Vehicular Hiking

The primary reason for our recent weekend up higher into the Alps was to just get away for a few days.  We wanted to go in a direction we don't typically spend any time in so might be fun to explore.   We didn't want to get too far away, yet we wanted to go far enough away we weren't still in our own backyard.

I left it up to Doc Leo to pick a spot perhaps two to three hours away.  He thought he had an area all picked out, so we headed in that direction.  But we'd gotten a later start than expected (I wanted to finish up a particular yard project!), and that ended up changing most of the itinerary.

However, what we ended up doing was mostly exploring the awesome mountains around us and a few little gems hidden within.  I realized it was almost like hiking by car, so I'd like to take you along on our drive.  Roll down your window and enjoy the fresh air!

Une Fête Médiévale

As I mentioned previously, on our recent camping trip we came across a medieval fair taking place in a medieval town.  We've been to two different ones over the years, in much larger settings, so it was kind of fun to check out this much smaller venue.

The first one we ever went to was probably in the first medieval town I ever visited, and it was fascinating, especially coming from the New World that didn't have such old history in the first place.  I think that one is now considered the granddaddy of them all in France, will celebrate 35 years next year, and we went the first time when it was less than ten years old!

The second one was in one of the Loire Valley castles we stumbled upon while on vacation with the family many years ago.  Somehow, we've never taken advantage of checking out others when we've seen them advertised. 

But come along with me now and see how an old Alpine town brings back its history.

Little surprises

Sometimes, life takes a few unexpected twists; and sometimes, those twists lead us down paths to adventures we really hadn't planned on or expected to have.  Our walking into a sports store in search of some new sandals for Doc Leo provided one of those twists.

Instead of finding him some new footwear, we ended up walking out with a new tent we'd been searching for during a number of years.  Our old faithful started rotting in storage, but newer versions 25 years later were far from an equal replacement. Every year we've been so disappointed we couldn't find anything we liked.

While it was frustrating that we had no time to try it out, at least we'd have something for the future.  Then another twist allowed us to actually go away for a weekend.  Here's how it all turned out!

An evening with Carmen

Some British friends of ours decided to treat themselves to a trip to the opera when they came down for their annual winter visit.  After booking about six months in advance, they found that they were going to be unable to attend after all.  However, rather than letting the tickets go to waste, we were asked if we were available and interested.

Well, let's see.  Would it be interesting enough to skip one of our two weekly chorale practices?  What a hard choice! 

Thus, we ditched sweaters and jeans and decked ourselves out in more fancy duds and took ourselves into the Old Town for a delightful evening of culture.