Welcome Guillaume!

Name: Guillaume Alban
Born: 28 October 2008 at 1.56am
Weight: 2.230kg
Height: 46cm


So here he is at last..our little treasure.......

Autumn in the Alps

Today was one of those days where the clear blue skies and still air begged you to take a ride up into the mountains, however it's not easy to find a walk with stunning views which is suitable for someone 38 weeks pregnant and should not really walk 1) far, and 2) vertically.



Ignoring common sense, we made our way out and up into the Massif des Brasses, only a 40 minute ride away. The Brasses is a small collection of 'grassy knolls' on the edge of the Vallee Verte, topping out at the Pointe des Brasses at over 1500m altitude. We stopped at La Joux, right at the southernmost tip of the range. The views are awesome, with 'ole familiar' (Mont Blanc) front and centre. Autumn was gloriously creeping down the hillsides too towards picturesque villages down in the valleys below.


The walk was easy too, and for those of you worried, Vero took her time which was fine by me as we stopped often to absorb the scenery. Short but very very sweet, especially considering the fact that it was probably our last chance for a long while to do such a thing together... next time we will have a little someone else with us :-)

What's around the corner?

So after the customary blog hiatus (this time a good 2 months), here's some latest news from life in the nothing-y bit between a big lake and some big hills.



The imminent arrival of our first child (better known as 'Stumpy') has pretty much occupied things, and opportunities to go somewhere which is not a shop selling baby related goods have been limited. The worst being endless attempts to find the cot...but we got there in the end. But hang on, what about Sundays...surely we have made the most of those as the shops are shut (thankfully). Oh.. sorting out the all the stuff we buy on Saturdays and arranging the baby's room has filled those up. Not really 'photo opportunities',


However, since our last update we have had a couple of trips to Ruy (the garden in Ruy was looking excellent by the way so some pics are included), the first of which was spent going car boot sale crazy. We grabbed several bargains for Stumpy so we are not complaining. We have also had a couple of Sunday visits from friends and family which is also a nice way to spend the day - always a good excuse to cook some nice food and buy some even nicer cheese!

Despite our busy weekends, there is always an hour or so free where we can escape either up the Saleve or into the Swiss countryside near our home (already well photographed and documented). I also got the chance for an evening cruise on the lake with work which was a nice way to chill out (if you don't know which lake its the big one just north of where we live).

As for the region, its slowly turning from summer to autumn, the weather has been fairly calm without being spectacularly hot, the vines have been harvested, the chestnuts and mushrooms have been ravaged by chestnut and mushroom crazy frogs and yes, those amazing autumn colours we witnessed last year are once again starting to appear. There was even some snow in them hills a couple of weeks ago...



Stumpy (we promise to stop calling the baby that when he or she has a real name), is due to arrive sometime the week after next, so hopefully this weekend, weather permitting, we will have a last stroll in the countryside (not too far from a maternity ward). Vero is now on leave so she is enjoying her last few days of relaxation before the fun really begins.

So, life changing times are indeed around the corner. The arrival of the little one will bring a whole new dimension (or two) which we are really looking forward to. For those of you who know us really well, you will realise it has been a long struggle to get here and we will truly regard our new family member as our own little miracle....

Big Brothers and Little Brothers

So as part of his European Tour , little bro' Neil came to stay with us for a few days. His account is now posted, however for all you blogfan(s) out there here is an extra dose of our Savoyarde shenanigans...

Friday 1 August 2008

Weather: wet but not miserable!!

Despite the great weather Neil has brought to Europe, he clearly forgot to pack some Spanish sunshine in his suitcase for his arrival. Nevertheless, we picked him up from a busy Geneva airport and headed home for a nice lunch. Setting the tone for the rest of the weekend, pork and cheese related items were on the menu. The afternoon was spent in our now regular tourist haunt of Yvoire dodging showers and eating enormous ice creams. We stopped off at Geant casino on the way home to buy some more pork and cheese (we eat nothing else here you know) and then had a traditional (winter) raclette for dinner.

Saturday 2 August 2008

Weather: Sunny intervals

The rain passed and after a morning raid to the boulangerie for some pain aux raisins, we awaited a second arrival. Véro's big bro' Philippe was going to join the fun for the weekend.

With plenty of cheese and pork related sandwiches in tow we drove to the Col de Joux Plane near Samoens for a little walk, some larking around and some open air dining by a little lake.



We had to dodge all the little frogs abandoning the lake (I think someone turned up with a barbecue) - I hope we did not stand on too many else the French Gross National Product may take a nosedive soon. We returned via Morzine and the Dranse valley, spotting some Chevreuil (mountain goats) whilst stopping for ice creams in a roadside tat shop. A little stroll (and some sleep Philippe?) around Thonon's lake shore followed before we headed back to camp.



A quick beer on the balcony and a shower and it was then into Geneva for some night time sightseeing where everything was nicely illumited. We joined the crowds for the fete de Geneve and fireworks... oooh aaaah fe-der-ah






Sunday 3 August 2008

Weather: Le Grand Beau


So we went to Chamonix and to the top of the Aiguille du Midi (some 3800m altitude). Pictures would tell a thousand words if the camera battery did not give up the ghost just after getting of the cable car. Thankfully I had my mobile (oh and Neil) to bail me out.



For those of you concerned about the welfare of the mother to be at such an intoxicating altitude, she stayed down (well nearly 3km down as the crow drops) in the valley, taking the Montenvers train to the Mer de Glace glacier at a modest 1900m above sea level. No photos but we will go back one day.



Going to the top of the Aiguille di Midi had been on my 99 things to do before I become too french and cannot be bothered and was totally blown away by the experience. If only I did not have that strange spinny headache...maybe I need to go back for some more altitude training.





Monday 4 August 2008

Weather: Sunny with a hint of cheese

Todays excursions took me and Neil up the Borne valley to the trendy ski resort of La Clusaz where the lack of snow did not mean any lack of people. With every imaginable Alpine summer activity available it seems like a great place to take the family for a week. If all fails you can always give the kids a day pass for the luge ride and sneak up to the plateau de Beauregard for some quiet time, where the views of the Aravis range is quite stunning.



Lower slopes of the Mont Blanc massif also made fleeting appearances through the breathtaking Col D'Aravis, which is a moutain pass like no other dwarfed by two giant rocky peaks. It looks like a giant dentist has come along and pulled a tooth out of the mountain range!


So lets take a detour home I thought...err Lake Annecy was the next stop where we patiently trundled the car through the heavy traffic and stoped for a photo op and a paddle at St Jorioz.



Onwards we went and the next stop was the interesting and quite vertiginous (is that a word if not I like it anyway) Ponts de la Caille. Bungeeeeee...


Finally I took up up the south western 'face' of the Saleve where the clouds had lifted on the Alps and the last of the days sun was lighting up Mont Blanc. I dont think that even on the top the Aiguille we could see as far and as clear as we could see right now..all of the French, Swiss and Italian Alps (sorry couldn't see any Australian ones) were perfectly present, including the Lord of the Rings-style Dents du Midi, a rare sight indeed from so far away.



Tuesday 5 August 2008

Weather: La Grillade

Hot hot hot so lets stomp the pavements of the cool, hip and trendy Geneva (probably not that cool judging by the usual omnipresence of 60 year old paris Hilton wannabies carrying micro-canines). OK so we had some misfortune along the way which Neil has well documented, however the Starbucks dark mocha frappucino, the trips across the lake on a bus ticket and the beer and flammenkuche all made up for it.





One thing I have not done too much lately was take the inevitable tourist photos of the Jet D'Eau but the sun was obligin me to try for something a little more arty.



Neil was dispatched on his way to Blighty with a sack full of chocolate and for me, it was back to work having now brought this short summer holiday from home to an end...



So this is what you can expect if you ever fancy a visit...the hotel is now officially open.