This photo was taken at the “Lac Vert” in the Chamonix Valley. Slade was only two and a half and did the walk all by himself. He was so cute with those big boots and his determination not to be carried. We obviously enjoyed a rest (and a cuddle) by the lake.

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Nonna Carmela, my Dad’s Mum, is going to be 100 years old on the 23rd of July 2008. We are planning a celebration with friends and family on Sunday the 27th of July, starting with Mass in the Parish church of Varzi and continuing with a reception at the “Ristorante degli Alberti” in San Marino di Varzi.

At the beginning of June she came to the UK for Shane’s First Holy Communion, cooked the “risotto giallo” for her great-grandchildren (and grandchildren too!) and enjoyed learning how to use skype! She certainly lives her life to the full.

I am a fan of driving from the UK to South of France (Chamonix) or  Northern Italy (Treville where Villa Mimma is) rather than flying.

The reason why? Because if you fly and the flight is delayed, there is not much you can do with three young boys in the airport. You are trapped in the Duty Free area and if you are lucky there are a couple of display cars, otherwise you have just a few shops and not much else. Boys get bored and there is so much they can read!

In the car, they know very well that the journey is long. We do Guildford-Dover with no problem and the Channel Tunnel breaks the journey. Once in France we set off with a few things to read and to play, then lunchtime approaches. I take my time to prepare sandwiches in the car and pass them around so another hour goes between bits and pieces. Then it is time to stop.

As we have had lunch in the car already, we don’t need to sit in a restaurant or self-service bar, so the kids can run around. If it is nice weather and not too hot we normally kick a football about as well. A trip to the gents and ladies and we are off again. Normally we refill the car of diesel too. Having a diesel now is actually a bonus because we could do the journey with one refill half way between home and Chamonix (we have actually done it!).

After lunch we put a dvd on so that Glen can rest (he normally drives from home up to this point) and I can do my two or three hours shift. The children are happy and we can get on easily.

When I am tired and can’t go on driving any longer, we have a quick stop to a parking area just for a toilet break and to swap driving again - literally 10 minutes!

A few more games and books to read and colour takes us to dinner time that again is served in the car. I normally take enough stuff so that I have a few alternatives that the two meals are a bit different. Another dvd after dinner ends the car journey.

Once we approach Geneva and the Chamonix valley, they change in scenery and the excitement of almost being there makes it all much easier. In winter at this time it is quite dark and the children tend to fall asleep for the last hour or so of the journey - and so do I In summer, there is enough to see to keep them busy, once we start spotting water falls and rocks with special features on the mountains that start to appear around us.

If we have to go to Italy, it is a bit trickier because from Chamonix there are over two hours to get to Villa Mimma. We have done it by stopping in Chamonix for a good hour to rest and setting off again late in the evening so the children do sleep for this part of the journey.

In summary, if you are travelling with children:

• Have your meals in the car and don’t prepare them before leaving. Take your time and make the meal last as long as you can!
• Stop for running around either where there is a play area or a green that can be used for a quick football game.
• Do not give the children a lot to drink otherwise they ask for toilet breaks more often, hence do not eat too many crisps and salty things that make you thirsty.
• Fruit and veggies are a great snack!
• Choose movies that don’t make you fall asleep, i.e. that you know well too because while the children are watching the movie, you can simply hear the sounds and if you are driving it is terrible. If you know the movie then it is much easier to concentrate on the driving - this applies only if you have one dvd player for all!.
• Take plenty of science and animals magazines with lots of pictures and things to do. They can be passed around between the children several times and they will always find something new to look at. They work a treat, while reading books are not so great in a car.

We do not have DS yet and we always wonder if it would make the journey easier if we had. I do like it the way it is, though. We do have a couple of games, but they are boring and the boys tend to play them only for a little while at a time. They certainly spend more time with the magazines.

Things that work well are the cube and puzzles that they can make, those with pieces stuck in a square - I’ll find their names and let you know exactly what I mean ASAP. Also little cars, animals, Uno and battleship are worth having around.

If I think of anything else, I’ll add it later, but for now these are all my tips! Hope this helps!