thailand.. getting there

It was supposed to be a simple scouting trip to Koh Samui in Thailand to check out a property I’m interested in buying. 2 hours on the phone with a Trailfinders agent and I’m booked. I’m due to leave from London 19th April.

I drive over to Marseille early on Sunday to catch a lift with a friend who is driving to London as my flight has been cancelled due to volcanic ash over London. Only when I arrive in Marseille can my travel agent confirm that my Monday flight has been cancelled as well, so I return to Nice. I rearrange my trip to Koh Samui, leaving on April 28th. April 26th I am told by Trailfinders that the Foreign Office are saying ‘Don’t go to Bangkok’ due to unrest. I decide to take my life in my hands by refusing to cancel my trip due to the redshirts demonstrations.

Yesterday i receive an email from Trailfinders my excellent travel agent. ‘The Foreign Office have advised against all but essential travel to Thailand. Please check their website’. So I do that. It talks about the upsets and its effect on central Bangkok. It mentions that Thailand has very strict laws against drug smuggling, including the death sentence. It mentions date rape being common, and increasing violence against tourists in places like Koh Samui. It mentions a few diseases. I begin to wonder if I should travel there on my own.Transiting Bangkok airport is Ok it says. So as I am transiting Bangkok airport, admittedly to fly on to Koh Samui, I look at Tripadvisor, typing in ‘Koh Samui unrest’. Immediately a thread comes up.. someone is asking what the situation is like, as she will be travelling there on May 10th.. every reply is the same.. ‘you wouldn’t know what is going on here if you didn’t watch the news’. ‘There is nothing going on here at all’. ‘Don’t worry, everyone here is having a great time’. I decide to carry on with my trip.

Wednesday morning, and I am showering when my mobile phone goes.. it’s my sister.. ‘Did you know the Foreign Office have changed their advice re Thailand? It’s all over the news.. they are now attacking tourists’. I say ‘I know, but I’m still going as I don’t think Koh Samui will be affected by the unrest’. Could be famous last words..

And so here I am, sitting in Heathrow airport, having flown in with BA, earlier today. My flight leaves at 9.30pm tonight, so I have a few hours to review that decision. I log on to the free wifi here, and recheck the situation. No change.

I’ve arranged to meet my sister for a quick meal at Heathrow. As we settle down to a drink, she passes a piece of paper to me.. it has the British Consul’s number in Thailand on it..’I’m not telling you you can’t go, but do be careful’. ‘Thanks’ I say, ‘I’m going, it’s my decision’.

Coming in to land at Bangkok airport I look for any signs of disturbance on the roads. I can’t see any at all..

At the Bangkok Airways transfer desk I ask whether they have had a lot of cancellations due to the FO’s announcement. ‘No, we haven’t had many at all’. Seems like everyone else decided to come too then.

I go buy a couple of books about Thailand, and Spa treatments (more to follow in later posts), and make my way to the departure lounge. I see no sign of any violence, and I am reminded at every step how friendly the Thai people are, and how organised. There are orchids everywhere..even in the ladies toilets at the airport. How I love orchids!

And so, the full plane lands at Koh Samui, tropical palms swaying in a sunny setting. No sign of redshirts here, just flower covered open-air passenger buses to take us to the terminal.

 

I am met and whisked to the Imperial Boat House Hotel.. at last I can relax and unpack, and plan my day tomorrow..

Packing for a trip ; Ladies Bags and Make up

What bag should you take on a trip? I know many seasoned travellers recommend you take one large carry on pack and nothing else, to ease travelling along the way, but i don’t do that as I know that I will not be walking much with my bag.

Don’t get me wrong, I do pack light, but I prefer to have a bag I can wheel behind me as I have a bad back, and one that i can add a few souvenirs to on my trip too (usually books or cards). OK, occasionally you have to go up and down stairs at train stations, Metro stations and the like, but these are few and far between, and if your bag is light then it isn’t such a big deal. If your bag is heavy then I suggest you ask for help with the stairs.

I don’t mind waiting for my bag to come off the luggage carousel either, as long as I am not going to be doing it too often.. if I have a lot of short side trips by air then I plan on leaving my big bag in left luggage and take my day pack with me on the trips.

In addition to my wheely bag I take a day backpack in which I have my (large) squashy handbag, inside which I have my small pouchy handbag. Once through the security checks I take both of these bags out of the backpack allowing me space for duty free items in it, and the ability to get at my passport or money without having to take my backpack off all the time.

My best large squashy handbag is so roomy it can hold a lot of things. It also has a lot of pockets with zips, for separating everything neatly.My small pouchy bag is leather and has two small pockets. It can be a good evening bag, or a good bag for cycling, or shopping. I wear it slung across my body and over my shoulder so it can’t be stolen easily, and it holds my camera, my phone, some money and a credit card, and my lipstick.

My large squashy handbag has all my liquids, my travel documents, my jewellery, my iPod, contact lenses, some medicines, reading material, and a shawl in case the plane is cold, plus a selection of crayons and paper and a few clothes for my children if I’m travelling with them. I never open my backpack again except to put duty free in it until I get off the plane.

I also don’t agree with the seasoned travellers who suggest that women travellers do not need to take make up with them on holiday. This is the first thing I would pack after some basic clothing. I pare down my make up and split it into two piles; one for items I need on arrival in my carry on bag, some of which have to be split separately into my liquids bag (mascara and lipstick), and the second pile for items going in my makeup bag in the hold.

I buy travel sized cosmetic creams and skincare products in duty free when they are available, to use when flying as they can go in my day pack. I buy all other toiletries at my destination and leave them there when I leave. It costs a little more but it saves space and weight in your hold bag.

My favourite ‘look good’ make up products to take with me when travelling are;

Glow Minerals foundation and blusher.. guaranteed to really cover any blemishes with a sweep of a brush, and to give you great looking skin in 30 seconds.

Mascara; I need this to define my eyes.

Lips; Lip gloss in any shade to give your lips some shine

I also include a couple of eyeliners, and a set of eyeshadow in neutralish shades, plus at least one striking nail varnish colour for nights out or pretty toes on the beach.

And finally, a very small bottle of perfume.. nothing better to make you feel fresher when on a plane for several hours.

Technorati Tags: bag,travel,glow,makeup,perfume,airplane,packing,light

Home Exchanging

There is a cheaper way to holiday than hotels or motels or campsites, it’s called home exchanging, and as I have now completed a few of these exchanges I thought I would list the pros and cons..

Here’s how it works..

There are many websites where you can list your home for exchanging with other home owners around the world. You input brief details of your home and add a few photos, and then you can list where and when you would like to travel. The website allows you to search for homes in the areas you wish to visit and you can then send an email to those owners whose properties interest you asking them if they wish to home exchange with you.

If you are lucky you will find someone who does wish to exchange with you for a defined time period in an area where you wish to visit. Popular exchanges for my home seem to be with tourists from other European cities, or with travellers from New Zealand or Australia.

As many of the homes listed on the website are actually second or holiday homes, often the exchanges are not carried out simultaneously, but if it is main homes being exchanged then they would have to be exchanged at the same time. Even pets, plants and cars can be exchanged. It is a little like having a home sitter.

Some successful exchanges I have completed are;

10 days in a 3 bedroom apartment in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris, France

2 weeks in the wing of a beautiful old mansion just outside Verona, Italy, with 4 bedrooms, a billiard room, and state of the art kitchen

6 weeks in an heritage house on Nelson’s (New Zealand) seafront with stunning sea views

2 weeks on Waiheke Island (New Zealand) in a house 20 yards from a pristine beach

Are there any downsides?

Well, occasionally you may find yourself sleeping on a sagging bed, but this has only happened to me once, and that was in a studio attached to a main home so I might be a little more cautious about staying in a place that the owners don’t use themselves ever.

Sometimes you are left with no wardrobe space to hang your clothes in.

Occasionally things can stop working and you need to fix them, whereas in a hotel or rental situation you could just walk away.

Sometimes, things will get broken by accident, and if you have very special belongings then these should be put away from harm.

The pluses?

Overall, this is an excellent way of allowing you to travel and have essentially free accommodation.

You also get to make friends with many of the people you exchange with around the world.

I would highly recommend it.

Meat Pies, Coffee, and Lamingtons

 

It's been soooo long since I added a blog here, i've almost forgotten how to do it! It's been a pretty hectic few weeks as I suddenly found a house to move to and so had to run around like a headless chicken getting my house ready to sell, and also getting tons of paperwork together for the bank.

There was also a 5 day trip to the mountains to escape Nice whilst my house there was rented out for the Monaco Grand Prix, and then packing for a 2 month trip to New Zealand to contend with.

My 5 day trip to the mountains around Valberg was so perfect it was magical. The official summer season hadn't started up there yet, so the town was a bit sleepy really, and the supermarket had empty shelves, especially where there should have been fruit and veg! But that didn't matter. We had 5 perfect days of sunshine, lots of fresh air, several superb mountain walks, and a wonderful Sunday lunch in a restaurant on top of a mountain in Sauze. All the alpine meadows were in bloom and the array and variety of the flowers hidden amongst the green grass or the shale or the rocks was truly amazing. I think it was my favourite trip so far.. I explored quite a few roads, and made it to Entraunes, and Estenc, the Source of the Var river, and several Cols.. Col de Champ, Col de Collioure, Col de Cayols.. the last still having a fair bit of melting snow, and several marmots scampering down the mountainside. Every turn brought a stunning view, with empty roads, and new discoveries. I realised how lucky I am to live where I do. Sadly my camera had been thrown away mistakenly in a trash bag so no evidence was taken.

One of my walks there was punctuated by a text message from hubby asking what colour Netbook I would like. This was tricky as I had no ideas what colours existed. But then he sent another message saying it had to be black anyway as all other colours had to be ordered online. So I jokingly replied that I wanted a pink one really.. and then he texted back to say he had bought me a pink one. Well much as I probably never would have chosen a pink one initially, I am really pleased with it. And I have now gone and bought a pink wireless mouse as well.. this could be the start of a pink phase for me.. have to say though that they really need to get up to speed with some girly accessories as well.. why would I want a black or red cover for something so girly?

Suddenly it was the day before leaving for New Zealand.. surprisingly I had prepared everything and it all seemed under control this time. I managed to get on the plane to London with no sense of panic about what still needed doing, and enjoyed the flight.

48 hours later and I arrived in Auckland, after a 24 hour stopover in Malaysia, feeling reasonably good. The customs dogs were there to sniff us, but they let us through.

The first thing we saw on entering the airport was a packet of crisps called 'Kiwi As' , with the rather amazing flavour of meat pie and tomato sauce. Also a hot cabinet of various meat pies greeted us, and hubby tucked into a bacon and egg pie in the blink of an eyelid.

 

New Zealand does have a much greater array of savoury snack items than I think anywhere else in the world I have been to. And a huge selection of slices and cakes as well. Cheese scones, cheese muffins, savoury muffins, fruit muffins, fruit scones, Lamingtons, Anzac biscuits, ginger crunch, lolly slice, Rocky Road, Brownies, caramel shortbread, apricot yoghurt slice.. just a few of the wide selections you can get here in most coffee shops.

This is a coffee nation. It takes an age to get a coffee here though.. as each one is a work of art, or their coffee machines are just down right slow! How can breakfast be served and almost eaten before a coffee is served? I think it's because they froth the milk up for each order.. it HAS to be at exactly the right temperature. The standard coffee order here is a 'Flat white' or a 'Long black'. The flat white isn't actually that flat at all as it has a froth of milk on the top..but then they also serve cappucinos, which I think is just slightly more frothy than the flat white. The long black is usually a good choice.. a longish expresso.. not too long however so you can still taste the coffee.

The other big food difference here is in the kiddies meals.. they actually try to make them healthy.. no burgers and chips, or sausage and chips, or pizza.. it's a mixed platter of carrot, cucumber, celery, fruit, cheese and biscuits, with juice and probably a little cake as well.

I am always amazed at the creativity here. There are of course many square or rectangular sheds, but every now and again there is a decorative corner, or postbox that makes you jump or smile. They love bright coloured paintwork here, red, blue, green, purple, usually a mixture of several colours in one room or building if they can. It gives the place a cheerful, youthful feel so often missing in Europe.

The plan tomorrow is to take a horse riding lesson with Leon.. my first in ooohh about 35 years! Read the report here..

 

Shopping, playing, skiing

How I wish I could take a year out like Elizabeth Gilbert in her best selling autobiographical book, 'Eat, pray, love' and do exactly what I want to do, which is to spend a year in Gressoney, in the Val d'Aosta in Italy , learning to speak Italian and also walking the old Walser paths, and skiing the famous off-piste runs around.

Instead, Monday morning sees me driving in pouring rain to pick a friend (called the scatty blonde) up for my annual trip to Ikea in Toulon. The drive is easy enough, straight down the A8 motorway, and we treat ourselves to a breakfast for 1 Euro when we arrive. The place is pretty deserted, so we enjoy filling up our shopping trolley over the next couple of hours. Just before the checkout we have a repack to see what we REALLY need from the items that have made it into the basket. Out goes the vanity bag that I doubt I would ever have used, out goes the lantern for the terrace. What was wrong with the old one? Out goes a pair of red curtains. Isn't it amazing what you can buy when it is in front of you? The plates, and mugs, and candles, and plants, and boxes stay however. Ikea is definitely the best place to go if you need to organise your life, and that is what I am always trying to do. Every trip to Ikea sees me buy more boxes, for more sorting and organising. Once I HAVE filled the boxes I wonder how I ever survived before I had them. 300 Euros later and we head for the restaurant to have some Swedish meatballs. Then my scatty blonde friend buys some meatballs to take home with her. I see a cookbook near the check out for Swedish dishes. It has a lot of recipes with meatballs in, and lots with rollmops, so I don't buy it.

Back home, I sort out my purchases immediately. The boxes go up to my walk in wardrobe where I am having a major clearout for a clothes swap session next week. This session is a good thing as it has made me open all the boxes I had packed the previous year (using Ikea boxes) with stickers such as 'Winter work clothes', 'Winter jumpers' on them. I've discovered I had no need to go to the sales and buy some jumpers now I have rediscovered these boxes. I've found a couple of lovely suits which I had forgotten, and took them out and put them in my 'professional' area of the wardrobe. I have found a brand new pair of jeans in one of the boxes, and I have just bought another pair of jeans 1 week ago.

I pull all my summer shoes out of their boxes from last year and actually decide to give 4 pairs away to the clothes swap. I have never worn 3 of the pairs, ever. They were super cheap on a trip to Paris, so I bought them. False economy! The rest of the shoes get placed in groups, 'Sandals', 'Espadrilles', 'Evening sandals', 'Sports shoes'. The winter boots and shoes get sorted into boxes and labelled up. The winter clothes get replaced in boxes and tied up (I chide myself; winter is over now and you didn't even get these things out!).

I try on a couple of black evening dresses I bought about 20 years ago that were tight the last time I tried them, and now they hang beautifully! They are placed in the evening clothes 'to wear' section, rather than the 'evening clothes to store' section. I feel good, because I have a large bag of clothes to swap and a large bag of accessories to swap, AND some space in my wardrobe.

Then I go to my chest of drawers and pull out all my lingerie and my tights and socks.. this makes a very big pile on the floor. I take my new Ikea boxes which have lots of compartments in them and I sort through the pile, compartmentalising all of them. I am appalled at how many pairs of tights and socks I have. There is no way I will ever, ever, wear all of them, but I still compartmentalise them. I couldn't possibly throw them out, as they might actually be worn one day. At least they are all tidied up now! The bad news is that my new Ikea boxes will not fit in the chest of drawers, so now they have to go under the bed. My wardrobe has now grown to another space.

Tuesday morning dawns reasonably bright and SOH and I set out on our hills cycle ride. Usually this happens on a Monday but due to the Ikea trip it has been postponed to today. We cycle up hills around Nice for around an hour. I absolutely used to hate doing this, but now I love it. We always start with what we call the 'Short, sharp, shock' hill, the one on the far side of the Port of Nice running up to Bvd Carnot. Then we either cycle along the Basse Corniche to Ave Hesperides just at the Nice limit roadsign, and climb up there to Mont Boron and then Mont Alban, or we cross over to the Moyenne Corniche and head up to the Col de Villefranche and then up towards the Parc de Vinaigrier.. this is a real killer of a hill. But the views from the top are truely wonderful, and the cycle down is so refreshing, it makes all that effort worthwhile

We stop for a coffee on the way back home. The best coffee in Nice is served by the Italians, and our favourite coffee stop is Punto Break and/or Via Flavio both in the Zone Pietonne and owned by the same owner. I always hear Italian being spoken in there, which is lovely. I have just started to use Rick Steves French/Italian/German phrasebook to learn some useful Italian phrases. And I have started reading his Europe through the Back Door Guide Book, which is aimed at the American market but which has some fun things in it. His totally honest report of Great Britain basically says do London, Cambridge and the Cotswolds, and give Oxford and Stratford a miss.

Wednesday morning I rush into Nice Etoile with my younger son to buy a birthday present for a 6 year old; a kite is my choice. Another quick coffee stop, this time in the coffee shop on the lower ground floor of Nice Etoile, then off to pick up elder son from his gym class and back home for lunch. After lunch we get in the car and drive to Cannes La Bocca where my elder son is due at Fun City, a huge indoor playground, for his friend's birthday party. As it is raining heavily again, the place is bursting at the seams, but the kids don't notice and I have to climb up 3 stories of padded steps to get son to leave when it's time to go home. I arrive home just as the scatty blonde friend arrives to pick me up to go to dinner with the Vino-Gossip group of ladies in Nice. A quick re-make-up and I'm out the door, and heading for Mother India in rue Jules Gilly in Vieux Nice. 10 of us congregate, including my friend the Swedish blonde, and we enjoy a chat and a gossip, and some good Indian food. It's been interesting to watch the proliferation of Indian restaurants on the Cote d'Azur over the last 10 years, particularly in and around Nice. My favourites are Delhi Belhi, Noori's, The Shalimar, and Mother India, but I find that none of them match a London curry house, if what you want is a real spicy curry.

Thursday I have to take the 230 bus on the Promenade to Sophia Antipolis as SOH has taken the car for the day. I am due at a lunchtime meeting of the EPWN Nice Network (European Professional Womens Network), to talk about Elevator Pitches. The bus service is amazingly quick, calling at a couple of stops before the airport, and then speeding along the motorway to Sophia. Over a casual lunch 12 of us work through each other's potential pitches and where we might improve them, and we enjoy bouncing ideas of each other. Then it's back on the bus, to Nice. I am really tempted to stop and check out the Musee Massena, but remind myself of all the paperwork I have to finish off and head home.

Friday my nanny calls in sick so I am on baby duty all morning, and decide to go for a walk, which becomes a very long walk along the Prom, sliding into lunch at Le Cote in Rue Biscarra just behind Nice Etoile. This is the road where the locals tend to eat and the tourists don't. Always sunny if the sun is shining, you need to be seated by 12 o'clock to get the seats outside. As it's Friday, it's fish for the plat du jour, which I have. Then a stroll home, hand baby over to SOH, rush to get on with my paperwork again, and at 4.45pm SOH reminds me that I need to pack for skiing as we are due to head straight off to the mountains after picking up elder son from school. I rush upstairs, throw everything in a blue and yellow Ikea bag, which actually has to be one of the greatest packaging inventions ever, and we are out the door at 5.05, and heading for Valberg by 5.15. A MacDonald's stop to keep son happy en route, means we arrive at Valberg by 7pm and can enjoy the last rays of daylight now the clocks have changed. The snow-covered mountains and the silence never cease to work their charm on me, and after a glass of red I am relaxed and looking forward to a good day's skiing tomorrow.

Useful links;

Vino-gossip; see yahoogroups.com/ vino-gossip

EPWN; see www.europeanpwn.net/ Nice

Indian restaurants in Nice; see www.fra.cityvox.fr

Valberg; see www.valberg.com

 

Ski and eat on the Cote d’Azur for 26 Euros a day

A Day out in Roubion Les Buisses for 26 Euros, ski pass and lunch included

Roubion Les Buisses is a small ski station in the Alpes Maritime, about 1hour and 30 minutes from Nice on the French Riviera. It is open during the French school holidays and every weekend during the ski season.

The pleasure of going to this ski station is that it is empty! There are no queues, no hordes of skiers, and no ESF (Ecole de Ski Francais), with snaking groups of children taking up the whole slope.

A range of all piste difficulties, Roubion is ideal for a family day out. There is one long chair lift to access two button lifts which cover the main ski area. There is a further button lift near the entrance to the village, which leads to a couple of red pistes, and one blue which are hardly ever skied. On the front of the slopes near the village are a couple of small button lifts which cost nothing to use, for beginners to practice their skiing. Just below the start of the chair lift is The Baby Drag, which is very short, and ideal for any snowboarders who need to practice getting on, and then staying on, a button lift.

Once in Roubion you can buy a combined lift pass and lunch voucher for 26 Euros, which allows you to choose a 3 course lunch at any of the 4 eateries;

Le Charvet is a snack bar near the top of the chair lift, serving chips, sausages, panini's, etc. Alternatively you can have a set menu at Le Chalet de Roubion, which served home made paté, roast chicken and potatoes, and a beautiful large profiterole dessert the day we ate there, or choose from the dishes on offer at the friendly restaurant at the entrance to the village, or at Les Ecureuils restaurant, further up the (only) road.

If you do not wish to ski then you can hire snowshoes and take one of many walks either starting in Les Buisses or from the Col de Coullioure which is a 10 minute drive away. We chose to do the 4 hour return walk to Pic d'Ilonse, which heads uphill through trees beside the ski pistes, to join a track winding round the mountain far from the madding crowds before heading uphill again. The view from the top is breathtaking; snowy mountain scapes as far as the eye can see. The return walk can be broken by a cold beer at Le Charvet snack bar at the top of the chair lift.

For children there is good tobogganing to the left of all the pistes, through trees, or in the special luge area at the bottom of the slopes.

There is ample parking at the entrance to the village and all equipment can either be hired in the village or en route at Beuil. As the village lies on a road which connects the two valleys of the Var and the Tinee rivers you can take either valley road to get there.

So from Nice, follow the RN6202 either to St Saveur sur Tinee then to Roubion, or to Touet sur Var then Beuil and then follow the signs to Roubion.

The village of Roubion itself is a perched medieval village just near Les Buisses, but that's another article.

Happy skiing.

Hashing around Villeneuve Loubet

Sunday afternoon . 2pm. SOH and I have managed to leave the kids for the afternoon with a friend. We are off to our first HHH event.. HHH being Hash House Harriers. It's a cross between a run, a walk, and a drinks do.

I think I know where I'm going. Turns out when we get to VL that I don't. Mention is made of a bridge, and a green door.. I know the bridge, I cross the bridge, but I see no green door.. we return to the bridge.. 'Ah', I say ' Look a sign for the church. Let's follow it'. Turns out we've crossed the bridge from the opposite side to the directions . We roll up to the church, with me expecting to see a bunch of athletes. I am surprised when I see a bunch of rather unfit looking people congregated. Our friend, Urine, is there.. that's not his name.. he is christened this on the day by the Hash.

We are made to feel welcome and given some insider tips such as 'Don't worry about running';'You can walk and stay up with the runners pretty much'. All sounds a bit strange to me but I'm happy to go along with that as my legs are already aching following a day of telemark skiing the day before. Suddenly a very fit looking guy of around 70 rolls up the hill on a road bike.I'm told he's their athlete, going in for Ironman competitions and the like. 'Where do you live?' I ask, 'Somewhere in the Var..'. To my relief he has taken the train to Antibes and only cycled from there..

The hare for today tells us 'The trail is marked with flour. In the forest the trail is marked with red wool tied to branches, not flour, and at the red wool, you may find some Easter eggs, or you may not. So , what I mean is that all Easter eggs are hidden near the red wool, but not all red wool has Easter eggs nearby'. My ears prick up at this..chocolate on a run..fantastic!

Then we are off; the runners going one way, and the walkers the other. SOH has said let's go with the runners, so we do. I wonder if it's a good idea on our first visit but I guess I'll soon find out. He has been told the walkers are slow.

So far so good, 100ms down some steps and I can still breath. The trail is set using flour every 50metres or so, but occasionally you come to a circle of flour which means the trail can go in any direction, and some of the trails set will be false trails and you will only know this when you come across a big cross. Then you return to the circle and start looking for the correct trail again. We hit the first circle on the road, and scatter in different directions. Urine stands on the circle. After 4 failed attempts we decide the fifth and final path is the correct one, and Urine joins the runners again and we are off. Now I see why you could walk and not get too far behind with the runners as they chase the false trails.

We run round a loop and through the cemetery, gloriously decked out with many flowers, and on down the village steps and down, towards the river, past some people jousting. Across the road, and after another couple of false trails, heading uphill this time (!), we are back en route again, passing along the side of the road and towards the playing fields and the river again. We see red wool tied in bushes. We find Easter eggs. A comment is made that this must be the only run where you can actually put on weight. The chocolate is very welcome however.

We are lead towards the river, where two helpers are standing with very nice Easter eggs. 'Great!' I think, 'what a fantastic run this is'. Then I am given the news that I will have to wade across the river in my trainers. Others go ahead, and I watch, water rising above their knees easily, a few grimaces. It's my turn, and I plunge in. It is absolutely freezing and the current is strong, but we have a rope to hold on to. Out the other side to survey the damage, trousers wet up to thighs and soaking shoes and socks. Never mind it's a sunny day and the clothes will dry out.

The route runs on, towards the main road and the Hippodrome, and then turns towards the sea. Mutterings are made about beer stops, long first halves, and no end in sight. Suddenly we are on to the seafront and there waiting for us is the beer stop, and the walkers who have taken a shorter route and not had to cross the river by going through it. We have a 20 minute stop for a drink and to regroup. There is a cold wind blowing but it's nice to have a break and a chat. And then a whistle blows and we are off again. We know that it is at least 2.5kms back to VL from here.

The route takes us past the far side of the Hippodrome, and turns sharply back on itself and trails up through the woods back towards VL. Many of the slower walkers miss the runners taking this sharp turn and therefore make their own way back to the church along no trail whatsoever! The real trail is marked very frequently now, and we can see where we cross over trails we have followed previously, meaning that the hare must have set this part of the trail when we were having our beer stop. The legs are really protesting now, but the end is in sight and it's a very pleasant stroll through the trees (I gave up running a long time ago). We come out on a crest with views over the valley to Cagnes sur Mer, skirt a final corner and are back at the church where we started, around 3 hours have passed. The beer car is there and we all dig in.

Then order is called and announcements made. As this is the Hash, everyone has been given a nickname, and prizes (drinks) are awarded for celebrating being Welsh or Irish (Ireland had one the Six Nations rugby Grand Slam the previous weekend), for all mothers as it is Mother's Day in the UK, for any birthdays, for first timers (called virgins), for returners, and finally for the Shit of the week.. Urine winning this comfortably due to his policy of never following a false trail but waiting for others to do the hard work for him. The Hash was off to continue socialising in a restaurant nearby that evening, and the following weekend a weekend on the slopes in Auron was planned. As I hobbled home, I reflected on the afternoon, and decided that I enjoyed my first Hash and expect to be back for the next one.

see www.rivierahhh.com for details of the next event.

Key; SOH = significant other half