two lips

Avery orange Sunday

jump

alps

going green

Global warming... not convinced. Where it was supposed to be cold and white, it wasn't, and yet it was snowing in the north of France. Go figure! So it was a green Christmas in the forests in the Jura hills. Luckily, Santa's reindeer still had a thin layer of white stuff to use; so spoilt as usual.

No it isn't some expired film or magic mushrooms, it is a foggy lens. It was cold out, so as soon as we piled back into the car everything fogged up, including the lens. I like it, think I will try breathing on the lens in future.

This was a recce, in France it is hunting season. Which means that all manly men go out a find boar. Much like Obelix really. I kind of don't mind, it tastes darn good. In order to go get yourself a boar you need to know where to go, so here is the morning scout for the afternoon action. In some ways this makes boar hunting twice as efficient as fishing. With fishing you only really get to escape your family once.

In Paris there is also a hunting season, it is 3 or 4 weeks starting the 6 January, and then again in summer. It's called Les Soldes. Today is the perfect RTT day, snowing in Paris and second day of the soldes. RTT is one of those strange French things that is kind of like a day of leave but isn't. It exists to make you feel better about working longer hours than one should, when you are one of those that doesn't actually clock their hours. Make sense? Thought not. So skip the commute in the snow and take that RTT. Head to the shops where you can do battle with the masses and tread over people and clothes to pay half the normal price. It is that crazy time of year when everything is hugely marked down. Maybe it is too much glass half empty, but sales irritate me when I realise that the rest of the year we're thoroughly ripped off! So grit your teeth and elbow the other shoppers to ensure you're not getting ripped off when the season closes.

It does make one realise that strolling in the forests is a really good way to spend a holiday. All that fresh air, and not too many worries, apart from getting the boots dirty.

Looking forward to the next big meal, bound to be some 'sanglier' on the menu. Not from here, it was too wet to find any spoor. A few were found across the valley though.

It was a pity not to have serious snow, but I like the green. I chilled getaway once again.

Hope you have a wonderful 2010.

Septmoncel to Saint Claude

nature sauvage

2009.99 x-country

So 2009 is almost up, hope it has been a good one for you. This year-end is again in the hills with the snow. White Christmas seems more christmassy... the stomach will need a holiday.

There actually isn't that much snow around, nevertheless the little-in-laws put on their tights and took in some cross country skiing. So what does cross country look like? It could be graceful or fluid. It sure requires technique, and a little muscle. When you're at it, it feels like you heart is tying to escape your chest. The nose is burning cold, but the rest of you is burning hot. It can feel a little off balance (if you're  a beginner like me), but if you know what you're doing, it looks effortless. Unless you're racing, then it seems effortful. Since I'm normally not looking around, and following those more skillful, to me this is what cross country looks like, skaters in the snow:

When one is able to stop and take in the lovely views, one realises it a great way to get around in the white hills.

Wishing you a great 1% of the 2009 that remains, and a wonderful year ahead. I hope it is more than just head down, and it is you who will leave the criss-crosses.

musée guimet

Right now there is quite a nice exhibition on Bhutan at Musée Guimet. Lots of little Buddhas, in just about every incarnation, and painfully detailed thankas telling many a story. One thing is clear, I don't understand what I am looking at.

The museum itself is quite interesting though. That, I don't need to understand, just shoot.

And the avenue alongside. It looks sunny, but it's coooold!

cape of good hope

I never did finish the South Arica trip. We had made it down to Cape Agulhas, from there it was on to  Cape Town and its surrounds.

Stellenbosch, nestled in the Hottentot Holland mountains, with the Cape Dutch architecture. A university town, but also home to great wines, restaurants, golf courses, olives, strawberries... the list goes on.

devolution

Sitting in a plane the other day, I decided that I believe in a supreme being. It has nothing to do with the awe that is still there for each take-off, nor the particularly nasty turbulence I wished we weren't going through. It was more of a negative argument that lead me to god.

When one feels like killing the ambiance of the dinner party, you can always bring up evolution and creation type topics. In general the camps seem mutually exclusive. I'm not exactly sure why it has to be so black and white, but it is. So what has this got to do with my hallelujah moment?

reading

I have proof that the Norwegians drink too much. One can find odd stuff in hotel rooms, but this has to be one of the more puzzling; a bottle opener (like those wall mounted bar ones) in the bathroom on the wall next to the toilet. Go figure? Does one really have to replenish that quickly?

I prefer to have some good reading material.

stiff men on bicycles

Been seeing a few airports of late, and each has its own little peculiarity, but yesterday made me laugh. Imagine having a nice big airport and the possibility to cruise around the place like a madman on a bicycle... now that sounds like fun. Hmmm, not according to the men with well kempt beards and straight postures that cruise the halls of Frankfurt airport on their little wheeled bicycles. I had to giggle.

home

I share home with starlings, daisies and a construction site. On the way home from Paris Photo the crane next door was packed with starlings on every possible surface, the noise made me think of Stephen King's Dark Half, although these weren't sparrows, and they were just sitting there.

I rushed back outside armed with camera, but by then they had flown... so you will have to make do with a picture of just a crane. Paris Photo was a bit like the crane, but for people. Half of the city must have been there. Gazillions of galleries had their little booths, some really great photos, but stacks of... hmmm... well... crap! I think you have to not only be taking something to create them, but equally to enjoy them. It is nice to see that photos can generate so much interest though.

toys

So I mentioned new toys the other day. I am very spoilt. I am now the lucky owner of a Nikon D300s for which I opted to get the Tamron 17-50 mm F/2.8 VC. Last time around I chose the kit lens that gave the largest zoom range, and after a few years with that I decided it wiser to go for something faster and not the all rounder. I haven't done a huge amount of shooting with it, but so far I like the combination, and think the VC is up to Tamron's claims. This together with the decent higher ISO performance of Nikon's latest DX body should make for some fun indoor shooting.

seine

Paris winter grey can get one down a bit, but then there are those sparkly winter days. Not the usual view of the Seine. Apparently, it is from around here where the water for Versailles' fountains are pumped.

Not too schabby for a stroll during lunchtime.

Wishing you a sparkly winter day.

Hoostin

Not a bad place, but I don't think it is my favourite either; the sprawling Houston Texas, where the trucks are huge and the portions even bigger.

The weak dollar makes it an ideal time to shop, so here are some of the first photos from my new toy. Go gently on the criticism, I haven't a clue what I'm doing yet ;)

Garden Route

Between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town on the southern coast of South Africa one finds the Garden Route. Home to indigenous forests, a sea with character and the town of Plettenburg Bay, Knysna, Wilderness, George and Mossel Bay.

It is difficult to say one specific thing for which the area is known. There are of course the forests, and awesome hikes like Otto, Harkerville, Grootvadersbos and Whale trails, as well as beautiful beaches with the surfer's legendary Jeffrey's Bay (affectionately know as J Bay), and whale spotting to be done along the whole coast with the self proclaimed whale capital being Hermanus. On the adrenalin side of things, the south coast hosts the world's highest bungee jump at Bloukrans that disappears into one of the steep ravines, characteristic of the area, and shark cage diving at Mossel Bay and Gansbaai. If all that activity gets to you, there is always the option to chill with a fine white wine and the oysters cultivated in the Knysna lagoon.

Safari time

This time not a new experience, but I don't mind, I could do this all the time without getting bored. Off to one of my favourite spots, the bushveld, more specifically the South African Lowveld. I guess it needn't be the lowveld, just throw in wild with a couple of animals and preferably off the beaten track; a perfect mix.

This time Kruger was a bit odd we saw unusual animals. Lots of kudu males, stacks of marabou storks, quite a few ground hornbills (including a nesting site) and a couple of ostriches. In fact there is a poster in Letaba that asks one to take note of and send information regarding sitings of the following rareish or of interest birds: fish eagle, saddle billed stork, marabou stalk, ground hornbill, kori bustard and secretary bird. We saw them all except the secretary, and lots of them.

It is the most relaxing way to spend ones time, early mornings, early to bed, fresh air and not much to fret about. The perfect antidote to concrete and traffic.

It is something special being able to see the animals in the wild.