The rest of Nevache and the first half of Bardonecchia

On Thursday afternoon Ginny, Richard, Alison and Cory have departed to their 3 days of hiking up into the glaciers of the nearby High Alps. While they were away I didn’t do much, partly because I wanted a rest and partly because I wasn’t feeling very good. As it happens, the malaise that hit me then was probably the same bug that most of them were suffering from. I had headaches, shakes and was occasionally near tears with no good reason. I also did do some shopping and cooking in those days, but more of that later.

3 large chickens in bits in the pans

Foolishly I offered to cook a Hungarian meal for them, just as a gesture of thanks for putting us up. It seemed a very good way of returning some of the compliment that they pay me by giving us bed and board of the highest quality. So, on Saturday I went and fetched the chickens, bought some more paprika and the rest of the ingredients and started cooking.  I had a feeling that it won’t turn out very good, but persevered anyway. There were a lot of handicaps in producing a good chicken paprikash there, namely the paprika being inferior to what I am used to at home, the chickens being far too large and the fact that day after day it kept being put off because of Alison and her friends kept changing their activities.

The lovely stone bridge between the two forts

I decided to take the chickens off the bone, partly because they wouldn’t have fitted into the two frying pans with bones and partly because this way I hoped the sauce would get into them easier. The cucumber salad had a serious handicap as the rice vinegar was very weak, but finally that was almost 100% OK. While deboning the chickens I managed to chop off a nice big chunk of my left middle finger, but I carried on regardless. I couldn’t find any plasters anywhere, so kept wrapping paper serviettes round the profusely bleeding wound. Finally they were cooked and I managed to squeeze all of it into a dish and into the fridge.

Briancon Old Town

When they all came home, they looked rather done in, except Alison, who has ants in her pants and is hyperactive with inexhaustible energy. More and more visitors kept arriving, until I was concerned about where they all would be sleeping. Sunday arrived and the main event was a concert in Briancon which finally Richard had opted out of. In the morning, however, while Richard was doing some DIY and the others have gone off to do something else, Ginny took me into Briancon for walking to the nearest fort and for a walk through the Old Town down to the 18th century bridge over the gorge.  That was really lovely and relaxing.

The fact that Richard didn't come to the concert gave Ginny the idea to get him to warm up the chicken as we are coming home from the concert to save time. That seemed like a good idea, except he dried it out so much that it wasn’t very good.  Everybody said they liked it, but I knew it was crap. Still, the concert was very good with 2 Brazilians, 1 Spaniard and 1 Frenchman, all on chellos, playing some amazing pieces.

On the other hand, the making of the dumplings was great fun. Kayllagh and I made a fantastic pair of co-operation in that little kitchen and it was done in no time at all. Obviously, there was a lot left, so I decided that I would feed Alex & co. with it on Monday evening. This also gave me a chance to make some more sauce, which was badly needed after Richard dried most of it off and what was left, we ate.

The 'Boys'

On Monday morning Ginny went and fetched the boys and Alex, Rob, Joel and me sat outside chatting so that the boys could de-stress. After a couple of hours of that we walked up to the Haute Ville for a cake and a drink in the boulangerie. It started raining on the way back, but we managed to get under shelter and after a long wait caught the free bus home. My extra sauce made the leftover chicken superbly tasty and the boys stuffed themselves silly. Ginny made a lovely gazpaccio soup to start with, and served Kayllagh’s cheesecake for afters, so that was a lovely feast.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t so lucky. While still cooking I started having serious pains in my gut. Probably it was a new version of the lurgy of the week and I felt so queezy that I had to miss my soup, which I absolutely adore and only ever get in Nevache. :-( Once I fully packed, we got going and this time it was Richard who gave us all a lift to Bardonecchia.

Alex making a few salient points

The World School was (and still is) tremendous fun, which always gives me a lift, no matter how tiring it is and how much I am feeling shitty. The Canadians, who have adopted me again, number 20 this time, which is an all-time high and they are smashing youngsters, as usual. I bought a copy of the Stalin book, which I helped proof-read and a lovely Italian cloth flag, which took my fancy.

My lurgy started getting better by Wednesday, but in the afternoon I had a relapse. Alex and Rob looked after me while I recuperated and by today I seem OK. The food, unfortunately, is not very safe for me, although their salads and vegetables are lovely. Bread is only white and is mostly made of air, but the special pizza place, where we are planning to go to on Friday should be good. Alex and Rob are again dealing with problems in the section, but looks as if it will be sorted soon. The upshot of all the hassle, however, is good.  Namely, that they only want to spend the free afternoon with me, nobody else, for peace and quiet.  We are off to the top of the ski lift for a little walk and a beer in the bar up there, followed by a return to the valley floor and pizza!

Must go now as the afternoon session is starting in half an hour and I might have 40 winks before that.

PS.: The 40 winks became an hour and a half and I missed the afternoon session. Oops! Never mind! Now I am sitting in the cafe uploading pictures, which if they would be slow, that would be a great improvement. It takes approximately 5 minutes per photo or more. Aaaghhhhh!! In the meantime I bought a Marx poster which cost 5 Euros and the money will go to the Pakistan section, so it will have been very well spent.

Last two days of Alex & co., Hassocks and the first few days of Nevache

On my 69th birthday we motored into town after a few hours of shooting with the airgun by the male Grants in the garden and a visit up to Virágos for having a look at the camel and trying to find my cache. We did find it, but unfortunately the top is broken, so some maintenance will have to be done sometime. Callum had a minor disagreement with crickets, so the walk was cut short and we returned home.

Grandad is instructing the budding hunter

En route to town we stopped at a lovely lángos booth by the main road and had a few, with Callum having a burger, as usual. We will have to remember this lángos place, as the people there were very friendly and chatty and their lángos was first class.

The lonely Viragos camel with the droopy hump

And then in the evening we had my birthday dinner at the Kéhly, which was as lovely as it usually is. The environment, the service and especially the food is excellent and it never disappoints. At the end we drove Callum home and Alex with Meaghan walked home right across Margaret Island, which was very nicely finished for the FINA World Championships. They have discovered the  Palatinus baths and decided to take Callum there on the Friday, while I packed and did my last minute shopping.

Callum at the Kehly with his beloved Schnietzel

Talking of which, we went to get a spare battery for my new camera, as the old one is definitely going to be chucked. It has got a piece of dirt in the middle of the lens again which is aggravating. We were  only half way there when we realised that we forgot to take the camera with us, so that trip was wasted, but at least we knew that they do have spare batteries for most types now, so we called them with the battery code number and they had one.  I sent Roy back later for it. Before getting home we bought two magic tricks for Callum, which we hope he liked once he got home.

And then on Saturday Roy did two rounds of the airport, first in the early morning for Alex and me and later for Meaghan and Callum. All was well and we got to Luton with no hassle whatsoever. While waiting for our luggage we bought the train tickets and we didn't have to wait for too long for a train, which then turned out not to stop at Hassocks, so we got off at Gatwick, but the wait wasn't that long there either. After our arrival at Stephen's place we spent the rest of Saturday playing with the children and having a rest after a long day.

Sarah James

In the evening I met up with a long lost ex-neighbour, Sarah James, who came over to babysit Elian adn Xander, which was nice. Lucy went off to her tennis match and Stephen, Alex and me went to the Komedia where he was compereing with his arm in a sling. One of the acts was extremely funny, but I was really tired, so after him I practically slept through the rest.

At The Bull

On Sunday we went out to The Bull in Henfield, which is a nice pub, with good food and a lovely garden for the children. Stephen was not at his best, as he was on strong painkillers and worrying about his operation on Wednesday, but the little ones were really lovely and Alex enjoyed playing with them a little.

On Monday we got up early to catch the train to the airport and all went extremely smoothly. The plane did leave about 35 minutes late, but made some of it up and we didn't miss our bus in Malpensa. This bus turned out to be a real gem: modern, comfortable, extremely well air conditioned and fast.  We got in to Turin Porta Susa station 10 minutes early and walked to Porta Nuova in about 25 minutes. We had a drink while waiting for the train and caught the 4.15pm for Bardonecchia. 
Ginny picked us up and we were indoors at her place well before dinner.

New staircase with old timbers at Nevache

The house has come along a very long way since 2 years ago, and now they can actually put up 10 people, which is amazing. They also had Richard's sister visiting with a friend, so with us currently there are 6 people here and another one arriving tonight. By then Alex would have gone off to his IEC meeting, so all is well.

 Lac Laramon

Yesterday and today Alex and I were doing some hiking, as these were the only two days we could go out together and enjoy the heavenly environment in the valley of the Claree river. 2 years ago we spent most of our free time in the village and while we did go hiking once together and once with friends, we kept to the valley floor.

Double selfie in the mountains

This time we decided to do some climbing and both yesterday and today we climbed a great deal and the views were breathtaking indeed.  Yesterday's tally was 9km with nearly 600 metres of climb to a couple of lakes high up on the Northern side of the valley.

Today we did a little bit less than yesterday, this time on the Southern side of the valley and on both days we had lunch in a refuge or auberge in the wilderness. Today's tally was 8.4km with 390 metres of climb in lots of lovely countryside. While yesterday had the lakes, today we walked along the river and also saw a fantastic set of waterfalls. Yesterday's highest point was 2448 metres, while today's was at a modest, but still beautifully lofty 2070 metres.

On the trail

The views are really to die for and the two-summitted lovely mountain that I christened the Fishtail, was visible most of the time. I took hundreds of photos, some of which you can see here. Tonight Ginny will deliver Alex to Bardonecchia and I will not see him until Monday. I will also be on my own for 3 days from tomorrow morning until Saturday afternoon/evening, as Ginny, Richard, Alison and Corry are going for a high level hike to some glaciers in the next valley.

A gorgeous waterfall just before the auberge where we had lunch

I hope to have a rest after these two arduous hikes, but I will also have to do some washing for Alex and shopping for a Hungarian meal that I offered to cook on Sunday. We ended up with an unused set of minibus tickets today, so I might also take that to the top of the valley and walk back down, if I feel like it and the weather is good any time in the next three days.

Looking towards the top of the Claree valley

Next  post will probably be from Bardonecchia, but it might just be from home if there is not enough time or the WiFi is too much hassle there.

The first 10 days of Alex, Meaghan and Callum's visit

The hero of the peak

Callum, Alex, Roy and Meaghan in the valley

The hermit's cave Callum didn't want to go in

Grandad and Callum in the forest

The glorious view from the top

Alex near the cache

The first little hike with Callum up the steep hill above the Remete Ravine was both successful and not. We got to Máriaremete with the bus and walked to the start of the ravine and through it with no problems. We also climbed up (including Roy!!!) quite easily, but the last 50 metres had beaten all but Alex and me. Callum had the energy, but got a bit frightened of the steepness, while Meaghan and Roy had decided to sit out the last rocky bit. Alex and I found the cache, photographed the glorious views and took the cache box down to Callum to rummage in.

Awaiting our food at Náncsi Néni's

En route home we had lunch in Náncsi Néni's famous restaurant, which proved to be every bit as good as its reputation suggested. There were only two downsides: 1. it was hellishly expensive, due to fairly high prices and everybody eating and drinking too much; 2. my less than brilliant night's sleep afterwards due to the amount and richness of the food I consumed.  Still, I don't regret going there, I never mind paying over the odds when the goods are worth it and as I have been planning going there for years, it was worth every penny and tummy ache, it was that good.

Callum on the slide

The next day we went to the Aquarena in Mogyoród, which was another visit I wanted to make for years and which turned out OK, but still a bit of a disappointment.  We were less than lucky with the weather: still in the middle of a heatwave we managed to pick a cloudy day, which while not cold, was a tad chilly by the end of our visit. Callum was also very conflicted about the large slides, some of which looked positively dangerous to me. Alex tried them all, but Callum only did a few of the smaller, slower ones. He agonised for ages over them, as he was afraid of them while unable to accept the fact that he was going to miss something he really wanted to do. Still, it was a reasonably successful day.

Captain's mate at the helm

Wednesday was a very pleasant day, not too hot and full of exciting activities. Tibor, our river boat captain friend had invited us to join his boat on the river and offered to let Callum drive the boat. That was rather exciting, although later on the traffic got so busy on the river that Tibor had to take back the helm for safety reasons. We did a full run from the North to the South, got out at one place to have a little play in a park and then got back for a couple of stops up North again, to finally depart for the Great Central Market, where we did a bit of shopping and had lunch.  We thanked Tibor for a lovely time and arranged with him and his wife to visit them while they are on holiday in the Mátra in
August.  Roy and I see Tibor occasionally, but we have not seen his wife, Klári, for a long number of years.

Callum in the market

Roy and his lángos

Lunch in the Market was lángos for most of us, which we were hankering after for a while. They made a very good lángos where we bought it, so it was well worth it. The Market is unfortunately is less and less a real market for the locals to shop at and more and more a tourist attraction, but thankfully, the prices are still good and the quality of merchandise excellent.

In the corner at the Regős

In the evening we had a lovely dinner in the Regős, one of our favourite restaurants about 15 minute walk from the flat. Last time we couldn't get in without a reservation, so this time I made sure we had one. The environment, the service, the food and everything else is still so nice there, that it counts as one of the secure places you can always take guests and be sure not to be disappointed.

A small banana split for Callum 's lunch

Thursday was an away day again, as Alex had the idea to go to Szentendre, about an hour's motoring North of the city. It is billed as the town of artists and it is definitely full of galleries and workshops, which we couldn't visit this time due to Callum being with us.  Still, the town itself is so pretty, that there was plenty to see just walking about. The heat on that day was really oppressive, so in spite of the proximity of the river we were all suffering. Consequently, after about an hour and half we left Szentendre and went to the nearby Pilis hills for lunch in Pilisszentkereszt at the Emma Restaurant, a place we got to know on our visits to Bozsa and Árpi in the last year. It was a good decision and we had a lovely meal on the terrace, away from the heat of lower down the hill.

The boys in the Balaton

And on the Friday we got into the car (after packing up enough stuff to look like we were moving house) and departed South to the Balaton.  That was also Alex and Meaghan's idea and what a brilliant one it was.  They didn't know, but since they were last with us, we met a very good friend Pityu, who has a house not far from the lake and we asked him to put us up for a night. He said yes and the trip was on.

Dinner at Pityu's

We didn't get going until quite late, so we had to stop for lunch before having a swim in the lake. Quite by accident, we picked on a roadside inn, which had a fantastic terrace and lovely food. Having filled our tummies, we motored on until the beach that we got to know on one of our previous visits to Pityu and it was ace. Callum was somewhat perturbed by vegetation in the lake, which tickled his legs, but very soon he was having a good splash about and cooled down, as we all did. Meaghan bought him a crocodile, which served as a lilo and he was well away with him in the water. We stayed there until about 5pm and then drove to Pityu's place.

4 pork chops, a cauliflower and a giant pepper on the BBQ

The usual bridge party was unfortunately cancelled as Pityu's daughter and her friend didn't arrive until gone midnight, but everything else we are used to when at Pityu's place, like the plentiful booze and food, was provided again. Anyone with a friend or relative that needs fattening up after an illness or accident, I can wholeheartedly recommend Pityu, as the one downside ever when visiting him is to dissuade him from permanently refilling your glass and feeding you endless platefuls of food. He is such a lovely man, we both love him dearly and the next visit for after the harvest in October is fixed up already.

Saturday was a long boring drive that had taken up most of the day. First we had to drive back to town, as Alex forgot his running shoes and we were slightly worried about getting caught up in the road closures associated with the Pride march, but thankfully we managed to avoid that. Then we drove to the village via a supermarket, where we did some shopping and finally arrived in Bér. Alex treated us to a BBQ, which was delicious and which we ate in the gazebo in the garden.

Callum and the emoji ball

Having fun with Daddy in the pool

Daddy and Callum in the hot end

Sunday was another first, in this week of firsts, and it was such a treat! Normally, when the Mill is open we go there for lunch or dinner and we planned to take the family there too.  However, we have never yet tried the fitness suite at the Mill, and decided to have a go, so Callum could have a splash and we could try it out as well.  Roy, as usual, respectfully declined, as he gets very bored in water in no time at all, but the rest of us had such a good time and it set us up for a nice lunch. We have even taken Callum to find the geocache amongst the rocks at the Mill, so that was a really successful day. At the end of it we decided that we must do the jacuzzi and pool again before the Canadian mob leaves and Anna said that while they are not normally open during the week, she will come up and let us in if we give her a ring.

Some of the stock at the Fabogár

On Monday we went to Pásztó and the first place we visited there was our favourite woodworkers's place called Fabogár.  We didn't know, but they have demolished the old shop building and are in the process of building a new one, so the shop was crammed into another smaller building next to the factory.  The lady was really sweet there and recognised us straight away, even though we haven't been for ages. We did some good shopping both for ourselves and the family, especially that the factory had developed a few new colours and patterns while we haven't been. After a quick shop in SPAR we drove over to Szurdokpüspöki to the Fenyves Restaurant for lunch, which was yet another success for all. We sat outside on the terrace, surrounded by lovely tall pine trees and had some lovely food and drink.

The Fenyves terrace

Finally, yesterday was another day at home, but full of exciting experiences for all. The first thing to happen was Callum and Roy disappearing into the workshop and after the sound of drilling and hammering I had to go and see what was going on. They were making a wooden railway engine out of scrap wood, including a bit of a tree from the garden. Now I understood why Roy bought some little wooden wheels at Fabogár the day before. They finished it in no time at all and the train engine looks really cute.  They are taking it home to sand down and paint and I am really looking forward to see how it'll look after being finished in Canada.

Callum with the screwdriver

Mummy with a screwdriver

The finished article

After a quick salad lunch we returned to the Mill for another splash in the wellness suite, which was just as good as before. However, not before I made a valiant attempt at buying two coach tickets for Alex and me to take us from Malpensa Airport to Turin to catch the train to Bardonecchia on the 17th. Needless to say the Italian web site, even though it was in English, was a nightmare to navigate. After about 3 goes, eventually I found myself the proud owner of two pieces of paper, which entitle us to catch the 1pm bus on that day.  All I fear now is the plane being late and us missing it, but such is life, especially in Italy that hopefully that shouldn't make any difference. Touch wood!!!!

Alex, Meaghan and the curry

The chicken curry

The vegetable curry

The chicken goujons disappearing fast

In the evening Alex and Roy made a curry and we happily munched away on it, while Callum had chicken goujons, especially made for him by his Grandad. We find that being in the village makes everyone sleep very well, so we will only return to town on Thursday, which is my birthday and have a special dinner at the Kéhly, a lovely old fashioned restaurant in Óbuda. That is a place we discovered one day in a part of town that is full of ugly, 1960's tower blocks, but thankfully, when demolishing that lovely part of town, (town planning includes such vandalism in these parts!!!), they managed to leave a few nice old buildings.

Next post is probably not for a while, but hopefully if the WiFi still operates at Ginny's in Nevache, a longish post from there, while I am on my own, is a possibility. I will have about 48 hours on my own, as Alex by then would have departed for his Executive Committee meeting and Ginny and Richard are taking a relative up to one of the glaciers for a hike. That should make for an interesting time, but considering how exhausted I am from all this non-stop activity already, I think I will welcome the rest.

The giant Hash run and the arrival of Alex, Meaghan and Callum

We came into town on the Tuesday, after doing as much of the cleaning, tidying, making of beds, gardening, raspberry harvesting, watering, mowing etc. as we could, while having 12 people for Anna in the Bunkhouse and with us in the Farmhouse.  The pattern of our life this summer seems to be a touch on the chaotic side.

Part of our raspberry crop this year

In town there were a few more things to get and then the organisation of the Hash run for a large group and ultimately the preparations for the family's arrival have taken over. The flat is not particularly large, but having 5 people in it and all our own stuff stashed out of the way was quite an exercise, but we managed it. As the heatwave was still with us, we did our cleaning and tidying, interspersed with shopping, in fits and starts. As soon as we were a bit exhausted, we sat down to watch TV or work on the computers, then carried on. This worked admirably until we had to put out the Hash route on Friday night.

The Whale from Gellert Hill

Amazingly, Roy came with me and actually had managed to climb up to the top of Gellert Hill. We approached the top from a direction that neither of us has been on before and it was a revelation. It provided glorious views from a large number of vantage points over the river and all the way to the Gödöllő hills. Huffing and puffing, but we got up to the top.

The Hash T-shirt

On Friday I also found out that, unbeknown to me, Baldric had managed to get a new version of our Hash T-shirts made and was bringing them to the run on Saturday. I wish he told me, so I could advise the crowd about them, but still I was glad that the range of haberdashery was thus extended.

One of many glorious views from the top of Gellert Hill

I arrived at the hotel, where they were staying a bit early, but soon people started arriving and it turned out to be a lovely crowd, all 47 of them.  Kiddie was very sweet and the handover of all my bits of haberdashery (the badges and the nametags on lanyards) was done quickly. The heatwave has abated and with several big showers in the morning, the air was a lot more pleasant than before. We departed to the little park where I introduced myself and Hulk as the two hares and we got going.  Interestingly, while I was expecting them spreading out in all directions, as we started with a check, they almosts to a man and woman stayed together and looked lost. Finally, I got them going and we were on our way.

Kiddie in the circle, Hulk RAing

Hulk was very helpful by running ahead with the faster ones and re-marking the trail on the ground in pink. They were mostly puzzled by the marks on walls, but as the weather forecast the night before was for rain, I didn't dare putting my arrows on the ground for fear of them disappearing overnight. I decided to be the sweeper and stayed with the slowest ones, being one myself anyway. The route was spectacular for views, but the crowd seemed to be not lingering, like I was expecting them to.

One of our visitors

Consequently, I had a call after about 90 minutes from Hulk, asking where the beer was. Roy, obviously, has not yet arrived, but thankfully he turned up soon after. They waited for us with the circle which was conducted with lots of down-downs, songs and generally in good spirits. The beer actually ran out, so Roy had to dash off for another crate of it.  They were a thirsty bunch, it disappeared very quickly.

Crossing the bridge, en route to the Whale

After the circle we departed for the Whale, which is a lovely development by the river, using old, renovated warehousing with a modern twist in the shape of a whale for restaurants, bars and cultural space.  The various groups arrived at different times, but we found each other and even Roy, having gone home first with the car and then coming on the tram, joined us. The environment by the river was gorgeous.  The temperatures were just right, the craft beers we were drinking just right, the company great and I even bought myself one of Baldric's T-shirts.

Round the table at the Whale

It was almost 1am by the time I got to bed, which has not happened to me for many a year now. We both had a lovely time and hit the deck at speed. In the morning we woke up a bit fuzzy, made the beds, had breakfast and then departed to the airport to fetch the Canadian mob. They travelled on Canada Day, which I was unaware at that time, but they looked chipper and happy to see us when their flight arrived only 50 minutes late.  We did a quick shop in Tesco beforehand and didn't have to wait for them too much.

Callum on the lap of Anonymous

Callum on the climbing frame

Callum being Callum, had to do something, even on the day of arrival, so while Mum, Dad and Grandad had a little nap we went to the playground round the corner. He had fun there for a while and then he wanted to go further.  We got back to the flat, waited until everybody surfaced and then walked to City Park for some more fun. This time we left Grandad at home, so that he can have a proper afternoon nap and went just the 4 of us.

Callum on the climbing frame

The walk was quite long, but we covered it in no time at all and he had some more fun at another playground in the Park. Afterwards we went to the other end of the park for a burger and chips and then walked back home. The adults were all flagging, but Callum was still going strong. Jetlag didn't seem to slow him down and once everybody was very hungry (again) we went to our favourite restaurant the Regős.  For once, we could not get in, they were so full. So we moved onto a neaby restaurant, which is a bit more pricey that the Regős, but still very good.

Callum on the swing

Over there we ordered our food and while Callum insisted that he wasn't tired, he promptly managed to go into a deep sleep sitting up in his chair, even before his food came.  Consequently, he is having fried chicken for breakfast today, which should be fun. The food was actually even better than I remembered, so this restaurant goes back on the favoured list, albeit on the pricey side.

Daddy's goose leg and the sleeping beauty

Did a quick food shop en route home and finally hit the deck around 10pm. They are still sleeping, but today's plan includes a  small hike and Callum's introduction to geocaching.  We are off to the Remete Ravine, where a few weeks back I was too tired to get one cache which included a 100m climb. We'll attempt it today and if Roy wants to stay at the bottom, that's OK. We'll use public transport, so he doesn't need to drive.

I'm not tired!

Next post probably in a week or so, by which time we should be back in Ber. Before that we have a few trips planned, namely the Aquarena waterpark, a daytrip to the Balaton with staying overnight at Pityu's place and a personalised boat trip with our friend Tibor on the river in his little pleasure boat.  Speak to you soon!