Welcome to Rob's World, the (cheesily titled) homepage of Robin Rainton.
Given I'm mainly too lazy/busy (take your pick) to write a full 'blog very often there's now a Microblog which you'll also find on Facebook and Twitter, and maybe a few other places too.
Microblog... everyday ramblings interspersed with posts from trips and other activities.
Monday 22 July 2024
Crystal clear Lac d'Estom & the equally pristine Gave de Lutour. Many shallows & waterfalls on this hike. Stunning!
Friday 19 July 2024
Last Pyrenees Cycl'n Trip bike only morning this year. Aubisque & Soulor. Magical climb through & above the clouds!
Friday 19 July 2024
Sunrise from the front door... let's get out there! 
Monday 15 July 2024
When mountains are your playground! Peyresourde & altiport bike only morning + few more climbs seeing as I'm here
Monday 15 July 2024
Early... erm... drive (shock!) over Col d'Aspin. Kindof fun when not with a nervous passenger in a 3.5t vehicle 
Saturday 13 July 2024
Obligatory TdF day ride up the Tourmalet. Usual madness & great atmosphere, although it looks oddly quiet here!
Thursday 11 July 2024
Lunch @ Chez Gabrielle. We are rarely defeated but had to doggy bag some of the pork knuckle. Very generous servings!
Wednesday 10 July 2024
Spotted in Barbazan-Dessus... flagon of wine on the rack, bottle in the back pocket. Did well to make it this far!
Monday 8 July 2024
Col d'Aspin today. As usual (in summer) overrun by cattle. There are worse places to have on your doorstep!
Wednesday 3 July 2024
4 hours later...! Yes, takes a while to get the garden half presentable after 3 weeks away & still much more to do!
The below are collections of posts/images organised by trip or subject or other events. Click on the title or image to view each.
France & Italy - Summer '24
A trip to the Alps is becoming our (erm... my?) go-to summer excursion, so off we go again. But... the strange weather of 2024 continues and things didn't quiet go to plan.
Never mind, a detour along French & Italian Riviera isn't exactly a hardship! After that and a brief stop in the Italian lakes (always a pleasure) then back to the mountains via Aosta valley & a return to France.
So not to plan, but always an adventure. Great food, walks, hikes and some epic cycling of course!
24 hours in San Sebastian - Jan '23
Early birthday celebration in the city of gastronomic delights!
England - Nov/Dec '23
Impromptu trip to England for handful of nights. Mainly to visit family with the bonus of catching up with and a few friends along the way. Very wintry feeling (and the usual pre-xmas silliness) but with stops at a couple of cosy country venues and plenty of our favourite food we made it through
Bali - Oct/Nov '23
Ostensibly this trip was an opportunity to catch up with Pratiwi's family, most of whom we hadn't seen since Thailand & Indonesia, Mar '15. Bali was the chosen spot for this reunion, and while I wasn't really looking forward to the long trip from Europe (much further than from Australia) can't really complain about having to spend 2+ weeks in paradise.
As you can imagine, much merriment ensued. But while westerners might think this means plenty of boozy nights, in fact the Asian equivalent appears to involve feasting on all manner of food. For us, foods that are very hard to come by in France so all the better.
Sure, there were trips to the beach, mountains, temples and even couple of snorkeling excursions but always we came home to a feast of some kind. Gotta say, I got behind this wholeheartedly and had a blast.
Short break - Autumn '23
Little trip to the Atlantic coast and back through French & Spanish Basque country.
