Recently in Travels Category

We decided to cut loose from Provence for a *leetle* while. (On the 14th of July, lousy timing.) I'll be frank: it's too hot to climb here. We're heading northeast to the Haute Alpes region, to climb at high-altitude Céüse. Céüse is one tall, long cliff at the end of a 45-minute walk, with run-out climbs where the bolts are spaced far apart (3m or more) from each other, so your falls are spectacular, hee hee ha ha. It's also the home to Realization (9a), and this  shows Dave Graham finally realizing his years-long project.

From Céüse we'll drive to Salzburg, Austria. Last year we were there for all of 5 hours, but this time around we're planning on staying a few days. Visiting the Mirabell Palace and Mirabell Garden are priorities (I named my Mirabella Socks after the fountains there), as is attending a performance of Mozart's Requiem at the Kollegienkirche.

After Austria, back to Nürnberg, Germany. For climbing again, in the Frankenjura. For visiting friends and family. For a wedding. For the rest of the summer.

See you in September! 

The beginning of something promising.

You'll recognize this yarn from the Webs Scarf I knit earlier. I'm knitting something fluttery, delicate, lacey, that much I'm aiming for. The pattern's up in the air because I'm still swatching. It's a bit of a headache, casting on a kazillion stitches and decreasing to make a ruffle, and the fact that it's mohair. Want to frog it for me? It's silly that I've already named it, Toulourenc, but it's for its gorgeous color. It's the same color the water of the river Toulourenc appears to be in its deepest parts, and every time we pass it by on our way to the cliffs I have to stop and comment on the color. Clear and bright, and impossible to photograph. You'll have to take my word for it.

Most mornings after breakfast I like to go outside and sit under the olive tree. Yarn and needles, books, sketchpad, and perhaps a nectarine (summer stone fruit, yum) accompany me as I spend the next thirty minutes on my own. Alone time, it feels so good! Personal space is a premium for us; we are with each other 24/7, so occasionally one or the other disappears and it's all okay. Once in a while the husband comes out and sits next to me. We talk about the day ahead: climbing, a hike, a walk to a nearby village, a drive to the neighboring town, perhaps spending the day by the river? He gushes about the light settling over the church in the village (seen here) and thinks about what to paint next. We fall into a familiar silence, the only sounds his sipping coffee, or the cyclists on the road downhill from us. When there's a breeze he plucks the little olive blossoms that fall into my hair, which I think is downright romantic. Perhaps it's vignettes like these that inspire my knitting nowadays. It's certainly taken a softer turn this summer.

PS: I've joined the Expat Blog community. Fourteen months later! There are lots of travel blogs; I've been looking through the Europe and Asia ones in particular. Don't worry, I'll be an expat for quite a while longer!

Natalija Gros from Jure Breceljnik on Vimeo.

PPS: This is quite a nice climbing video (click for larger size) of Natalija Gros on Histerija (8c+) in Misja Pec, Slovenia. We were there last August/September, but we certainly didn't climb that grade! Considering that 9a+ is currently the highest confirmed grade in sport climbing, a woman redpointing 8c+ is frickin' impressive. I adore the classical music, the way it mirrors the fluidity of Miss Gros' movement. This is the kind of climbing that I emulate, technically precise and fluid. You could say that the Europeans, the French especially, are masters of this style. Inspiring.