We’re in Montgenevre, France. We arrived in the Alps a few weeks ago and it is, as always, wonderful.

As I sit down to tell this tale, it dawns on me that nothing unusual or particularly adventurous happened.

This is pretty strange for us.

We easily remember our feelings of two years ago. The trepidation when we first carefully guided Beatrix onto the Eurotunnel. The revelation of the calm and smooth French roads with their pricey tolls. The joy of finding picturesque stop overs in rural towns, often with connections to famous wines. Our fear and excitement when venturing into the mountains for the first time with all the new experiences they brought.

I couldn’t forget last year, which was routine until we broke down on the mountain roads and had to load Beatrix onto her first low loader for recovery.

This year, by contrast, we made a plan and journeyed smoothly down through France to reach the Alps. In fact, we were so blasé about it that we didn’t really plan the trip. We have some favourite places that we love going back to like Beaune and seeing Le Petit Train de la Mure and we sort of pottered our way south.

Now, us being us and Beatrix is a grand old lady of the road that she is, I don’t doubt that there are more unexpected adventures ahead of us but for now, we’re luxuriating in the routine. Taking in one of our favourite views with the fresh mountain air and catching up with friends.

Cheers to you all.

Sally, Toby and Merlin