we caught our first glimpse of the alps on a beautiful late winter's day
A brief stop in the deserted-in-winter, summer tourist trap of Viverone was picturesque, but disturbingly bereft of public toilets.
Before crossing the alps, we found an agriturismo 'farmstay' near Ivrea: heaven for the girls with rabbits, geese, goats, ostriches, a cute dog and a psycho horse. Who could ask for more?
Ivrea is a lovely place: one of its five lakes at dusk...
...and Laura even found her shop there
Having begun to get by in Italian, we found ourselves cluelessly popping through the Mt Blanc tunnel to a rainy Chamonix where our Italian didn't get us very far. Despite the rain, there was enough snow for a snowman.
Then there was a whole lot of France for a few days, in which the girls had a bit of time on their hands in the backseat with a digital camera...
... and suddenly we found ourselves on this big boat approaching these big white english cliffs...
*Warning: some details of this road trip may have received more attention than others.
