Day 4 - Fancy a Spot of Morris Dancing?

Monday morning saw us still rise quite late (despite the relatively early night the night before) and a cooked breakfast meant it was a ll a bit of a rush to get over to the high wire activities and pack up for departure. Some expert climbers were found amongst the adult and some not quite so agile though the primary source of pride seemed to lay with the female side of the Cook family!

As was normal throughout the weekend we then sped off for lunch (food being a priority and all) at The Corn Dolly in South Molton where, despite the staff shortage and long wait, we had an excellent lunch. The adults also had no need for dessert due to the huge portion size of the children's cakes and so had to be finished by those with rather larger stomachs. We said goodbyes to the Villiers and the Kerrs before the rest of us went over to the Cook's Exmoor family residence. Here we engaged in a proper english pint outside a charming pub - oh and some Morris Dancing!

Day 3 - Walking and the Beach

With a large Sunday Roast already on order and most of us still stuffed from the night before (or hungover or both) breakfast was a light affair as we prepared for a short muddy walk (though we didn't quite know how muddy it would turn out to be). The walk from The Mill to the Pub in North Molton took us through some boggy ground and Hollie managed to get stuck in the mud so bad that when she was pulled out the shoes remained in the mud! Despite this we made it to The Poltimore Inn for a fine roast dinner (especially as I hadn't been feeling too hungry beforehand). In the afternoon most people went indoor climbing but Claire and I needed to go to the sea (as Claire had been missing it so badly) and so off we went to Combe Martin for a couple of hours. The rest of the evening was mainly spent giving untold abuse to our Geordie friends following the relegation of Newcastle in the afternoon. It may have gone on a bit long and for that I apologise (honest....)

Day 2 of the Reunion - the Pelaton Crash!

Waking up with a slightly fuzzy head meant a need for bacon sandwiches before the day began. Despite a dispute over the value of grilled versus fried bacon, everyone seemed to get fed and we drove off to get on our bikes for a trip (with sunny lunch stop above) along the Tarka Trail. With a varied selection of bikes, tag alongs and cyclists there was always the potential for a collision and unfortunately it was between two of the kids (though one was on a tag along)! Thankfully both were okay (despite a few tears and scratches) and everyone got back for tea, cake and/or ice cream. Despite the evening before some people still managed to stay awake and drinking until 2.00am. This wouldn't last!

First Night of the Reunion - yep we overdo it!

The journey to the UK and on to our annual college reunion was pretty straight forward with a short delay at Geneva Airport (only 30 minutes thankfully) and it's always better to take the train in Switzerland than the M25 from Gatwick on a Friday night. This was confirmed when it turned out that friends that had travelled from Surrey to the reunion (in Devon) took just under an hour less than it took us from Basel! Pretty much everyone arrived on Friday night and so the hellos and catching up combined with a little bit of alcohol saw us finally going to bed around 2.30am. We'll get caught out by the kids in the morning! The centre was a pretty basic bunkhouse but Claire and I managed to "upgrade" to the "Presidential Suite"... with a WINDOW.

Back to the UK

Just getting ready to catch a train to Geneva Airport and from there, back to Bristol for our annual college reunion. We're a bit tired after an evening of thunderstorms that were very loud, very bright and very wet!

A Bike Ride to Laufenburg

It's still my favourite trip by bike (or by train and foot) and that's along the Rhine to Stein-Sackingen (& Bad-Sackingen) and Laufenburg. We took the train to Stein and then cycled to Laufenburg for a coffee, then back to Bad-Sackingen (for lunch - same palce as with Wendy on Monday) and then to Rheinfelden (for ice cream) before cycling home. We arrived just moments before a huge thunderstorm erupted so a perfect day!

A Trip Up the Rhine

Most of our visitors also get to see the Rhine villages near us. Each with a Swiss village and a corresponding German village on the other side. So Wendy and I go the train to Laufenburg (and up the high tower there - see picture) where she visited Germany for the first time just by crossing the little bridge! Then it was the train back to Stein Sackingen and over the wooden bridge for lunch in Bad Sackingen (a huge lunch with Weiss Beers, so we were a little tired later)

A Sunday Drink & Potatoes!

Claire had to get up early to go and play hockey in Lausanne this morning and so I took Wendy on a walk to the Roman ruins at Augusta Raurica before a stroll along the Rhine in Kaiseraugst. In the afternoon we had invited some friends for a drink up at the allotment to see our Potatoes!!! (well not really but they do look great). Despite a puncture on my trailer and a swollen ankle from the Roman ruins it all went well, despite some heavy and thundery showers. Thankfully we have shelter up at the garden.

A Walk in the Hills

Another traditional trip that seems ubiquitous when visitors arrive is the trip up on the gondola up to Wassenfallen from Reisgoldwill. We took the gondola and undertook a slightly longer walk than usual that allowed us to visit the highest point (Hinteri Egg) of the canton, Basel Land.

A Trip Round Basel

As always with our visitors, we normally seem to get one day of rain (at least) and the first day of Wendy's visit was no exception. Thankfully it held off for the majority of the day and we were able to walk around Basel Town and take a ferry trip (see photo) before the heavy rain arrived. This forced a change of plans and the girls ended up in the shops! In the evening we spent a boozy time in the pub with some local friends, some of whom may have been a little worse for wear!

Wendy Arriving

We have a visitor coming over this evening and staying for a long weekend. So the house has been cleaned and we're off to the airport soon to collect Wendy on arrival from Gatwick.

Not the Best of Times..

A quick dash back for the Champions League game against Manchester United didn't exactly turn out the way I would have hoped, even if it did turn out with the expected result, based on the first leg and our current squad. Never mind there is always next season as fans of most clubs are thinking now!

May Bank Holiday or Not?

Claire, like most of Basel, has a day off today as it's May 1st but strangely this isn't the case in Kaiseraugst, which is in a different Canton and therefore has different holidays! So today our local supermarket is packed full of shoppers from Basel, Germany and France as they have no shops open today. I find it quite bizarre.

On the allotment front we planted leeks, yellow beetroot and the courgettes that we have grown from seed on our balcony. We've nearly filled up all our vegetable beds now. We're having to give away some of our courgette plants as we've so many and they spread so far when they grow!