Porto and the hill country of Peneda-Gerês (September 2016)
Posted by Richard on Tuesday 20th March 2018 at 09:27 PM
For our fifth annual hike with Peter and Rachel we headed for Portugal. We spent a couple of nights in Porto before heading for the hills in the Parque Nacional da Peneda-Gerês for five days walking through this beautiful corner of the country. (This was our third trip with the excellent
https://www. 
Philadelphia (August 2016)
Posted by Richard on Tuesday 20th March 2018 at 09:24 PM
Having been made redundant from Dell in April, before rejoining in July, I got the chance to meet my new team, based in Pennsylvania, the following month. I flew into Philadelphia and had half a day to look around before moving on to Berwyn for business.
Verona and Lake Garda (April 2016)
Posted by Richard on Monday 13th June 2016 at 05:12 PM
Verona is a top destination! We spent three nights here, and really felt as though we got to know the city. We walked miles, but found plenty of places to rest our weary feet - many that served an Aperol Spritz!
The Ligurian Hills (September 2015)
Posted by Richard on Tuesday 31st May 2016 at 05:44 PM
Our fourth walking trip with Peter and Rachel took us to the Ligurian Hills in northwest Italy. Our 85 mile walk took us from the Po Valley to the Mediterranean Sea following the medieval
Via del Sale. (This was our second trip with
Aude, France (July 2015)
Posted by Richard on Monday 30th May 2016 at 05:48 PM
Liz and Paul now have a
pied-à-terre in the Aude in south-central France - 'Cathar Country'. Laura and I joined them for a few days in July, flying in and out of Montpellier. (Tristan and Tom were in residence but Matt was on a tour of the US at the time).
Rome (March 2015)
Posted by Laura on Friday 27th May 2016 at 11:06 PM
I had a lovely girlie weekend in Rome with Debbie at the end of her last ever Italian work trip. This involved much sightseeing, shopping, eating, cookery classes, culture and cocktails.
Saint Martin (April 2014)
Posted by Richard on Thursday 7th August 2014 at 11:56 AM
Liz decided the best place for me to recuperate after my new year health scare, was on a beach in the Caribbean. Who was I to disagree?!
Ottawa (December 2013)
Posted by Richard on Thursday 7th August 2014 at 11:43 AM
It was really nice of Debbie and Bill to invite us over to Canada for the New Year, but surely they could have done something about the weather?! At -28 °C (-40 °C with wind-chill) it was colder in Ottawa than at the North Pole!
Prague (October 2013)
Posted by Richard on Thursday 7th August 2014 at 11:39 AM
Part two of our two-city break to
Berlin and Prague - Hugh and Deanne have already been in Prague for three years, but I'm sure they didn't expect us to take them up on their 'come and stay' offer!
Berlin (October 2013)
Posted by Richard on Thursday 7th August 2014 at 11:38 AM
Part one of our two-city break to Berlin and
Prague - we've been threatening to visit Jeremy in Berlin for about 20 years.
Côte d'Azur (August 2012)
Posted by Richard on Thursday 8th August 2013 at 10:40 PM
With Liz and Paul likely to be moving to pastures new next summer, this was our last chance to visit them in the South of France ... for a while at least.
Maldives (December 2011)
Posted by Richard on Tuesday 8th May 2012 at 01:04 PM
For our 25th wedding anniversary, Laura and I headed to the Maldives for sun, sea and s...umptuous food!
Mountains and Med (February 2011)
Posted by Richard on Monday 21st March 2011 at 12:00 AM
For half term we headed back to France for a week with famille-Liz. Unfortunately, no time off for Uni students, so we were down to three. :-(
Gers, France (September 2010)
Posted by Richard on Tuesday 21st December 2010 at 07:37 PM
The boys had had their trip to France
in February, so in September it was Laura's turn. This time a short trip with Fiona to see Gerald and Evelyne in Mielan. Unfortunately photographic evidence is limited to mug shots of the cats!
Quebec and Ontario (July 2010)
Posted by Richard on Tuesday 21st December 2010 at 07:02 PM
Leaving
New England behind us, the second part of our North American tour was spent with Debbie and Bill in Ottawa. We even managed a couple of nights away in Quebec, before flying back from Montreal over two weeks later.
New England (July 2010)
Posted by Richard on Tuesday 21st December 2010 at 07:02 PM
Debbie and Bill had invited us to Ottawa for our summer vacation, so as with our
previous trip we decided to take in a few sights along the way.
Mountains and Med (February 2010)
Posted by Richard on Sunday 13th June 2010 at 02:01 PM
At half-term, 'the boys' took a quick trip out to see Liz in France. Unfortunately, Tristan was away (skiing!) and Paul was hard at work, but we got to spend some great time with Liz, Matt and Tom.
Tour de France (August 2009)
Posted by Richard on Friday 27th November 2009 at 01:01 AM
We spent the last two weeks of August on another 2,500 mile road trip around France - from Chartres to the Dordogne, from Gers to Languedoc, and from the Côte d'Azur to the Côte d'Or. Adam and Mark were already with their Grandparents in the south, so Laura and I had a few days to ourselves. :-)
Venice (June 2009)
Posted by Laura on Friday 27th November 2009 at 12:58 AM
Laura and Debbie had a girly long weekend in Venice in June 2009. Staying at the Hotel Mercurio, 5 minutes walk from the Piazza San Marco, they had a fabulous time. This included Bellini cocktails at Caffe Florian on the Friday night , a magical gondola ride on the Saturday evening, a trip up to the top of the Campanile and long walks around Piazza San Marco and the Rialto district.
Austin, Texas (May 2009)
Posted by Richard on Monday 15th June 2009 at 11:23 PM
I spent a week at Dell HQ in Round Rock (about 15 miles north of Austin) on a training course. By staying over on the Saturday night, I saved the company $100s ... and got a chance to look round Austin. Win-win!
Umbria and Tuscany (July 2008)
Posted by Richard on Sunday 28th September 2008 at 07:23 PM
Our summer vacation for 2008 took us to Italy. Flights in and out of Pisa, two weeks in a fabulous 'agriturismo' overlooking Lake Trasimino and day trips to all of the best bits of Umbria and Tuscany!
Israel (December 2007)
Posted by Richard on Saturday 23rd February 2008 at 06:29 PM
We spent Christmas and the New Year with Liz, Paul and the boys in Tel Aviv. This was our second trip to Israel and we managed to see a few of the sites we missed on
our first stay.
Gers, France (October 2007)
Posted by Richard on Tuesday 13th November 2007 at 12:07 AM
We spent the October half-term with Laura's parents in the south of France. It was the first time we'd made the trip in the Autumn - we were really lucky with the weather and the colours were spectacular, but it did start to get cold towards the end of our stay.
Center Parcs, NL (August 2007)
Posted by Richard on Sunday 4th November 2007 at 11:54 PM
Our summer vacation took us to a Center Parcs village in the Netherlands with Richard, Wendy and family. An opportunity for the kids to wear themselves out, and for the adults to partake in a bottle or two of wine!
Rome (July 2007)
Posted by Richard on Sunday 22nd July 2007 at 10:43 PM
Carpe diem! With Adam and Mark on school trips, Laura and I headed for Rome.
Bangalore and Mysore (November 2006)
Posted by Richard on Friday 8th December 2006 at 12:00 AM
I spent almost a month of 2006 in Bangalore on business. A few of these photos were taken on the first trip in September, but most come from a day-trip to Mysore in November.
Israel (October 2006)
Posted by Richard on Friday 8th December 2006 at 12:00 AM
With Liz and Paul 'out of Africa', this was our first chance to visit them in their new home, Tel Aviv.
Gers, France (August 2006)
Posted by Richard on Friday 8th December 2006 at 12:00 AM
Work commitments kept me at home, but Laura, Adam and Mark flew off without me for a fortnight at
l'Auberge des Grandparents near Miélan in the Gers.
Benin (December 2004)
Posted by Richard on Monday 14th February 2005 at 11:19 PM
Three years on and the IceCold Crew were back with Liz, Paul
et famille in Benin. And probably for the last time - Liz and Paul move on in the summer; next stop Tel Aviv!
Tour de France (August 2004)
Posted by Richard on Wednesday 17th November 2004 at 12:44 AM
Another two and a half thousand mile
Tour de France - Calais, Paris, Toulon, Carcassonne, Miélan, Vieux-Boucau, Calais - but this time on bikes ... well, with bikes!
Ski Banff (December 2003)
Posted by Richard on Sunday 18th January 2004 at 03:06 PM
We spent the last few days of 2003 and the first few of the New Year skiing in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies. (Skiing in France will never be the same again). Thanks to Tom and Kate at the Rocky Mountain Chalet for looking after us. Highly recommended destination, but don't forget your long-johns!
Barcelona (October 2003)
Posted by Richard on Monday 24th November 2003 at 01:34 AM
For Laura's milestone birthday - she's now 21 (with 19 years experience!) - we visited Barcelona. Join us as we stroll down Las Ramblas, enjoy Gaudi's Architecture and cheer on Barca at the Camp Nou ...
Tour de France (August 2002)
Posted by Richard on Saturday 5th October 2002 at 11:02 PM
Our Grand Tour of France this summer started with a slight detour into Switzerland. From there we headed down to Miélan in the South of France, back up to Les Sables d'Olonne in the Southern Vendee, and home via le Mont-St-Michel. We even managed a border crossing into Spain.
Benin (December 2001)
Posted by Richard on Tuesday 1st January 2002 at 12:00 AM
Liz and Paul have been in West Africa since 1997, first in the Côte d'Ivoire and now in Benin. It took us over four years to overcome our fear of injections and make the trip!
Tour de France (August 2001)
Posted by Richard on Tuesday 1st January 2002 at 12:00 AM
Our 'grandes vacances' in the summer of 2001 took us to France, from Miélan in Gascony to Messanges on the Atlantic coast and home via le Mont-St-Michel.
Ontario (October 2000)
Posted by Richard on Tuesday 1st January 2002 at 12:00 AM
This was Laura's first trip back to Canada - land of her childhood - in over 25 years. We stayed with Debbie in Ottawa, the capital of Canada since 1857. We crossed the Ottawa River separating Ontario from Quebec to visit the beautiful Gatineau Park, and we also headed out to White Lake, where Laura's family had their weekend cottage.
San Francisco (February 2000)
Posted by Richard on Tuesday 1st January 2002 at 12:00 AM
My team spent the first two months of the new millennium working hard(!) in California, at Oracle HQ in Redwood Shores. (Look out for the campus in Robin Williams' film Bicentennial Man.) We were able to get away from the office occasionally; the ski trips to Lake Tahoe were particularly memorable, but I didn't have a camera!
