We were up early again so we went walking again as the sun rose. We walked through the Jardin du Luxembourg and then onto the Saint Sulpice church. We walked through the church as the light streamed through the stained glass windows - it was awe inspiring. We wandered back through the Paris streets back to the apartment and packed our bags. Rather than catch the train we jumped in a taxi to Orly airport to pick up the hire car. Orly was typical France crazy - it ...

We were suffering from the usual jet lag so we all woke bleary eyed around 4-5 am.  The kids played on their technology and Leigh and I did too until the light dawned over Paris. In the cool Sunday morning air we walked up to the local Patisserie  for breakfast.  The brioche, croissants and baguettes were still warm from the oven and smelled so good!!! (Brioche au Chocolat a particular favourite of the kids).  We were up and about so walked th...

It was the last day of school for the kids and so after work we met Leigh at the Opera house and then caught the train to the airport. The kids were very excited and Leigh and I were too - it had been a stressful 5 months with the renovation. We arrived at the airport, checked in and made our way to the Etihad lounge. As hoped Leigh and Spencer got upgraded to business class and daddy, Eleanor and Campbell were in the back of the bus (oh well) It's a long way to ...

Sunday – April 5th Easter Sunday was our day of rest. It was nice to have breakfast at the Lodge and not need to put on our ski gear and hit the mountain. We hung out at the Lodge for a couple of hours and then explored the town a little more. We walked up to the "top of town" where the cooking onsen is. The local villagers use the cooking onsen to slowly cook vegetables and onsen eggs which are semi-soft boiled eggs. It was beginning to rain so we wandere...

Nozawa Onsen We arrived at Villa Nozawa to be greeted by Kyoko-san and Mark and Gab – it hardly felt like we'd been away for over a year as they welcomed us like we’d left last week. Villa Nozawa has a lovely warm vibe, always lots of kids and friendly families. They are full which is great (although it makes bookings for next season harder!) We went for a walk around the village and had some lunch at a lovely small Ramen restaurant (10 people max) ...