The Dents du Midi from the 8-man chair in Les Crosets
It’s January and the annual Queens College ski reunion. This is the 10thyear that old Cambridge friends have gathered in Switzerland, and now France, to remember trips of yore, including the celebrated one to Avoriaz where Ross and I met 40 years ago! Continue reading
Enjoying the glorious weather with cousin Diego Oyarzun Reyes, Dents Blanches in teh background
Christmas was Louise’s favourite time of year and, after my mother died, all four of us would decamp to the mountains to ski and enjoy ourselves. My main job – after cooking – has always been to ‘do’ the stocking for my three dependents…then in the early hours Santa delivers them to the foot of the respective beds. Continue reading
The Haywain triptych by Hieronymus Bosch – a stolen photo!
It’s become a habit to celebrate our joint birthdays somewhere exotic – we are only 6 days apart and yes, I am the older woman. Last year we were in Nicaragua and this year we chose Madrid as it equidistant from Basel and London – plus we’ve only ever been there on business. Continue reading
Sunset on the Dents du Midi
Talk about an Indian summer! Mid-October in Champery and temperatures are over 20 C. Determined to make the most of it we have two good walks, but stupidly I left my walking shoes in London, post-Zimbabwe, and had to buy a very smart new pair, half price in the sale (check them out in the photograph below).
Avenue of jacarandas
I have always found Harare one of Africa’s most tranquil and colourful cities, despite the bad press. Give me Harare over Joburg and Nairobi any day. We always spend a day here on our return from Mana Pools. At this time of year the bougainvillea cascades purple, crimson, golden, and the jacarandas form vibrant lavender avenues along the main roads . Continue reading
Long Pool in the early morning
Back to Goliath Camp Mana Pools, Zimbabwe for the eighth time. As usual we take the whole camp with a group of friends, some of whom are new to Africa and to safaris. In addition to our host and incomparable guide, Stretch Ferreira, we are lucky to have Sean Hind, who is a brilliant birder. We have two objectives: find the leopard that has eluded us to date, and break our birding record of 115 species. Continue reading
To end my week in Switzerland we decide to visit Zurich, Switzerland’s premier city and centre of finance and wealth. As predicted, the weather is grim on Saturday – the main reason for leaving the mountains. We book into our modern boutique hotel, the Marktgasse, right in the centre of the old town, and sally forth umbrellas to the fore. Continue reading
