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.
Thursday 11 April 2024
When you get home from a 100km ride & are handed this giant pastry before even getting off the bike. Nom! 
Thursday 11 April 2024
Waking up next to the river Tarn. Lovely, peaceful spot in Moissac.
Sunday 17 March 2024
Spring time at Chez Rainton... thankful for this beautiful blossom 
... just don't ask to see the lawn! 
Wednesday 13 March 2024
When ski season is pretty much over, but there's still long thin things to be carried with your ski rack
Wednesday 6 March 2024
Apres ski treats of, erm, noodle soup & martabak? Erm, as you do in, erm, a half Indonesian house in France?
Wednesday 10 April 2024
Lunch at La Fabrique des Colibris, Mauvezin. Love finding a great menu du jour - was absolutely delicious! Nom!
Wednesday 6 March 2024
Blue skies above the piste at our local station. Great day on the mountain!
Saturday 3 February 2024
Post ride viewing: love the six nations, cheers! Well done England, but good to see an Aussie consolation try too
Saturday 3 February 2024
One of those 'waking up above the clouds' kind of days...
Tuesday 23 January 2024
Impromptu lunch double date. Yum! Plus afternoon dessert & drinks. Cheers!
The below are collections of posts/images organised by trip or subject or other events. Click on the title or image to view each.
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.
France & Switzerland - Summer '23
Unfinished business in the Alps!
Last year we had planned to spend plenty of time in Switzerland but bad weather put a stop to that. Time to try again...
And success! In fact, things worked out so well we didn't even have time to take what has become a usual loop home through Germany - that will have to wait for next time.
Things went well with another easy jaunt across France. A chance to explore part of the Jura mountains on the French/Swiss border - well, they are mountains so loved this region of course!
Then on to Switzerland for walks, hikes and some truly epic bike riding.
As it turned out there was also time to meet friends in Annecy for a couple of group rides in the region, including another all day epic with giant charcuterie lunch. Good times all round!
