joining the family as they head into the city to watch the fireworks. After the pace and quiet of our first visit Geneva was packed and the rides and food stalls have turned Lake Geneva into an English seaside resort!

On Sunday we joined our hosts Francoise and Bernard for a hike. We thought they knew where they were going. We were wrong. It all started so well, but we then found ourselves traversing overgrown and very steep woods with no path. What with the altitude and unusual (for me) amount of exercise my breathing became difficult and it ended as quite a directionless chore just to end up where we started. Thankfully it was too late to try to re-conquer the mountain and time for a much needed beer.

We've been joined by a German girl, Sara, who is just 17 but has fantastic English and is here for her summer holidays to try to improve her French. Really, these Europeans put us to shame when it comes to languages!

We've had a bit of rain here so there have been a few indoor jobs to door - peeling apples, stoning plums, filling jars and bags of the final product. We've also had to do more back-breaking weeding as well as the harvesting - lots more flowers, plus lemon thyme and hysope. Darren has been putting his culinary skills into action with a curry (Sara's first!) and I've been roped into baking the banana bread recipe that we picked up in Cornholme. I have a feeling we'll do quite a lot of transplanting recipes from one place to another...
Darren's added a few photos that he's taken with his phone - we should have a new camera by the weekend so I'm sure there will be plenty more photos on the way!

We're in the Alps for just one more week before we head to our next WWOOF. This will be west of here near Limoges. The easiest way by train is from Geneva via Paris, and as all the discounted standard class tickets had gone it's cheaper for us to go first class. Who said that travellers have to slum it?! We'll be there for a month, then we're taking a weekend in Marseille to see Steve Hogarth before probably heading towards the Pyrenees.

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!

Down On The Farm

We're staying on a farm halfway up a Pennine hill right on the Lancs / Yorks border. We eventually made it on Monday night and got instantly treated to a slap up meal. Let me introduce you to the family...

The farm is owned by Ben and Penny, who are both full-time anthropologists and live in the house with their 12 year old daughter Laurie and Pickle the cat. There is currently a Kiwi WWOOFer here called Bryony, who has stayed for 3 months but is leaving on Monday. There are four goats - Cheeky the male, Misty the mum and Coco and Fudge her daughters - and three chickens.

We're living in what's affectionately known as The Piggery. It's an out-building to the main house, and as well as housing pigs it has also formerly been a grave and a bridal suite. It's slightly spooky but quite cool as well. The worst thing is the stream that runs down behind it - it can be quite a palavar to get out of your sleeping bag and go to the main house if you need the loo!

On Tuesday Bryony showed us the ropes and we set to our main project - creating a level place for a trampoline. You see, a trampoline is rather dangerous on the side of a large and pretty steep hill. So we've been digging trenches and then filling them back in as we work by a bit of trial and error. Hopefully we can get it complete before we leave.

On Wednesday I milked my first goat! Misty was very obliging, and althought I squirted more up my arm than in the bucket the first time, my attempt yesterday was a bit more successful. Bryony thinks I'm a natural, I'm not so sure (stop sniggering at the back there!) The goats are fantastic and my favourite task. They all have their own personalities, and watching them happily munch on grass is a wonderful thing. As is drinking a cup of tea made with the milk you squeezed out yourself - all very satisfying. We took them up to the top of the hill to graze on Thursday. Walking up that hill is hard work on it's own, being dragged my a goat made me realise just how unfit I really am! As well as drinking the milk Ben also makes cheese and yoghurt.

I've also done my first weeding, planting (runner beans) and pruning (cherry tomatoes). Us three WWOOFers spent most of yesterday pulling a huge amount of bracken out of the ground. It's nice to do things where you see the results so quickly and so obviously. The weather's been gorgeous, although it's been a bit hot for all this manual work. It's a fairly leisurely atmosphere though, and we always make sure we stop for a cup of tea or a good feed.

The food has been fantastic. Ben's an excellent cook. It's all been veggie, and I haven't missed eating meat at all (although we got fish and chips after we came back from a nearby town to watch the footie!) Yesterday we had a great combined effort for lunch, making a Mexican bean stew with guacamole and nachos.

The car has broken down so we missed the Marillion gig on Thursday (absolutely gutted!) Not sure if it's repairable, or what we'll do over the next few weeks. Could be a bit awkward getting to Glastonbury...

I'm physically quite exhausted, but I've been really enjoying working out in the open air. The views are fantastic, I'm starting to get a nice bit of a tan and I might even be a little less scared of spiders than I was a week ago!

OK, off to see if I can find somewhere nice for you to view my pictures from...

Get It Together Girl!

OK, what's this blogging thing again? Ah yes. Well I've been distributing this address out to a lot of people lately, so I figured I'd better make an effort to post at least once before "the trip". We've got less than a month before we're kicked out of the flat, and we've got a LOT of stuff to get rid of in the meantime. So if anyone wants to buy anything (and I mean pretty much ANYTHING) please let me know! We're doing a boot fair this weekend, but our boot doesn't hold much so I'm not sure how successful that's going to be. Still it's only a fiver, not much to be lost.

We've started buying the bits and pieces we need as well. We still haven't negotiated the minefield of insurance, and I still haven't properly got my head around what to do with money but I've started doing some important shopping and we've also joined WWOOF UK - this will keep us occupied until we leave the country in July. We're planning on WWOOFing all over the world, so it'll be the perfect starting point we think.

Anyway, can't chat long. Many things to be done...