Switzerland : Region of Fribourg

We were invited by friends in their house near the town of Gruyères. We had been there in the past during summer time. This place had us falling in love again with its beautiful countryside. We had it all : snow, little farms, ski and of course chocolate and cheese.

We started our week by skiing at the domain of the Paccots (http://www.les-paccots.ch/en/). This little domain is really great for beginners or if it's your first ski day since a year. With sun and blue sky we couldn't ask for more.

As one of our friends hadn't visted the town of Gruyères yet, we had to stop by. When you arrive by car you can see the castle and the fortified city above a small hill . With your first step in the big town square you're transported in the past. After a walk in town we stopped by at a little café where we enjoyed a delicious gruyère sandwich. If you're in the area you really must stop there.

The house was only at 800m high and with the "warm" weather we had this winter in Europe we didn't have snow around the house. But on thursday morning we woke up with snow everywhere. Ths picture below shows the view we had from the house. The day couldn't start in a better way.

We went back to the Paccots but this time with our snowshoes. We followed the trail n°7 which was about 9km. It took us on top of the of the "Gros Niremont (1514m)" which gave us a beautiful view on the alps. We were lucky as 5 mins after our downhill hike we fell into the fog which reminded us that the weather can change quickly in the mountains. Back to the house we enjoyed a well deserved "moitié-moitié" (half and half) fondue (half vacherin from Fribourg, half gruyère). This closed our week in Switzerland and I only have one thing to say: when do we go back?

United States : In the middle of nowhere... Yuma

Everytime I said to someone I was going to Yuma they all told me: "What, Yuma? There is nothing there". Well I don't really agree. I've seen really nice National Parks and Reserves as well as sunrises and sunsets and beautiful night with clear skies. I had never seen so many stars in the sky.

One of the first site I could visit was the Imperial Sand Dunes (http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/elcentro/recreation/ohvs/isdra.html). It's really impressive to drive in the dessert and all of the sudden you just see sand everywhere. It's just like the sea is right behind the dunes.

Since I arrived I had seen two mountains north of Yuma. I had told myself I had to find where it was. After a quick search on the internet I finially found it was on the way to Picacho State Recreation Area (http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=641). You need a 4X4 to get there as it is a dirt road but it's really worth it. You just drive around mountainous landscapes. I've choosen that spot for my first stars shooting and despite some light pollution the spot turned up really good.

The next day, I drove to the second mountain we see from Yuma, Castel Dome. At the foot of the mountain you can visit an old mine town (http://www.castledomemuseum.com/). This interesting museum put you back in the years 1800 and gives you a taste of what the life would be in a miner village.

As days were flying by I always said I wanted to see a sunrise and I tried to find the best spot for this time of the year. After a small search on the internet I came up with the idea of going to the Telegraph Pass right outside of the city near the town of Fortuna Foothills.We had to park along highway I-8 and walk by foot to the summit. The hike was quite steap but it was worth it. I could just admire the sunrise sitting on a bench. I was also surprised to run into so many people when going back down.

This was already the end of my trip. I must say that I never got bored and if you like outdoor activities Yuma is certainly a place to be. Especially during winter where you get about 70°F everyday with a clear blue sky.

United States : Visit of San Diego

California... yeah! The first things that come to my mind when I hear this word is sun, beaches and surf. Well, even though it was in the middle of January I still got to enjoy my stay in San Diego.

I only had one day so I had to find what to do. I first started with Coronado. I enjoyed the view of San Diego's skyline and decided to take the ferry to Convention Center which was about 5$ (http://www.flagshipsd.com/coronado-ferry). This took me directly to the historic heart of San Diego : the Gaslamp Quarter which is nowadays well-known for it's night life. As it was only 01.00PM I decided to keep walking along the water and passed by the Seaport village. This small village with its narrow streets has mostly shops and restaurants.
I kept on walking and arrived at the USS Midway Museum. This old aircraft carrier is really worth the stop as you can imagine what would be the life inside of the giant of the seas. On the deck you can see all kind of planes and choppers.

Afterwards I probably made one of my worst decision. I decided to walk to mission beach as it didn't seem to far on the city map I received at the tourist office near the USS Midway. Well, about 1,5 hour later I finally got to Ocean Beach and afterwards to Mission beach. Even though I regretted my decision I was rewarded by a beautiful sunset. These two beached were exactly what I had in mind for the West coast : beaches, surfers and piers. My day ended there where I went to eat and drink at the Sandbar Sportsbar & Grill (http://www.sandbarsportsgrill.com/) where we had a good meal with a view on the Mission Beach Roller-coaster.

I had booked at the Padre Trail Inn Old Town. It was all I needed for one night, the room and bathroom were alright. However, I was a little disapointed by the continental breakfast which wasn't as big and diversified as it seemed on the website.

The next morning I went to La Jolla neighborhood a little noth of the city. It's probably my favorite place. Of course it's also one of the most expansive neighborhood of the State. Well I've known worst landscapes... Near the high cliffs we could spot some seals resting next to the paddlers.

This was the last stop of my San Diego citytrip. I really enjoyed visiting this sunny and friendly city and hope to be back soon to visit the Old Town.

France : Mountaineering in the Vosges

We arrived in Colmar on Friday, January 3rd.  This city is known for its beautiful coloured half-timbered houses but is also the city of Bartholdi who made the "Statue of Liberty".

We found out that it was a little to late for the Christmas market but all decorations were still hanging for our good surprise. The city is wonderfully decorated and the Christmas sphere was still present and made us want to come another year during Christmas holidays.

With the Christmas lights everywhere we decided to wander in the narrow streets of the city. We could see water everywhere. There is even a small place called 'Little Venice" which is really romantic. It's where we decided to eat for the evening. We had supper at "Le Comptoir de Georges" (http://le-comptoir-de-georges.fr/) which is first a butchery but they have seats in the back. They have a lot of local dishes. They don't look for fancy things but the food was excellent. Afterwards we went to our hotel "Les maraichers" (http://www.les-maraichers.com/) which is alright for a one night stop and has a diversified continental breakfast.

On Saturday we had rain and wind which wasn't the best start for our mountaineering training. There wasn't any snow under 1100m. The Vosges aren't really high with its highest peak at about 1500m. However with the little snow we had we could already start doing our "Snow corridors". It's really fun to walk around with ice axes and studs. After our activities wad had a well deserved rest at the refuge "Refuge des Trois fours" (http://chaletrefuge3fours.ffcam.fr/) where we had a warm welcome. The food was excellent and the ambience was friendly and everybody was telling his day.

On Sunday we woke up early to be able to enjoy the day. At our surprise it snowed all night and cheered us up for our next activities. We went back to the summit of the Hohneck where next to the snow that was falling we had the wind blowing really hard. This didn't of course stop us and we all had a wonderful time.

The Netherlands : Island of Texel

I had to drive all the way up North of the Netherlands. I decide to kill two birds with one stone and visited the beautiful little island of Texel. (pronounce "Tessel") This island is known for it's bird life and sheep breeding.

We first had to take the boat from Den Helder. It costs 25€ for the round-trip (http://www.teso.nl/en/). As the sun was going down we drove all the way up to the lighthouse  north of the island where we discovered a splendid sunset.

We had booked at the Fletcher Hotel de Cooghen in De Koog (which was ok because of last minute booking but that we would not really recommend otherwise, go for a B&B instead!). What we didn't know is that Texel has a tradition of celebrating "Ouwe sunderklaas" one week after Sinterklaas. Every inhabitant disguise himself and knock on doors taking weird voices and makes fun of known Dutch figures. So the hotel was kind of noisy however the breakfast was really nice. We had supper at the Bodega 59 (http://www.bodega59.nl/) which wasn't too expansive and quite good. If we had to do it again we would choose a more authentic place in the countryside like a bed & breakfast.

We woke up early to see the sunrise. Unfortunately, it was overcast but we enjoyed walking at the Oudeschild's seaport where fishers had just come back from the sea and were unloading fish and repairing nets. Afterwards we went hiking in the National Park Dunes of Texel (http://www.npduinenvantexel.nl/page/English). You can see a lot of bird species in these dunes. It's said that you can spot some seals and if you want to learn more about them you can stop by at the Ecomare (http://www.ecomare.nl/).

For lunch we stopped at the "Inn de knip" (http://www.inndeknip.nl/). This is a beautiful little café lost in the town of Den Hoorn has lots to offer. You can eat all kind of homemade dished : soups, sandwich, fishes, etc. It's definitely worth a stop.

Belgium : One day in Antwerp

What should we do this weekend? "Well let's go and visit Antwerp!" "But where should we start a Saturday morning knowing it's "Sinterklaas". (= Biiiig Belgian tradition for Children!)

Well we decided to start where most travellers start: at the train station. We had been there in the past but it's always a pleasure to see this wonderful train station. We parked the car in the underground parking under the station (about 18€ a day).

We had a Starbucks before leaving the station (old habbit we picked up in the US) and just wandered in the streets. The buildings are really nice and the main square is really nice with the view of the Cathedral of our Lady in the background.

We had read about a small museum in the backstreets that was really worth a visit. "The Poorterswooning" Museum (http://www.poorterswoning.be/) is a really nice little house of a 16th century house where you can see how a trader lived at that time. The guide put you really in the picture and it's just like you travelled back in time. (3€ per person where 1€ can be used in the café downstairs)

A second thing worth seeing is crossing to the other side of the river through the "Sint-Anna tunnel'. This 572 m long tunnel is reserved to pedestrians and bikers. The escalators are still the originals which are made of wood. When getting out of the tunnel you can enjoy the view of Antwerp's skyline.

This was the last step of our trip. We walked back to the train station using all small streets. We definitely have to come back another day to explore more of these old streets and houses.