Kate and Calvin went to France today.

After a quick breakfast and finalising the packing, Joy and David drove us to Bournemouth train station to catch the 8:47 am to Southampton Airport where we were to catch our Flybe aeroplane to Lyon.

It was a smooth check in to the flight at the airport and we were quite under our baggage limit which was a relief as we thought our bags would be overweight!

We had about 35 minutes to spare so we had brunch at the Costa cafe in the terminal. There were some really excellent toasties which we divoured.

The flight was on time and 1 hour and 40 minutes later, we landed at Lyon-Saint-Exupéry Airport. It was actually quite sunny when we landed so it felt quite warm even if the temperature was -3!

Rianne and Jeroen were enroute from The Netherlands to pick us up but they were stuck in traffic for a while so we waited and had some Pizza Hut in the terminal. Rianne and Jeroen had started driving at 4 am from Amersfoort but they still looked fresh when they pulled in to the airport.

We squeezed our bags into the car - a Volkswagen Polo Plus - and we all just fit along with some luggage on our laps and at our feet. It was cosy and warm inside which made driving through beautiful snowy landscapes (pine trees laden with snow, rivers wending their way through fluffy white banks and soaring mountains with white peaks) all the better - particularly with legendary company.

After a few hours of driving (and following the wrong address to our accommodation but was fortunately on the way), we finally got to Les Deux Alpes resort. Jeroen did a mammoth job of navigating wild hairpin turns and icy roads getting us there safely (even after about 2 hours of sleep).

It was a bit tricky trying to check in to our chalet - we went to the tourist office to ask however they said we had to call someone and we couldn't find his number so we asked them to call the host (Jerôme) for us. They didn't seem to be as helpful as they could be.

So it took a while to actually get into our home for the next week but eventually we found Jerôme and he showed us to our chalet (which is right next to a ski slope!).

We were all so very hungry, so before we finished bringing all our stuff in, we headed out to the streets to find some dinner! After a bit of strolling around, we found dinner at Le Rustique - it seemed to be family operated as it had that nice small feel about it and it seemed to be very popular! We fed ourselves pizzas (excellent large pizzas) and a green salad which filled our hungry stomachs up.

After dinner, it was a walk home and much needed sleep (especially for Jeroen and Rianne).