It’s been a couple of weeks since I have updated my blog, but that is mostly down to constant travel. I was in Switzerland for a few days, then Barcelona, then to Lisbon for a wedding, then back to Barcelona for a few days, and I am now finally back in Paris. It looks like I will actually get a full week in Paris this week (unless I have to go to London for the day on Friday – the outlook is 50/50 right now) followed by a week in the south of France. My first holiday in a year, and one that I am really looking forward to!

Darren and Lina’s wedding in Lisbon was fantastic – lots of entertainment, good food, and beautiful weather. We even got a more scenic tour of the Portuguese countryside than we anticipated, thanks to the bus driver’s detour when he couldn’t find the house.

Aude can’t resist a guy with a cleaver

What is it with Matthew and pigs?

Lina walks up the aisle

Darren and Lina exchange rings

The newly married couple walks down the aisle

Outside the chapel, getting ready to throw her confetti…

Lina’s mother shares a laugh

Darren and Lina, under a shower of flower petals, as they leave the chapel

Aude and Mascha

These two didn’t say much…

Simon, Jill and Aude

Darren catches his breath

Simon and Jill

Matthew and Aude

Here comes trouble!

Aude

Tables decorations

More table decorations

Wine bottles, lined up and ready to go!

Another table decoration

Best man

Lots of little ones around!

Dance lessons before dinner

Darren and Lina show us how it’s done

Nice glasses, mate.

Portuguese cheeses after dinner

Lina and Darren share a secret

Happy bride

My twin

Lina takes the lead dancing

Darren and Lina strut their stuff

This goes beyond Dirty dancing — this is downright Dangerous dancing

Roar!

You really shouldn’t mix alcohol and cigarettes.

We enjoyed some excellent weather in Paris for Bastille Day, and took the opportunity to spend most of the day outside. We had a long walk from our place up to Concorde, then jumped in the Metro and headed out to Monmartre to spend the afternoon there, since I haven’t been there in years. It was absolutely packed with tourists, but no matter — the rest of Paris was closed for the holiday, so this is where the action was.

Sacre Coeur

To say this was a little bit of a tourist trap would be an understatement. Standing room only on the stairs!

Views of Paris from Monmartre

The Eiffel Tower peeks through the trees

A Parisian couple stop to take in the view

A singer in the square behind Sacre Coeur

Aude near Monmartre

A Bastille Day parade with ATVs heads down the street

This takes green transport to a new level

Turns out there isn’t really much to photograph around Geneva. Oh well, here is some evidence that I was there…

Boats on the harbour in downtown Geneva

The Geneva skyline

The Geneva Jet d’Eau fountain

A statue in the park

We went to see the new Richard Avedon exhibition that opened last week at the Jeu de Paume. We waited in line for about half an hour to get in, some of that time in the sprinkling rain, but it was absolutely worth it. It was a really great exhibition with a lot of work on show.

This is the best I could do.

Aude, Richard Avedon style

Turns out I’m no Richard Avedon.

I have been travelling constantly for the last couple of weeks, so haven’t had time to post much on the blog. I am getting to know Switzerland rather better than I would like, having spent half the week in Geneva and half the week in Zurich.

Last weekend Sean was in Paris for a few days, so we took the chance to catch up with him, which was great after such a long time. I never managed to get out to HK when I was based in Singapore. Jerome was in town for the afternoon as well — next thing we knew, we had an impromptu gathering on our hands…

Matthew & Aude chilling on the couch

Matthew at the table

Aude and Calypso have a moment…

Sean relaxes after lunch

Jerome seems to be enjoying himself