And about time too! Honestly I would say it only really "arrived" 10 days ago. It feels like it has rained and snowed non-stop since the day after Christmas but at least it is finally here - thank goodness! I have been so good this week, watching my calories and exercising every lunchtime and walking the last 30 minutes to work three days this week. Weigh-in time soon and I
really hope I have lost even a little something, although to be honest I don't feel like I have. Who knows. I guess if not you just have to keep working at it don't you!
In the meantime, walking along the lake or in the botanical gardens is just heavenly this time of year. The flowers are starting to bloom and the temperature is just perfect (for me at least - I don't like the heat). I wish someone could bottle spring and sell it as I would buy shares!
I have three "circuits" that I do at lunchtime - one down to the sauna/turkish baths on the lake and back, three times round the botanical gardens and a slog uphill to the American Mission. I am almost on my knees by the time I get up to the US Mission but it is
very slowly getting a little easier! I use the excuse of taking photos to try to catch my breath and not cough up a lung!
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| A 24-hour "egg timer" in the grounds of a local restaurant! |
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| I love this tree - which I guess must have been hit by lightning! |
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| Château de Penthes - at the top of the hill! |
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| Pink flamingos in the botanical gardens |
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| I love this kiddies' merry-go-round! |
To be honest, when you are surrounded by such lovely scenery you have to be a bit pathetic to talk yourself out of at least going walking don't you.
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| A little lakeside bar being set up for the summer! |
On another note, I see that in England at least there is a plan to ban the use of single use plastic straws and cotton buds with plastic handles (amongst other things). It has yet to be adopted but there seems to be somewhat of a groundswell against plastic and single use products starting up. "Great" is all I can say. Recycling and zero waste is something I am very interested in and hope to get more involved in once I retire. At least once a year there is a mass clean up at the Geneva end of Lake Geneva and it is just amazing what is dragged out of this end of the lake alone. The far end of the lake is just past Montreux (think "Jazz Festival"), with the north shore being 95 km long and the south shore around 72 km. I don't know what goes on further up the lake but I hope there are groups doing the same thing.
And finally, this morning I was looking up laws/regulations and so on dealing with "importation of llamas and alpacas". I said to my colleague "you know you are working in an international environment don't you when you are looking up stuff on llamas and alpacas"! Which bought to mind a funny story told by a wonderful English comedian called Hugh Dennis. Many years ago he was being interviewed at the BBC studios at Pebblemill in Birmingham. I come from Birmingham and to say that the Brummie accent is atrocious is an understatement. Anyway, apparently, the Dalai Lama was also there being interviewed in another studio. As Hugh was waiting for a taxi to pick him up a young receptionist with a thick Brummie accent called over the tannoy "taxi for Mr. Lama"! I guess you had to have been there but Hugh had me in stitches! So on that note, I'll see you on Monday probably. Have a lovely week-end everyone!
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| Dalai Lama |
I am with you - would love to see the ban of straws - and plastic bags here. There is the odd city in Canada that has banned them but it really should be from a National level. People who want straws can pack a permanent one around - maybe made out of recycled metal. They do a shore cleanup here too - so much garbage pulled out of the water and surrounding shorelines. I want to volunteer some year but our holidays keep coinciding with it.
ReplyDeleteI think they have to start pretty slowly and then work up to it. I know France "banned" plastic bags in supermarkets about 7 years ago and everyone got used to bringing their own bags. No big deal really is it. But there's so much more to do.
DeleteWhat beautiful scenery you have while on your walk!
ReplyDeleteI am so against single use plastics also but amazingly the world is against straws but not so much plastic soft drink bottles, which in my mind are a far bigger culprit. I am old enough to remember when you paid a deposit on glass bottles which were reused. The same with milk!
Yep I remember the milkman too. From watching BBC's Countryfile last week it would seem that the milkman is making a bit of a comeback in certain areas of the UK at least. I hope so not only from the environmental aspect of it but quite frankly the milkman, like the postie, got to know all his customers and would notice if something was amiss. I know I would support such a move if we had it here in France.
DeleteLovely walking pictures. We are supposed to get a full weekend of sun. No coat on the drive home tonight.
ReplyDeleteWow, weren't you in a snowstorm last week? It's no wonder that people get sick isn't it - snow one week and T-shirt and shorts the next. But good for you. It's about time.
DeleteA lovely place to walk! Here I thought I was the only person who used my camera as an excuse to pause and catch my breath!!
ReplyDeleteOn that slog up to the US Mission for the moment I still take a breather, but once I get a bit fitter I hope to do it in one go. Until then I'll keep taking the pictures!
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