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UK West Midlands in the Springtime

Monday, March 28th, 2011

While spending the winter in Switzerland I took advantage of cheap air travel to visit my family in the West Midlands area of the UK, where I grew up. Luckily spring made an early appearance so Rob and I took advantage of the lovely weather to see a little of the local countryside.

I hadn’t realized how close the canals were to my sister’s house, or that the canals ran right through the center of Birmingham – even right through some buildings! We were impressed with the renovation of the waterways in Birmingham and would certainly recommend anyone visiting the UK to take a day to go there. Canal boats can also be hired for anything from a long weekend to a week or longer……maybe next time for us.

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Venice in the winter

Tuesday, February 15th, 2011

Still waiting for snow in Switzerland Rob and I decided to take full advantage of the exceptional rail service in Europe and ‘popped’ to Venice for the weekend.  We stayed at a private bed and breakfast that was excellent.  The owner had to collect us from the maze of streets then walk us back to the house.

We spent two days walking and walking in the grey, drizzly weather.  Great for moody photos, some of which have a look about them that seems as if the city hasn’t changed at all in 100 years.  Unfortunately it has, however, with property prices driving the Venicians to the mainland:  some 100,000 have left in the last few years, leaving a population of around 60,000.  I would certainly recommend for anyone to go and visit this exceptional city, stay with one of the private bed and breakfast operators in the hope of keeping them in the city that they were born in.

We walked.  We ate.  We drank.  We took photos.  We listened to a live performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.  We enjoyed ourselves!

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Streets of Sion, Switzerland

Monday, February 7th, 2011

With yet another clear blue day and no snow for nearly a month, Rob and I decided to go down the valley to Sion.  This is a mixture of old and new, somewhat commercial, town and we chose (not surprisingly) to wander around the old part.  Peeling paint, old fashioned doorways, shutters and narrow alleyways with cafes on every corner and two chateaus overlooking the valley.  It was a lovely way to spend the day.

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Alloway Beach, Scotland

Monday, February 7th, 2011

A couple of weeks ago a friend flew me to Scotland to shoot his wedding.  On the morning of the wedding I took a stroll down the beach as the sun rose.  It was very pretty.

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Toko Hotel

Thursday, January 20th, 2011

Here in Nendaz, Switzerland, there are many large apartment / hotel blocks but Toko Chalet, Hotel and Restaurant offers a little extra.  Sitting just outside of the main village (but still close to the lifts and shops) it sits above the valley and offers stunning views over the mountains.  Amongst other things, the restaurant offers the only Indian cuisine in Nendaz!

I was asked to take some photos of it for the owners, Treena and Meredith.

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Basel International Ski School Photos

Thursday, January 20th, 2011

Here in Switzerland one of the local ski schools – Neige Aventure – asked me to take photos of their students from the Basel International Ski School.

The full gallery of images can be viewed and prints ordered from here.

Here are just a few example photos:

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Old Stuff in Haute-Nendaz

Thursday, January 6th, 2011

Today I went for a wander into the old part of Nendaz.  After living in Whistler for the last 10 years, where most of the buildings are less than 30 years old it is quite impressive to see these old barns and houses still being used.  I can’t recall the name of the “toad stool” pillars under some of the buildings, but I do know that they are installed to stop mice and rats from scurrying into the barns.

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New Year’s Eve in Nendaz

Saturday, January 1st, 2011

With another beautiful day ahead of us, John, OB and I headed up Plan du Fou again. We played around with some portraits then headed down the off piste for some more action shots. The Kodak courage ended in great photos but mostly carnage on every landing! Fortunately no injuries.

We then met up with Nick who guided us on the Greppon Blanc itinerary. Starting at 2700m we skied down a huge bowl which still had surprisingly good snow in it considering it’s nearly a week since it snowed. The bowl funnels into a gully, then a road and we actually skied right through what must be a summer farming community – all closed up for the winter. Eventually we ended up more or less in the middle of nowhere waiting for a bus back to Les Masses at 1515m. Quite a lot of lifts and runs later we were back in Nendaz after an adventure of some 4 1/2 hours!

Later on I joined everyone for New Year’s celebrations Euro – style in the main square. Champagne, fireworks and DJ. Lots of fun.

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More hiking. More fresh snow.

Tuesday, December 28th, 2010

Photos from today.  It was very flat light and the snow was a little wetter than a couple of days ago.  I actually enjoyed the hike and the company more than the skiing!

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New Friends and Fresh Tracks

Sunday, December 26th, 2010

On Christmas day I was fortunate to get chatting with and ultimately skiing with two British guys, James and his brother-in-law, John.  James and his wife Michelle own an apartment in Nendaz and consequently James in particular has skied the area extensively and has been guided around by various friends.  It was his turn to “pay it forward’ and guide John and I today.

We really only did two runs but both of them were full of perfect, light, fluffy untouched snow.  Yet because you need to hike to both areas – just 5 minutes for the first and a very steep, scary 20 minute climb up the “Stairway to Heaven” for the second – much of the snow stays untouched by the bulk of the tourists.  Best day yet!

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