My Summer A-Z(ish)

What can I say? Ended up pushing the boat out and spoiling myself with two summer holidays. A week in the French Alps and two weeks around Croatia. 
Here's the A-Z as it really happened.

Abseiling - Quite unexpectedly, this did actually happen. Backwards I went over a waterfall in a gorge near Chamonix. I was wearing a rather fetching wet suit (what a shame there is not much photo evidence) and putting my life in the name of a man I'd just met named Jan. He lent me his gloves because I dropped mine and this has greatly challenged my stereotype of the Frenchmen.

Biking - Yes indeed. Twice in fact. First time there were even hills involved on which I mainly got off and pushed. Second time in Croatia was flat but HOT! 

Not prepared to show close ups of this French sweat fest.

Enjoying the InterSport helmet in Croatia

Canyoning - Really so much fun. Certainly took me out of my comfort zone seeing as I usually have to hold my nose to jump into a swimming pool. I want to do this again one day.

Looking good!

Downhill roller coaster - Yes! Video evidence below

Eating crepes - This should be replaced with general EATING! There was a lot. Including this rather wonderful crepe in Hvar Town.

Free fall - I'm afraid not. But there were lots of Ferries instead! Made the near fatal mistake of sitting too close to the kids play area on one of them. Effective contraception.

Hmmm already used up Gorge walking as Canyoning. Going to replace it with Gazing instead. One of the coolest nights in Chamonix involved watching the sun set on Mont Blanc and then lying back and watching the stars appear and gazing for a few hours. Wine included.

James has camera tekkers!

Horse riding did not happen. Will replace it with Hog Roast. Had a yummy one at a fab wedding back in Berkshire in-between trips

Ice climbing....no. Got quite close to some ice though...

Mer de Glace

Lots of Ice Creams were also eaten.

Jugs of beer....pretty much done.

Kayaking - plenty of this on the stunning Adriatic Sea.

Cove near Zaton Bay, Croatia

Looking - I do like to just sit and watch. Sophie and I spent a fair while, on various days, sat on this wall in Dubrovnik Old Town watching the tender boats of the wealthy come and go and the tourists pass. 

Musuem - couldn't think of anything for this in previous post...but we popped along to the Museum of Croatian Independence in Dubrovnik. Didn't think it was very good though.

Natural swimming - looooads in Croatia due to temperatures and inviting waters. Very rocky coastline in most places so you often need to be agile in order to get in. Also buy some sexy rubber shoes to avoid sea urchins.

Octopus - don't really want to think about this too much. Rubbery.

Paddle boarding - found this a lot harder than it looks but still lots of fun. It's a real work out for core muscles as well. Looked like an albino foal trying to stand up for the first time as the bronzed Croatians zoomed past me. Oh well. If it gets too bad they are great for sunbathing on.

Queuing -  Boring. The worst queue I faced was for the Aiguille du Midi cable car in Chamonix. Worth it though...

Slopes of Mont Blanc just behind my left shoulder

Rosé drinking -  Yes. And so cheaply too!

Skiing? No. Snorkelling? Yes. Had a go at this in New Zealand but got scared of being eaten by a shark and got out quite quickly. Gave it a decent go this time on the island of Kolocep. No shark bites either. Good times.

Train - probably the only type of public transport I didn't use on my travels. 

UV rays - plenty of these. Good job I'm a sensible/paranoid sunbather. See earlier albino comment.

Views - absolutely smashing, stunning, breath taking and beautiful in both Chamonix and Croatia. Here are my favourites from each place.

Just to clarify - this is me enjoying the view, not saying my favourite view was that of my backside.

Kolocep

White water rafting - lots of fun and very wet! I was the first to fall out of the boat. Doh! Not too scary on grade 2-3 waters either.
Evidence: http://vimeo.com/72916591

X-rated - thought I might have some stories about Sophie and her antics in Croatia. Sadly, she behaved.

Yolo - I've seen a bit more of the world without getting too lost and hope to see more if my bank account can ever recover from this summer. 
A quote I heard this summer and haven't forgotten: 
"It's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years".