Barbara's travels continue 2018

After a lovely trip from Nyon to Lyon by train, following the very full and fast- flowing River Rhone through wooded valleys with steep rock faces, I arrived in Lyon and settled into our really cosy appartment, minutes' walk from the old town. It is perfectly located in the very quiet and untouristy St Georges area. Great! Our next door pub had this fabulous sign. Would like to see it everywhere! Whilst waiting for Pam to arrive from Brittany, I explored close to home. Lyon's old town is a maze of narrow, cobbled streets, mainly lined with bars and restaurants, but occasionally with almost secret passageways, winding their way through up to four different appartment blocks, such as this one. After a happy reunion with Pam, it was wonderful to explore the old town together. We knew storms were forecast for the afternoon of our first day, so set off early up on the funicular to the top of the 300 m high Fourviere hill, with the magnificent Basilica at the top. I had visited it be...

What more can you want in life? I felt I had it all today, apart from family. As I sit here writing this, the gentle breeze is brushing against my cheeks, the birds are chirping continuously in the warm late afternoon sun, the waves of Lac Leman are gently lapping against the shore,and in front of me is the majestic Mont Blanc, clearer than I have ever seen it before from here. Added to that, wrapped around my ambling visit to this gorgeous little city of Nyon, with its spectacular views over the lake, , I am meeting with very dear friends of mine from this area. From my teenage years, Jonathan and his wife  Ineke, from homestay times, Fred, and then tomorrow Murielle, or Clic le Clown, as she is known in her professionl life, who trained to be a clown at the Polytech in Christchurch. An incredible 24 hours of people and places, combined with wonderful moments to sit alone and simply enjoy everything around me.  Although I have been to Nyon on a couple of occasions before, wit...

After a few weeks of trips further afield, it was great to spend some days combining work and pleasure in Switzerland. With the weather suddenly changing, bringing temperatures up to the thirties, it was time to enjoy one of my all- time favourite lakes, the Pfaeffikersee. How beautiful the fresh green cornfields looked with the occasional bright red poppies stretching up to the sunlight. And, of course, the lake as lovely and serene as always, clear and cool, surrounded by the wooded Zuerich Oberland hills I have such happy memories of the many years spent in Pfaeffikon and just love to return year after year. After this wonderful walk I was quite happy to simply sit and enjoy the fabulous trip to Zuoz. There were some rather unusual sights on the way as well as fabulous views of the Engadine Valley, still with plenty of snow on the hills, when we came out of the Vereina Tunnel in Susch. I get such an amazing feeling of coming 'home' when I arrive in the Engadine. It is reall...

Despite the rather inclement weather, it was very pleasant to travel by train rather than plane, to enjoy the gorgeous, lush scenery between Zuerich and Bratislava. How lovely to arrive to such a warm welcome from Marc and to arrive at the appartment to be greeted just as warmly by Dennis. It was a great flat, in perfect location, and amazingly, next to the room I booked last year. I had not realised this when I reserved. It took us a while to get used to the very large painting on the wall!  The Polyglot Gathering was even larger than last year, with over 700 participants from all over the world, and with so many languages. I don't think I spoke as many languages this year as last, but it was still a brilliant and exhausting experience. I love this poster! Marc, Dennis and I had so much fun and thoroughly enjoyed our time outside the classrooms, as much as the talks and workshops. We were proud of the badges showing the languages we can speak - despite having far fewer flags than...

The final days of the tour were jam- packed with fantastic places to visit, incredible scenery and delicious tastings of wine, seafood and local meats and cheeses. Add to that some perfect weather and good company and you can't go wrong. The journey from Split to Dubrovnik, 280 km on great roads, was stunning and full of variety, starting with views of Croatia's highest peaks, over 1750 metres, and then descending into one of the greenest, lushest and most fertile areas of the country. Currently, although the roads are magnificent almost everywhere, to get to Dubrovnik it is necessary to cross the border into Bosnia Herzegovina and drive around the coast for 30 kilometres. The Chinese are apparently funding a new bridge across the narrowest part of the inlet so that in years to come, there will be no need to pass into another country. This will mean certain bankruptcy for the many restaurants and hotels in BH. It is a very beautiful area so perhaps visitors will still go there...