Posted 6.viii.23. As usual, everything released under Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
Hm, I last posted September last year. I see I started a post in late October last year and I may go back and put the images that underpinned that into it but here I am again!
A lot has happened, sad and tough in the extended family; a lot scuttling around in the UK partly around that but also, more positively, around things in the nuclear family and work. And a lot of work! But now, as of 18.vii.23 I’m back up in my eyrie and trying use the next three weeks to get some more steadiness into my work and way of life. I won’t bore on about details but will just put this here as evidence that I’m still alive for anyone who might use the blog to check up on that.
It’s the summer season up here, i.e. more of the restaurants and shops are open across the domaine and one little general store and some restaurants in Aime2000 itself which means I don’t have to trek down to Plagne Centre for essentials (it’s not the down that’s the challenge!) The tourists seem rather few on the ground and some places, like the beloved bar/restaurant “La Terrace” up here haven’t opened (some only open in the winter season but this is a first, I suspect the shortage of money for many families is biting into holidays).
Yesterday was one of the days that the locality hosts an event to promote it as a holiday venue and this time it was classic cars so at some point I was struck by the unusual amount of car noise (out of season you can go hours between one vehicle and the next). I looked out from “my” terrace and there was a long snake of cars clearly some real vintage ones and some I think were posh modern ones showing off, one an open back van with a rather fine white Lambretta or the like riding in the back! I was amused to see cars that were absolutely normal in my adolescence clearly turning out to claim classic status including a Ford Capri engraved in my memory for one of my more hairy hitchhikes in those long gone days when I got around so many places courtesy of my thumb and sometimes signs on bits of cardboard of even an A4 pad for the purpose. Apart from the colour and swank, and the rather amusing noise, the really striking other sensory impact was the smell even 12 floors at least above them the smell of unburned hydrocarbons was strong and not nice. Reminds me that when I get out on Cerise (my mountain bike for those not regulars in this soap), I notice the smell of every car that goes past. I guess that tells me how clear the air is up here generally, and how inured to the smell I am in London.
Although I love it that there are restaurants open in this building I try to live fairly frugally up here but I did treat myself that first evening. Click to get the full glory!
That was lovely though lunch just now was a raw carrot, two cold diots (local sausages), orange juice and coffee: I am trying to get healthier!
There are temptations in my way: this are from the boulangerie/patisserie down in Plagne Centre. Fortunately for the health aspirations I’m not really much of a sweet eater but yes, that tarte aux noix at the end made it back up to the apartment to join that coffee!
The weather has been varied but mostly colder and more wet than I had expected from previous years but the views remain often glorious and the dull weather does remove temptations to sunbathe and probably helps get work done. Here’s a rather impressive hailstorm. The biggest stones were good grape sized. I’ve never been in one like that (and stayed comfy indoors). This sequence shows how it down the valley and them swept over us. [At the moment the gallery plugin, which is the umpteenth I’ve tried and I’ve never really got to manage any of them, seems to be stringing all these images together so sorry if you find yourself looping from hail to food!]
Enough. Too much. A lot of views for anyone who wants more of the beauty up here.
