Chris, Melle, Homer and Roxy on Tour

 So here we are two weeks into our adventure to the Alps and we haven't really started talking about skiing yet.  What's going on, we know there is loads of snow and we've seen Melle's Instagram and Facebook posts so why haven't we had a blog about the skiing.  Well here it is folks so strap yourself in. Of course, you'll remember when we arrived there was virtually no snow in the campsite or in Samoens town.  The following morning we got kitted out in our skiwear and made it to the ski / boot store at the entrance to the campsite but it started raining so hard that we gave up on making the journey across the road to the Grand Massif Express which is the main ski lift to the mountain.  It rained hard all day and other than doing some shopping we did little other than look out on an increasingly flooded campsite.  But critically it had started to change and from sleet it gradually became snow.  I'll be honest, I never thought it would stick and become a...

I'm not gonna' lie , the first fortnight has not been a bed of roses and has been a baptism of fire! Firstly the weather.  Upon arrival it was very wet, then we had mountains of snow, which was very welcome, and then some very, very cold weather indeed! This presented several problems including a cold engine that refused to start after being left idle for a week.  The local specialist was called in and €125 later Homer spluttered to life.   The mechanic was great actually and gave us several tips on how to prevent this happening again.  Eh voila!                                              On the mountain, whilst skiing we have experienced temperatures of -14*C with a biting easterly wind as well as heavy snow fall.  No amount of layers could keep us warm in this and at times I thought what the hell am I doing!! I don't think I could imagine ...

I have been trying to practice my French, honestly, but a number of things have been conspiring against me. Babble seems to have decided that now we are in France I no longer need access to their app (p.s. it is a foreign language learning app for those who haven’t come across it - see my first blog for link and details). N.B. The complexities of sim only registration and the combination with motorhome 4G Wi-Fi caused all kinds of problems in the early days of our adventure and we’re still struggling a bit with this as Melle’s sim only contract with Three have decided they won’t offer fair usage unless she pays £2 a day so she is now without data roaming on the slopes. Samoens and the Grand Massif area in general is awash with British people so that usually ‘Bonjour Monsieur’ is follow up with ‘Hi I’m well thanks - where are you from’. Obviously this is most prevalent on our motorhome campsite but there also seem to be lo...

Writing this, a full 24 hours since we arrived in Samoens, so much has happened and I'm a little unsure where to start.  Probably the first thing is to try to describe what it's like to actually do what we've been thinking about and planning for a long time.  We first discussed the idea of travelling in a motorhome well before Covid and many will know that we hired a motorhome for a trip to the Alps in March 2020.  Of course that was cancelled due to the pandemic but we've not lost the desire to live the motorhome life and this 3 month trip to the French Alps is in some way a culmination of all those thoughts and all that dreaming.  Those who know me well will know that after rediscovering skiing and mountain life about 7 years ago (I went on numerous skiing holidays in my teens with my school) we started to consider how we might spend a ski season in the Alps one day.  So here we are.  Driving Homer along the A40 past Geneva and through many tunnels and va...

  After a few last minute hiccups we finally set off. Terrible weather but hey! Near to Folkestone the tap blew off 😖 and saturated the under cupboard. Probably the result of a blocked pipe from the freezing temperatures a few weeks ago, despite the fact we’d drained the system. We had to drain all the water from the van and buy a 5l bottle for drinking, washing and the loo.    We had an effortless crossing on the Eurotunnel and stayed over night in WW1 town. Quick walk round and a cafe creme before setting off to  hunt down a new tap and an engineer to fit it. Thank goodness for Google, Google maps and Translate. I may not be able to think of the words I have want to say but I can seem to be able to make myself understood after checking out Translate ✅  Second garage visited and the guys at BJM Tech 🇧🇪 fixed the tap and cupboard door - result! #trustinhumankind 💯 Day#3 An early start today, we still have 1/2 the journey to do! All is going well as we travel...

Packing It's not just about clothes! Packing for a three-month trip in a motorhome might seem easy - 'just shove in some clothes' someone said, but there are several things to consider: Climate Activities Communication Availability of shopping and laundry facilities If snow conditions allow, our main activity will be skiing and so yes just shove in our skiwear, boots and skis - job done. But we have had to consider what equipment we'll need to live in a mountainous environment where we could be in temperatures of -12*C ⛄, in the daytime!  We've packed: snow shovel, thermal silver screen for the windows, a telescopic ladder, spare duvets to shove down the footwells for night-time insulation, a sledge, long hot water bottle, long pj's(!).  Homer has also has snow chains and winter tyres fitted. Clothing needs to be thought about carefully, winter clothes take up a lot of room and we need regular clothes as well as activewear.  How often will we be able to launder ...

Ok so we're preparing for lift off - Melle is having her hair cut and pretty much emptied her wardrobe onto the bed in spare room, I'm buying little tools and glue/filler like it's going out of fashion and Homer's in for a service and MoT.  But I thought I'd talk a little bit about my mental preparation and how I think learning to play the Ukelele has been an important aspect of this.  Maybe a strange thing to write about on a travel blog but I think it's an important element of the journey and hopefully a bit more interesting?   About six months ago Melle came home and mentioned that someone at her work was selling a Ukelele.  Yes, I thought immediately, this is exactly what I need.  You see I've always thought of myself as 'sporty' probably because from a very young age whenever I did sport I got positive feedback whereas whenever I did anything musical I didn't really.  I mean I liked listening to music and was in a number of choirs and, in my...