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.
Sunset by Chiemsee. Spectacular! Feel like we could be on a Pacific island - if not for Alps on the horizon 
Another beautiful, yet pretty much deserted camping location by Putterersee in Austria 
Morning tootle on the bike. Austrian valleys, lakes, churches & castles under brilliant blue skies. Beautiful stuff.
Candlelight dinner by the twinkling lights of Putterersee - which sadly are barely visible here but we enjoyed
Durrensee: Passed this nice little lake on the way down the valley. Love stumbling across this kind of thing
Entered Austria & heading East towards Lienz. Beautiful views & pretty quite roads make for an enjoyable drive.
Waking up to blue skies by a little stream. Lovely as it is time to say goodbye to the Dolomites. It's been great!
Stunning scenery & brutal gradients. Passes Falzarego, Valparola, Falzarego - again - & Giau. Utter perfection.
See what happens when you say, "pretty please" Perfect conditions for an arvo ride. And post ride refreshments! 
Beautiful sunrise this morning. Clouds are pretty and all, but they can go away now... pretty please!
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, Austria, Germany, Switzerland - Autumn '19
Work in progress...
Paris long weekend - June '19
When you are asked to meet up in Paris with family flying in from Australia. Oh, OK then Not our favourite city but to be honest it grew on me a little this trip. No 'work' and mainly random tourist activities probably helped. As did warm summer days I guess. Although I'm sure plenty would say it was too warm in Paris at this time (it was quite toasty in parts!) - those people should live in Australia before making such complaints though
France, Andorra, Spain - Summer '16
Summer 2016 was spent mostly... playing in the mountains
We did move a bit, but even then, it was just to another part of the mountains
This topic will likely be the last episode in a while because life seems to be settling down into a more easy way of life without much movement. Well, at least for a few months it will be that way. Travel pics will likely return next year.
Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland - Spring '16
Spring 2016. Yes, still on holiday. Oops
Quite enjoying the Costa Blanca (can certainly recommend this as a winter cycling destination) but as the weather warms it's time to head back North.
Trip to Germany for the snail's safety inspection - can you believe it's a year already?! Which leads to the obligatory stop with friends both there and in Switzerland. Passing through an as yet unexplored part of the Black Forest & home via the Giant of Provence. Lovely stuff.
We really love the Pyrenees though so this is where the majority of our time will be spent this year I think. Ahem And why not - a dream come true to ride the Tourmalet through walls of snow above one's head is just one of the benefits!
France, Spain - Winter '15/'16
This winter was meant to be spent mostly in the South of Spain & Portugal, but... as I said earlier (see Autumn '15) there were plans afoot in France that required our attention.
Cue spending pretty much all of winter in the Pyrenees. In the snail. Brrrrr?
Well, actually this turned out to be a very mild winter by all accounts. There was a sprinkling of snow on the peaks but the snail only saw a snow briefly for a single day. This meant that there was not to be any skiing on the cards, but, no drama - have bike, will ride
It was only as the calendar rolled along into March that first signs of some proper snow and ice appeared, and as luck would have it this was when we finally concluded our chores. So, job done (for now) we finally got that break to the South.
Not really as planned, but as can be seen, not really a hardship either.
