2 down!! 0 to go!

I had my 2nd op on Tuesday the 9th of November. We had to be in at the hospital by 11am that morning, but I didn't go into theatre until 5pm! It was a long day!

The surgery went really well, and the damage in the common iliac and external iliac arteries was pretty much the same as the left side (6.5cm in total). I had another sleepless night after the op, which the anaesthetist told me is quite common. I ended up texting people in the UK and Ireland during the night, because at least they would reply to me as I lay awake at 3am! There were no aftershocks at all while I lay in hospital this time - a stark contrast to my first operation!

I am now at home and doing well 7 days post op... and counting! Unfortunately no matter how many times I count the days on my wall planner, they just don't go any faster! I did have a strangely fantastic day on Saturday (day 4) and went for numerous short walks, and had lots of visitors. I paid for it big time later that night when I almost passed out and lay awake feeling sick for the rest of the night. It certainly gave me a fright - and probably one I needed. I am not yet out of the woods, no matter how much I want to be! Not long though....

Dad is here again helping us out - greatly appreciated. Even scallops wrapped in bacon for tea last night!

My legs feel great so far - not that I have done much. They feel light and walking feels alot freer. Can't wait til I can do more to have a proper guage... and I can't wait to do some real exercise and to actually puff and sweat!!! Patience....

Until next time
Jeanette

Next surgery

Hi all
I saw the surgeon today (4 weeks 5 days post op). He was really happy with my progress and has scheduled the next op for November 9th. Hope it goes as well as the first one!
Today I did my longest walk so far - 1 hr! I am pretty tired now, but stoked that I could do it! I also walked some stairs (and forwards too!) - it is amazing how different my legs feel - the left feels weak but 'normal', and the right feels awful! It feels like it fills with lactic acid, and that there is a tourniquet around it - which I guess isn't too far from the truth.

Well 3 weeks to go til I have to go through all of this again, but at least after the next one it will be onwards and upwards from there!

Jeanette

1 down, 1 to go...

Hi all
My first surgery went really well, and I am now 13 days post op. The surgeon said he found more damage than expected. The damage had progressed into my common iliac artery (1.5cm), and a fibrous plaque was removed from this area and sent away for analysis. Will be interesting to see the histology report. The area that we knew was damaged prior to the op (from CT scan), was actually significantly stenosed (narrowed), and might well explain the problems I was having with activities of daily living (stairs, walking etc). The damage extended 5cm into the external iliac artery, so a total of 6.5cm of the arteries on my left side were repaired.

After the surgery I was apparently babbling like an idiot when I came out of recovery. Christine and Jase were there to meet me. Jase stayed with Christine as it was closer to the hospital, and apparently all I was worried about was the fact that Jase had no toothpaste as I had taken it!

That night was a long night. I didn't sleep a wink. It was a bad night for aftershocks and the hospital is apparently on rollers so moves around alot more than the short jolts I had been getting at home. I think the night nurse was getting a little sick of me ringing the buzzer every time there was an earthquake! She didn't ease my mind by telling me she was also scared and also didn't believe that we had had the big one yet! It was a little disconcerting being 2 stories up and being unable to move!

I came home 2 days later, and spent alot of the first week on the couch with Dad as my caregiver/servant/housekeeper/cook!! We really appreciate his help and we are not sure what we would have done if he hadn't come down. I have gradually been able to walk further and further, but I just get so tired all the time and need regular rests. Yesterday I walked about 800m so was pretty stoked with that! We also saw 2 whales just off the beach here in Sumner which was pretty cool!

I see the surgeon again in another 3 weeks, and hope to have the next surgery in 6 weeks time (8 weeks from the 1st). I haven't done much but I already feel better. My legs don't ache anymore, I can sit for longer, and I actually feel healthier. I am trying my best to not get frustrated at being totally inactive, as I know I have to go through all of this again soon.

Roll on 2011!
Jeanette

Surgery Update

Hi all (yes sadly no more 'bonjour' - we are back!)

Just an update on the plan from here for those of you who wanted to know...

I will have 2 operations as the surgeon decided that it is too risky to operate on both sides at once. The first surgery will be on my Left external iliac artery on September 15th. If all goes well with my recovery, the Right side will be operated on 6-8 weeks later. He expects that, with a good recovery, I will be able to return to work about 8 weeks after that.

Will keep you posted!
Jeanette

Au revoir Europe...

Bonjour all
Well our trip is coming to an end. We are still in Spain on the Costa Brava, but tomorrow we head to Montpellier to return the car, then catch the TGV to Paris. We will spend some time in Paris and then a day in Singapore before returning to the 'warm' weather in Christchuch. Please have that arranged for us! I think we may be in shock with the temperatures you have been having!

It has been a good relaxing time here on the Costa Brava. We have been spending alot of time at the beach. I have even had a swimming buddy the last 2 days which has been awesome. Today was my last swim as I probably won't get to swim in Paris. So now that it is almost over, I have to say swimming is very boring! I miss the change in scenery that you get on a bike. Although in saying that, it did get slightly interesting this morning when I thought a shark had nudged my pool buoy! It turns out it was just a wave hitting it awkwardly - but it did freak me out at the time! I have been thinking a bit about sharks this past week, as we saw on the news here that a great white had attacked someone in Florida which is highly unusual. I then started to tell myself that my pool buoy could in fact look like a giant lure... my mind was playing silly tricks, but at least it forced me to get out of 1st gear and lift my game slightly!

Yesterday at the beach we had front row seats to a skydiver landing. He was having trouble with the on-shore wind, and was turning and cruising up and down the beach near where we were. Then he finally landed about 15m away from us - it was very exciting!

We have been in a hotel for the last few nights as we could only rent our apartment for the week. The Spanish guy at the desk is hilarious. He is so excited that we come from NZ and keeps asking us all about it. I think he also likes to practise his English. Every time we go anywhere we have to leave our key at the front reception - and he always says "have a nice day" when we give it to him. The other day we were in and out so many times, and every time he said "have a nice day" - even when we headed out for dinner that night. He kind of reminds me of 'Manwel' from Faulty Towers...

Jase and I seem to be back to our silly competitive ways also. Our banter the other night culminated in us both getting up out of bed in the middle of the night to have an arm wrestle! I am highly irate to say that I lost rather easily... He keeps telling me that I am "stuck in loser-ville" so I am soon to come up with something I can win...

Well I probably won't write again now before we get home... Thanks so much for reading all my waffle. We have had a fantastic trip. It may not have been as good/the same as I would have liked, but it has allowed me to do some other things that I probably wouldn't have done otherwise. It has also given me the time I needed to make the right decision regarding surgery. Given how limited I am activity-wise (basically I can swim with a pool buoy, and walk slowly but not too far), Jase and I feel the right decision is to have the surgery. I hope I can get back to high level sport, but if not I at least want to be more active than I am now. I will keep using this blog to keep those of you from out of town updated on my surgeries etc.

See you all soon.
Au revior...
Jeanette

Cannes fireworks, Costa Brava...

Bonjour all (actually Hola now...),

Last Thursday we headed into Cannes to watch the fireworks... And last Thursday night we returned to Juan Les Pins having not seen them again!! This time we had gotten the day right, but as we were sitting down waiting to see them, a voice came over the sound system saying that they had been cancelled for the night due to 'technical difficulties'! Unbelievable! We had had a good night in Cannes though before this - we had looked at the shops and had a nice dinner out, so it wasn't a totally wasted trip.

The following night we headed back to Cannes, and this time it was on! Third time lucky I guess! It turned out to be well worth the wait. It was the most spectacular fireworks display I have ever seen. It was all to music, and went for a good 30 mins. Gutted that Christine and Mum missed it - you guys will just have to come back someday!

We are now in Roses - a small town on the Costa Brava (North East Coast of Spain). Today there are thunderstorms so we are not really up to too much. This place is pretty nice, although not as beautiful as the French Riviera or even further down the Costa Brava Coast. We arrived on Saturday after a mega drive from Juan Les Pins. Jase and I got up early that morning so he could go running and I could go swimming before we had to sit in the car all day. The water was beautiful - glassy, and no-one else there. It made me wonder why I can't drag myself out of bed early every morning!

The drive was tedious to say the least. We took all the major toll roads as they are so much faster - although much less scenic. For some reason the traffic all over France was terrible on Saturday - it was even all over the news that night, but we are still not sure why. We were stuck in some massive traffic jams and didn't end up arriving here in Roses until after 6.30pm!

We are staying in a studio apartment in a camping ground here. It is really nice and has all we need. Yesterday we spent the whole day at the beach. I swam for 45 mins in the rough sea - definitely making it more interesting! I don't know how many times I took a mouthful of salty water! Today I was really tired and woke to Jase arriving back from an early morning run. The weather is pretty average today which is actually a nice change (as long as it is good again tomorrow!).

This afternoon we decided to go exploring at the nearby beaches and coves. This plan was foiled however when we reached the car, only to find we had a flat tyre. We put the spare tyre on and then began the saga of getting a new tyre. We stopped at several service stations, but no-one spoke any English. Luckily for us, one attendant spoke some English and directed us to a mechanic (there are none at the service stations here). When we arrived at the repair place, it was turning into a bit of a drama as he spoke no English either - then I thought I would try to speak to him in French - and 'Voila' we communicated from then on in French! I still have a long way to go, but it sure has come in handy!!

Not much more to add. We are looking forward to seeing you all again soon.

Jeanette

French Riviera - Part 2

Bonjour All,

The top 3 photos are of the Gorges du Verdon (as mentioned last time).

Well all of our friends and family have left us now. Mum and Chrisitine left for 2 days in Geneva on Saturday. That morning, Mum, Christine and I went parasailing. Mum had made the comment to me the day before that she thought it might be "a bit tame". I agreed wholeheartedly with this but we thought we would do it anyway. Well as it turns out I found it pretty damn scary! We got off to a good start with our boat driver as he was wearing a NZ cap. We told him we were from NZ which put us on the right foot straight away - we ended up with a 30mins ride instead of the usual 10mins trip! We actually went up pretty high - it sure was a long way down and I didn't feel too secure in my oversized harness. I felt like it would be really easy to climb out of it if I had wanted to. We were taken down and dunked in the water several times (just as an aside, wearing a bikini for this one is not ideal!) which was awesome fun. Mum and Christine were not even slightly concerned about the height and were even taking their hands off to point at things - not me though - my arms were so sore afterwards from hanging on for dare life! Jase took the photos of us above in the boat and in the parasail. Awesome views up there!

Since then we have just really chilled out at the beach. I swam 3.2km in the open water the other day. I look like a bit of a nutter swimming with a pool buoy between my legs but c'est la vie! Jase comes with me for some of it - he generally kicks my butt for 5mins then he's stuffed and can't go on! I think his bike training hasn't translated!

Tomorrow night we will head to Cannes for the fireworks display (let's hope we have gotten the day and time right this time!). On Saturday we head to the Costa Brava.

Au revior pour maintenant
Jeanette

The French Riviera

Bonjour all

We are now down on the French Riviera mixing it with the rich and famous! We have seen plenty of rich but if we have seen anyone famous we don’t know who they are!

Our last night in Bourg was a little sad. We had dinner then went to our favourite café to say goodbye to Marina – the girl who has helped me quite a bit with my French. She gave us a little farewell speech which again almost had Mum in tears! She had also packaged up a little packet of homemade chocolates for me. When we left the café, Mum burst into tears, which then set me off. That night I also said my goodbyes to the old couple Jean and Giselle downstairs. They wanted to know what time we would be leaving and said they would be up to see us off. Sure enough, there they were first thing in the morning waving us goodbye. I have taken their address so I can send them a postcard from home when we are back – that will test my French!

On Sunday we spent the whole day travelling down to Antibes/Juan Les Pins. We took a scenic route (thanks Dean and Sara for the info!) through the Gorges du Verdon – an awesome canyon. We stopped for lunch at a cool little town called Moustiers-Saint-Marie just before the Gorge – definitely worth a look if you ever have time. The temperatures were into the mid-30’s the whole way down, making us very grateful for the air conditioning in the car.

Our apartment room here in Antibes/Juan Les Pins is in the perfect location – we have a supermarket downstairs, our own shopping centre with restaurants etc, and the beach is about 100m away. The whole French Riviera is absolutely beautiful! I wasn’t sure what to expect – I thought all the beaches would be pebbles and that it would be quite dirty, but it is quite the opposite. Our beach is sandy and the water is so warm. We have made a couple of day trips so far – one to Monaco which is an absolutely beautiful place. The views are amazing. We also went to Cannes, which was a cool place – so much to look at. A lot of people (not all) seem to dress up so much to go to the beach (in Cannes) - all the women are caked in makeup and in clothing I would consider suitable to wear to a wedding! We of course rocked on in wearing shorts and singlet tops, but we didn’t care – it was mid-30’s again!

I have been swimming in the sea here instead of the pool. Mum kept encouraging me to do so – think she may have noticed a mood change without the endorphins! It is way different swimming in the open water – I actually felt a little seasick at times when the boat wake hit me. It is certainly a lot easier at sea level than at altitude and I can now go back to breathing both sides every 3 strokes. The water is so salty and buoyant also, and it is a hell of a lot more interesting looking at small fish and rocks etc than the bottom of a pool. I have been swimming about 50 minutes at a time and Christine has been joining me for half of it which is great, especially since we appear to be about the same speed.

Yesterday we had a bit of a blow-out. We headed into Cannes at around 6.30pm to do some shopping, have dinner and then watch a fireworks display. Unfortunately when we got there the shops were all closing, we couldn’t really find a good place for dinner (unless we mortgaged the house!), and the fireworks were actually on the night before!! So we came back here and had dinner on the beach front.

Mum is having a great time here and is doing so well with her French. She managed to order at McD’s all on her own and totally in French – although we did have a laugh when she came back to the table with a Poulet Wrap (she had tried to order a Peche Frappe)! She also had a minor blunder at our apartment when she became confused in the bathroom and let’s just say there was an incident involving the b-day! As Christine is saying ‘what goes on tour stays on tour’ – although please remember to ask her about it – it is hilarious!!

Mum and Christine leave on Sunday for 2 days in Geneva with Pauline and Lex. Jase and I will stay here for another week as we love it here!

J

Parapenting off the Alpe d'Huez!

Bonjour all

Just to reiterate from the last blog - I met Lance! Truly exciting and still keeps me too excited to sleep at night when I think about it!

Anyway...
On Thursday afternoon Jase took Pauline and Lex to Lyon as they were flying to Rome to meet Scott and Nicki the next day. Mum, Christine, Titch and I went to the Vaujany pool in the afternoon so I could do my 1hr swim. The pool was busy for a change and I had to re-employ some of the aggressive passing manoeuvres I had come up with when swimming with the German oldies. Christine advised me that I had no 'pool etiquette' but as I told her I have no plans to become a swimmer so it doesn't matter!

On Friday Titch and Mary hired road bikes and did an Alpe d'Huez TT. The little Irish one surprised all with a pretty racey time and congratulated herself with a nutella crepe at the top! Christine and Jase rode the Col de la Croix de fer - in 35 degrees! Mum and I went to the Vaujany pool as I wanted to say goodbye to the lady who works mornings up there because she is so nice and has really helped me with conversational French. Mum was the only one who became emotional at the farewell, which was interesting as she had never even met the woman before!! I only swam Quatre-vingts lengths (80 - I count my lengths in French as it has helped relieve the boredom of staring at the bottom of the pool, and has helped me learn to count to 100!) as I was tired from swimming the night before. My shoulders and arms have gotten a bit bigger, and my legs are now little sticks - not really the right recipe for biking but hopefully that will change in the future. I have finally accepted that this is the situation and I just have to go with it for now.

Yesterday afternoon Jase, Mum, Christine, Titch and I headed up the Alpe d'Huez to look at the shops. Jase the legend bought me an awesome ski jacket to replace my jacket that was stolen in Australia last year. The winter gear is so cheap here but I guess it is because it is out of season.

This morning the alarms went off at 6am (major shock to the system!). We picked up Titch and Mary at 6.30am and I drove the team up the Alpe d'Huez for an early morning parapente! The four of them absolutely loved it! I stood at a vantage point and got an amazing photo of Mum as the guy with her saw me so came really close. Unfortunately I can't put it on here as we don't have the technology! We will pick up the CD of professional photos soon so will see what I can do (well let's be realistic here... what Jase can do!).

We strolled around the markets this morning and then said our tearful goodbyes to Mary and Titch. COME BACK TO NZ TITCHER!!!!! I have also said my goodbyes to my French helping 'friend' Arnold Gerard, and will say goodbye to our elderly neighbours (Jean and Giselle) soon. They are fantastic - can't believe they are 82 and 80! They now sit outside waiting for us each day so I can tell them in my broken French what we have done that day! Will also head to the local cafe to say 'Au revoir' to our favourite waitress Marina. Very sad, but next time I return it will be even better with my bike!

Jase and Christine have just returned from their last ride here in Bourg. Tomorrow we are driving via the Gorges du Verdon to the French Riviera (Antibes). Mum, Christine, Jase and I will stay there for the week, before Mum and Christine fly to Geneva and Jase and I head to the Costa Brava. We may not have internet access there so please don't be offended if we don't reply to your emails straight away.

Au revoir to Bourg
J

Meeting Lance (!!!!) (and the devil's pitchfork)

Bonjour

Well lets just jump this straight to the tour - the highlight of my trip! On Tuesday morning we all set off over the Col de la Croix de fer to St Jean de Maurienne (the finish of stage 9). It was a super hot day, so we managed to find a good spot in the shade under the big screen. The 'caravan' that arrives and throws out junk prior to the tour kept mum busy for a long time. She was stoked with her 5 tour hats! I joined in to get Lex more junk to take home which he happily stashed away in his bag!

It was a long day in the sun and about 30mins before the riders were due to arrive Jase and I decided we had a big decision to make... do we go to the Radioshack bus and attempt to meet Lance (which the guy at the Livestrong tent told me would be totally impossible) and risk missing the race????... or do we watch the end of the race which was proving to be rather exciting with Schleck and Contador dueling????..... hmmmmmm. We opted for an attempt at meeting Lance so walked about 2.5km to the Radioshack bus - it was parked way further away than all the other buses - probably to keep stalkers like us at bay!

Lance was the first rider to appear after the race. He rode straight to the door of the bus and then straight into the shower. I was not alarmed at missing him as the guys at the door had told me and a Canadian woman and her son that this would be what would happen. He is really small - but I guess they all are. The team mechanic admired my NZ flag as he is a kiwi - this made the Canadian girl next to me nervous that I had the upper hand - but as I told her, she had the child with her which always scores browny points! We then waited patiently as Lance came out and spoke with the reporters. He then signalled for us to come over to him as he was getting into the car. I was the only one who actually got to speak to Lance - he was just signing things for the others. I had planned my vocab in the off-chance I would get to speak to him... I suspected it would be very brief if at all, so I had to really think about what I would say to the biggest legend on the planet.... Here is how it unfolded.....

"Hi Lance"... passed my SportsMed pen and paper over to him... JG: "Lance - you've gotta come to New Zealand"..... LA: "That's what they keep telling me"....JG: "That's because it's a great place - you have to come".... LA: smiled.... JG: "All the best for the tour - thanks so much for your time". Highlight of my day and actually my year! Photos above - me blonde hair - Lance hat on.

We then went to see Fabian - unfortunately just missed him but saw him getting in to the bus. Also missed Jens, but saw some of the other Saxo bank riders. Then went and had a chat to Julian Dean. He came out of the bus especially to speak to us as one of his team had told him the NZ flag was outside. He is so nice and even asked us all about our trip - he looked pretty tired as they all did and said it was a really tough mountain stage and that the pace was on from the start.

The trip home was pretty slow, and it was still in the 30's. As we approached a small river, we saw an older man standing stark naked beside his van. Turns out it was the tour devil - a German guy who dresses up as the devil and follows the entire tour every year... Let's just say I have now seen his pitchfork!! Think I prefer him in his tight lycra costume! We gave him a toot and a cheer and continued on our way!

Yesterday we set off again to watch the tour. Christine and Jase biked over, and Mum, Mary, Titch and I drove. We positioned ourselves about 2km from the summit of the first big climb, and wrote a big "KIWI" on the road in yellow chalk. It was another fun but hot day, and good to see that the riders were actually tired and riding slowly after the day before. We ran into Amanda and Michael from Christchurch. Amanda had been told by a woman in a shop that the temperature had reached 40 degrees!!

Today Pauline and Lex head to Lyon and then tomorrow onto Rome to meet up with Scott and Nicki. The rest of us will head to the pool this afternoon and tomorrow Mum and the girls are parapenting off the Alpe d'Huez.

A Bientot
Lance's bud!

Glacier and Lakes

Bonjour

Well the mad little Irish woman (Titch) has landed as you will see from the photos (when I get around to putting them on...yes me - I can finally almost do it myself!).

Yesterday we all went to La Grave and then up to La Meije glacier via the cable car. It was a beautiful day and the views were amazing. We also went to the under glacier ice sculpture museum which was absolutely awesome.

When we arrived back Jase, Christine and I sat glued to the Tour de France on TV while Mum, Lex and Pauline hired mountain bikes and cruised around the streets of Bourg and up to a waterfall on an 'Off Road" track (!!). I am gutted for Lance - he is my hero and I am so disappointed that he had such a day of bad luck that has cost him any chance in the tour... on the upside he may have more time for PR, so my chances of meeting him may be increased!! Lance stalking begins tomorrow when we head to Saint Jean de Maurienne to watch the end of the 9th stage.

Last night we headed out to 'hissing sid's' (aka La Ramonche) restaurant. I have forgiven the hissing dutchman as his restaurant really is the best in town. I have also buttered him up by ordering wine, and informing him that if Spain won the World Cup, NZ would be the only undefeated team in the competition. He seemed to find this amusing and congratulated us!

The entire restaurant was filled with Dutch supporters, and one poor lone Spanish supporter! It was a pretty good atmosphere and good to see the result of NZ being the only undefeated team (hopefully my facts are right!!).

Today Christine and Jase set off for a ride, and Mum, Lex, Pauline and I headed up to the Vaujany pool for my well needed dose of endorphins. Then this afternoon we all went up the Alpe d'Huez and the beautiful lakes above it. This was followed by a 4 euro coffee (!!) and back to Bourg for Christine's vegetarian cooking. Lex didn't quite know what to make of this, but think he may have been pleasantly surprised that vegetarian food can be ok afterall!

It is super hot tonight, so we all headed out for a walk after dinner and ended up at our favourite cafe. Not sure my waitress friend Marina knew what to expect when 'the circus' arrived! I have also made friends with 'Vegas' - a huge dog who lived just down the road. I have also spoken with the girl who owns him several times, and she has helped with my French. She saw me in town and came over and told me that Vegas died on Saturday - gutted...

If anyone needs to contact me in my cell phone has been returned.

J

Back in the Alpes

Bonjour

Well we had a great time in Paris. On the final day we went to Sacre Coeur, wandered down through the markets, went on a boat ride on the Seine, looked at the shops, and even saw a guy we went to Physed School with 15 years ago when we were under the Eiffel Tour.

On Thursday we all travelled back to the Alpes - it was an experience for the parents who had to contend with some walking with their luggage, 2 Metro rides, and then the TGV to Lyon, and finally 1.30-2hr car journey to our paradise home of Bourg d'Oisans.

It has been so hot the last few days - 30-35 degrees! Yesterday Jase and Christine set off on their bikes to the Galibier, so I drove Mum, Pauline and Lex up there via La Grave, and the Col du Lautaret. Mum was a little nervous on the steep mountain roads, and Lex was told off several times for being a 'front seat driver' but we all coped well! We met the cyclists at the top of the Galibier, then headed down to the Lautaret for some lunch. I practised my French to the waiter and reminded him that last time I was there it was freezing and he had given me a bath robe to keep warm. Mum then tried some of her French on the waiter - she told him the restaurant was very comfortable - he couldn't stop laughing and said that a woman shouldn't say that... we are still unsure why!

Later that afternoon everyone (other than Jase who opted for his 2nd cooking night of the trip!!) came to the Vaujany pool with me. I swam for 1hr, and everytime I swam up the pool and breathed to the right I could see Lex, Pauline, Mum and Christine doing their own water aerobics class in the middle of the pool. Jase would have been relieved he didn't come!

Last night we headed into town for the local 'Cabaret evening' - i.e., some French geezer singing old songs badly (some in French, some in English, and some half and half). Lex is most intrigued by receipts for anything we have done or eaten, and to Pauline's disgust is collecting them all. I find it particularly useful as it is like having a portable rubbish bin with us! I even cleaned out my wallet the other day and he claimed a few things!

This morning Jase and Lex drove Mum, Christine and I to the village of Notre Dame. Poor Mum was beside herself on the drive up - the road is not great to be fair - massive drop offs and a tiny narrow road. I don't think she will be so concerned about the roads in the Sounds any more! Mum, Christine and I then walked along the mountain and then down a bush track from the top back into the village of Bourg.

Now I am off to Grenoble airport to pick up the mad little Irish woman - aka Titch!

Will attach photos soon
J