Life, as always, is busy here and I haven’t gotten around to updating my blog as frequently as I would like. So there are no pictures or entries of my recent trips to Boulder, CO or Pennsylvania, where I met my parents for dinner. Nor are there any pictures of recent outings with friends here in Paris, mostly because (much to the relief of my friends) I have been leaving my camera at home.

We have just returned from a week in Egypt, which seemed like a good excuse for a blog entry. Eight days in El Gouna, outside Hurghada, right on the Red Sea.

I arrived at the airport to discover myself sitting opposite the guy I share an office with – luckily for me, we get along well, because we realized that we were on exactly the same holiday – same flights, same hotel, same everything. Fabrice was travelling with his wife and two young daughters, Mathilde (3) and Tiffane (1). Over the week, Mathilde and I became great friends.

Basically, we had a week of sun-and-sand, although the high winds meant that we spent the days by the pool instead of the beach.

I managed to squeeze in a day of diving while Aude snorkeled. Warm water (23-24C), but the diving was disappointing – there was very little to see. The highlight of the dive was an octopus, although another couple on the boat told us they had seen dolphins two days before. I guess it’s sort of luck-of-the-draw, but for me it wasn’t even close to the diving I did in Asia.

I had to suffer a fair bit of teasing on the dive – having forgotten I was already certified, I had booked myself in to do the full certification course over a couple of days. Sure enough, went back to the hotel room to get my logbook and discovered my certification card – I had forgotten I’d finished it when I was in Mauritius a few years ago. Cue a rather-embarrassed Matt having to walk back to the dive centre and asking for a refund. And cue plenty of ribbing from the dive centre staff.

The other highlight of our trip was a 4×4 trip out into the desert – 30km into the desert to visit a Bedouin village, where we at dinner and watched dancing.

Aude in El Gouna, heading out on the dive boat

Matt getting ready for his first dive of the trip

Matt and Mathilde, his new best friend

Matt all geared-up and ready to dive

Fabrice, Matt’s office-mate and dive buddy for the day, gets ready for his first dive

Mathidle watches Matt and Fabrice go

Matt helps Claire set up her gear

Matt on the dive boat

Looking out over the lagoon — this was the view from our balcony

More lagoon shots

Red Sea beach

Kite-surfing on the Red Sea. These guys were absolutely mental — they were regularly being picked up by gusts of wind and pulled 15 feet out of the water

Umbrellas along the beach — unfortunately, too windy most days to spend much time actually on the beach

One of the many pools at the hotel

Our villa at the hotel — four bedrooms opened onto a common lounge and shared balcony. We even had our own pedalo and kayak, if we were so inclined.

Aude in the desert

Old-school Toyota Landcruiser. I looked at the odometer and our 4×4 had over 750k kilometres on the clock. They may not be comfortable, but these old Landcruisers are certainly well-built and robust.

Aude and Matt in the desert. Not much to see except a lot of sand.

My new ride. What you can’t see in this picture is the fact that my camel spent basically the entire trip leaving a trail of manure behind him. (Which, after a week of Egyptian food, is pretty much what I did, too)

Aude riding a camel. Trickier than it looks.

Aude, Matt and a camel. You can decide who’s who.

I’m guessing our Egyptian cameraman did not get to see women very often.

Aude poses with her new ride.

Bedouin man

A camel making faces at us.

Baking bread over a fire made of dried camel dung. For the flavour, apparently. Mmmm.

The evening’s entertainment in the camp. Not quite American Idol.

Fast-moving dancers!

OCD? Me? Never. I prefer to think of myself as very organised. I’m a Virgo, after all.

There are some things that I love about Paris. Stopping by the boulangerie and buying a baguette that is still warm from the oven is one of those things that you just don’t get somewhere else.

I walked past a parade of children today, dressed up for Easter. They must have been five or six years old, and it looked like they had decorated their own costumes. There were angels, bunnies, and human Easter eggs – all walking in an orderly line, playing tambourines and singing.

A little while later, a congregation from the Église de Saint-Germain-des-Prés set off in a procession through the streets of the neighbourhood, following a large cross – I assume a service of the stations of the cross.

We’re off to the south of France for a few days for Easter. The weather report is predicting rain for our entire stay.

At least I have some fresh bread to look forward to.

Well, I managed to make it back from the ski trip with nothing more than a bruised ego. We had a couple of fantastic days skiing, perfect weather conditions and perfect snow conditions, coupled with the fact that there was virtually no one on the slopes so no waiting in line. You really couldn’t ask for a better long weekend.

Everyone agreed, however, that it was my outfit that stole the show. Thanks, Ebay!

Skiing in Les Arcs

Aude gets ready to tuck into her tartiflette after a morning on the slopes

Francois and Gratiane on the slopes

Francois and Gratiane on the slopes

Francois and Gratiane on the slopes

Francois, Aude and Matthew on the slopes. You can decide: is Matthew enjoying the view of Mont Blanc, or is Matthew having a little trouble turning around in this photo, which is why is he being photographed from behind?

Matthew and Aude on the slopes

Matthew and Aude on the slopes. Please note Matthew’s colourful ski outfit. You may doubt it now, but next year everyone will be wearing a catchy number like this. And everyone admitted — it was virtually impossible to lose me. No matter how hard they tried.

A beautiful sunset after a good day skiing

Francois hard at work preparing the fondue

Getting ready to warm the fondue. Or, because we had assembled it incorrectly, prepare for a trip to the emergency room. This is why I only order fondue in restaurants!

Vincent & Alex

Gratiane and Aude

Francois tucks into the fondue

Francois is a little over-excited about the fondue

Fondue

Matt’s trousers are the star of the show again. You can’t pay for publicity like this…

Lunch on the piste

Aude at the restaurant after a tartiflette

Quite a few moguls on this run. Wish I had discovered that before I reached the point of no return!

A view over the Alps

Finally, after a very hectic January and February, it’s time for a short break. I have been working hard with a new client, based in Paris, helping them manage the acquisition of another business. As always in this deals, we are working to impossible deadlines which means that we are working long hours.

So a few days skiing in the Alps is a welcome diversion. Despite reading of bitterly cold temperatures, we arrived yesterday to discover glorious, sunny weather and temperatures of 7C — not quite warm enough to ski in a T-shirt, but warm enough that we should be able to ski comfortably all day. Snow conditions are perfect, with more than 180cm (6ft) of snow on the slopes.

I am under strict instructions from the office not to break anything.

We hit the slopes for the first time this morning — then it’s a few days of raclette, tartiflette, and fondue. What a way to spend a long weekend!