Ella arrived into the world about a week ahead of schedule – after a bit of a tussle. All O.K. now and the grandparents adore her – as do the parents!

The latest photographs show Ella at about 4 months old – give or take a day or so – she is a super baby and really cuddly; although when her bottom lip goes down you do not want to be in earshot and it’s best to have Mummy close to hand!

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James arrived into the world just over 4 weeks ahead of schedule but is none the worse for his early arrival.

The latest pictures of James show him just over 5 months old (as of April ’12). It’s just great to see James growing up and having some great conversations with his grandparents via Skype!

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Our September outing, with Monica & Brian, took us to Poland and a two centre vacation. John’s choice.

As usual we did our own thing with flights (EasyJet from Edinburgh/Krakow/Edinburgh), accommodation, car hire, etc, all booked via the net.

Flights were O.K. – early into Krakow – but the inbound return flight was 20 mins late and for whatever reason, Krakow air traffic control decided we should sit on the tarmac for another hour! Also, on arrival, not sure why buses had to be used to transit passengers all of 100mtrs to the terminal building?

The photographs are shown/numbered in the order we travelled around Poland. We picked up a hire car in Krakow Airport (Hertz gave us a Hyundai i30 diesel which was a really nice vehicle to drive) and when in Krakow we used public transport (excellent) or the hotel shuttle bus.

This year we have scored restaurants, marks out of 10, based on food, ambiance, and service – with some interesting results. Food and drink were not expensive and on average you could say 50% of U.K. prices for good quality dining.

Day 1 – was simply a transit day from Edinburgh to Zakopane, via Krakow. Our choice of hotel was ‘inspired’ and the Hotel Sabala (www.hotelsabala.com) turned out to be an ideal location on Zakopane’s main street (Ul. Krupowki). The hotel staff were very welcoming and efficient. An evening meal was enjoyed at the Stek Chalupa, with regional live Polish music – 7.5/10.

Day 2 – off early morning, via the local market, and then a funicular up to Gubalowka for a walk along to Butorowy Wierch. We then tried following a route back to Zakopane in the Sunflower guide book, but it became pretty apparent, in some areas, the path did not exist. A nice walk all the same and then the girls decided to check on the market! The local smoked cheese is excellent, but we found it did not travel very well (to Scotland). A walk around Zakopane filled the remainder of the day and some local sites. We had our evening meal in Zbojecka on Ul. G. Galicy, again with live music, and met up with some nice Polish youngsters (Martin, Doroia, Michael and Luke) at the next table to us – 7.5/10.

Day 3 – a super sunny Sunday and this was supposed to be a high level walking day with a cable car up some 2,000M. We ended up in a queue for a cable car at Kuznice and after one hour decided we were going nowhere for a long time (evidently it would have been a 3 hour wait, at least – and we don’t do queues!. The queue did not move because the system was being abused by a number of single people standing in the queue and then 20 or 30 of their pals then joining the queue at the head). We headed over the border by car into Slovakia and the town of Tatranska Lomnica, picked up a cable car to Skalnate Pleso at 1,750M and then walked down the mountain. A lot of development works on the mountainside with new ski slopes/facilities being added which made the landscape a bit ugly. Evening meal in Pizza Dominium on Ul. Krupowki was great all round – 8.5/10.

Day 4 – another super sunny day and another attempt at the cable car from Kuznice to Kasprowy Wierch; this time successfully. A mixed walk of ridges and valleys, the highlight being the ridge at Karb and the way along and down. Not for the faint hearted – although we did meet a ‘troop’ of nuns on the ridge! Meal in the Hotel Sabala – 7.75/10 (the background music was awful!).

Day 5 – departed Zakopane and headed for Krakow via the Salt Mines at Wieliczka, just south of Krakow. Interesting and worth doing but expensive and after an hour or so underground it was time to head for the surface. You can do a three hour tour, taking in a museum, but the ‘actual’ tour of the mine takes about 1.5hrs. The lift to the surface is interesting!

Checked into the Novotel Bronowice, in a suburb of Krakow (http://www.novotel.com/gb/hotel-3407-novotel-krakow-bronowice/index.shtml). The hotel was excellent and getting to and from the city was not a problem using public transport – about 50p each way.

We went into Krakow and had a look at a very nice, walkable city centre. Evening meal was at Pod Baranem (http://www.podbaranem.com/english.html), a recommendation from TripAdvisor, and it scored 8.5/10. It could have scored very high had Brian’s duck, according to him, not been the texture of a ‘dead badger’!

Day 6 – a drive to Auschwitz 1 – it takes about 1 hour from Krakow. We arrived before 10 a.m. and this allowed us to tour the facility without a guide. Entrance is free. A rather sombre visit. We started off taking photos but after visiting some of the detention blocks and viewing the contents, the camera was put away. It is the only time Margaret and Monica have cried on our 20 years of vacationing together. We did not visit Auschwitz 2 / Birkenau.

A cross country drive back to Krakow was different and then a bus into Krakow – Brian had a lesson on how to obtain a bus ticket from a nice Polish lady. We toured the Jewish Quarter of the city and then headed for the Schindler Factory; not intending to visit. However the Schindler Factory is now a museum showing how the Germans invaded Poland and life in and around Krakow during their occupation. There was not a lot relating to Oskar Schindler, other than some filmed interviews of staff who worked for him during the occupation. The museum, tucked in a somewhat rundown suburb of Krakow, is worth a visit and is easily walkable from the city centre.

Our evening meal was at The Mexican on Ul. Florianska – 6/10. The staff were friendly, the food was cooked O.K., but it wasn’t Mexican cuisine! But, then, what do you expect – we were in Poland!

Day 7 – a bus into Krakow and then we headed off along the Wisla River, west, to Tyniec and the monastery. The walk, on a good combined walking/cycle path, is supposed to be 10km but it was nearer 12km – not that this was a problem as it is all flat walking. One thing to note in Poland, Polish bikes do not have bells and the riders do not take prisoners!

The monastery is small but well maintained and there is a good cafe bar. We picked up a service bus back to Krakow and went exploring the castle and city centre – all easily walkable. Beer o’clock arrived at 5.00p.m. and a bit of people watching and listening to ‘classical buskers’ was rather a pleasant way to finish the day in Krakow. Our ‘last supper’ was in the Novotel and despite the hotel being extremely busy, the food was very good – 7.75/10.

Day 8 – A leisurely morning and we went back to Tyniec for coffee en-route to the airport. An uneventful flight home, but because of the air traffic delay we hit Edinburgh Friday early evening traffic and from exiting the plane it took 1hr 20mins to clear the Forth Road Bridge – a distance of some 10 miles!

Overall the trip to Poland was great but a temperature in the mid 20’s C and sunshine also helps. Zakopane was not what we expected, but even though it was busy there was never any rowdiness or drunken behaviour.

The mystery is public transport and how it makes money! The number of times we travelled and witnessed people just getting on and off buses without paying was amazing. Polish bus drivers working in the U.K. must wonder what is going on when passengers offer to pay to travel!

As for the Poles – the vast majority we met were friendly, with a few surly female waitresses, and most under 40 yrs old spoke English. There were never any problems in restaurants, etc.

Would we visit again – yes. Would we recommend others to visit, definitely.

Reference books to purchase: Sunflower guide to the Tatra Mountains (but be careful of some routes) and Berlitz Pocket Guide to Krakow.

Next year’s vacation (Monica’s choice) was divulged on the last night in Krakow over the ‘last supper’! Turkey (off the beaten track).

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Photographs of the Kinneff Reelers & Friends Annual Charity Walk ’11; a round trip walk from/to Tarfside, Gen Esk, via Mt. Een, Millden and along the river Glen Esk.

This year the funds raised have been donated to a charity called Crossroads

Crossroads Caring Scotland – is a national charity providing practical support for carers.
The services Crossroads provide is specific to care in the home and allows a full time carer the opportunity to have a meaningful break from looking after someone who is ill or disabled.
Such respite breaks can give a carer the opportunity to do the things which most of us take for granted – go shopping, have a coffee with friends, read a newspaper, or even have an uninterrupted sleep. It can give them a chance to recharge their batteries and take time for themselves.
Crossroads services also extend to caring for individuals who are living alone and finding it difficult to cope.
Funds raised from our walk will go direct to the Crossroads Kincardine and Deeside area office.

Details about Crossroads can be found at > www.crossroads-scotland.co.uk

The walk – the weather gods smiled upon us yet again – which was very fortunate as yours truly had forgotten his waterproof jacket. There was not a great deal of height in the walk up Mt. Een, but we had some great views to Mt Keen and Lochnagar northwards and down Glen Esk to Montrose south. The contrast with hill and river walk seemed to please everyone and thankfully the rickety bridge over the Esk near Tarfside took the load!
PS – after everyone commenting on how much they enjoyed this year’s walk, the hard bit will be finding a walk next year which is interesting, challenging, and close to home for us all. Any suggestions please.

We finished the day at Edzell Golf Club > www.edzellgolfclub.com < for supper.

Thanks to Mike Beattie and Tony Peters for supplying some of the photos.

A special thank you to Ann Aitken of Crossroads, who came along for supper and gave a talk on the work of her organisation.

The total amount raised, including gift aid was £2,433.63p

Kinneff Reelers would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who generously donated; and we have some donors’ who don’t walk or join us for  supper, but who support whatever cause we raise funds for and a big thank you to these people.

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Lots of chores to do around the house but not the main ‘job’ of the trip – sanding and painting the rear deck. The weather was very changeable and not ideal for outside painting – but we had a pre-prepared ‘list’ to keep us busy; inside and out.

A great trip to the Bruce Peninsula with A & R and Sharon, the trainee pole dancer!

Karen came down from Toronto with a couple of the bairns for a sleep-over, minus Kam (the baby sitter) and Kira (who was teething).

We had a great trip, all the better for knowing we are going to be grandparents (twice over as when we returned home, we found out that James & Marie, who kept it very quiet are also expecting – about 9 days after A & R).

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With James & Marie spending 3 months of their sabbatical working in a childrens orphanage in Bangkok  – www.ccdthailand.org – we decided to visit the country and meet up at the end of their stint; and take them off for a bit of pampering. The following are our observations about Thailand – the good, the bad and the funny – with photos in chronological order.

Travel – we only had one ‘journey’ on time throughout our 16 day visit. A KLM flight from Schiphol to Aberdeen.  Fortunately, none of the other varying degrees of lateness impacted very much on our schedules. The KLM flight crew having a ‘random’ breath test before we departed Aberdeen – making the flight late – and then my spilling a full glass of red wine over Margaret between Amsterdam and Bangkok was all down to karma; so we were advised by Marie.  Other than the long haul flights, all other accommodation, transport, etc, was done on line – and it all worked very well.

First top tip for travelling once you are in Thailand – pre arrival, try and organise airport/ferry pick ups.  Taxis, Songthaews, Tuk-Tuk’s are a night-mare. The drivers will tell you they know where you want to go but the oft glazed look tells it all. Marie had the dodgy ones sussed pretty quickly.

We did get Thai-jacked. Evidently it is a common occurrence with those innocents abroad – which Margaret and I must have appeared. On our first full day in Bangkok, we left the youngsters in the Chatrium Suites (www.chatrium.com) – thoroughly recommend the accommodation and the airport limo service – and ventured out via riverboat to the Grand Palace. We were then persuaded that the Grand Palace wasn’t open until later in the day and that we should head off in a Tuk-Tuk to some other temples and come back later. 2 hrs later after seeing a few temples and ‘export shops’, we insisted on being dumped at a riverboat station. We never did visit the Grand Palace but the Thai-jack only cost 40 Bahts (about 80p) and it stood us in good stead for the rest of the trip. Riverboat travel in Bangkok is very easy and a good way to see Bangkok. The Mass Transit System is also very good.

Second top tip – never believe a Thai man if you are looking to go somewhere and he, or his mate, tell you it is closed, dangerous or not possible. 99.999% of the time it is total rubbish and they want you to take you to some out of the way restaurant or ‘export shop’ so that ‘they’ can obtain fuel coupons.  This is what the guide books don’t tell you. Don’t get us wrong, the people overall are lovely, but most street men are total con artists. Example, we wanted to eat in China Town. A Tuk-Tuk driver and his mate tell us the Red Shirts are causing trouble and China Town is sealed off.  Marie speaks to a policeman (her Thai was very good!) and find’s out that there is no problem and even gets us a taxi. All over Thailand you will get locals stopping you asking if you need help. The best advice is, be polite but say thanks, but no thanks and this way you will get to see a whole lot more of the country that ‘you’ want to see.

The CCD Orphanage – what an experience. The kids were so excited with getting a treat of Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pepsi. The facility is really good and you do get the feeling that CCD is making a difference to these young people’s lives.  It’s kind of difficult to put into words how proud James and Marie made us feel that they would give up their time to help a bunch of young children get started in what will be a difficult life.

Chaing Mai – a good place to visit if you want to head off into the hills walking. We stayed in a really nice hotel – The Ping Nakara (www.pingnakara.com) – just out of the centre of town but in easy walking distance of the Night Bazaar, city centre, etc.  Excursions, into the hills and surrounding areas, were organised by Lanna Boutique Travel (www.lannaboutiquetravel.com) and Noon and Noah were particularly helpful – nothing was too much trouble.  For cocktails visit Mo’s Rooms on Tapae Road – 2 for the price of one is the norm! For eating out, try The Swan, Burmese cuisine on Chaiyapoom Road – the tea leaf salad is something else, and for coffee go to Libernard Cafe, also on Chaiyapoom Road – it’s a bit quirky, but nice. In general there are plenty of places to eat/drink, although some are not for the faint hearted – especially around the Kotchasam Road area at night.

We had our first massage at the Lila Thai Massage – they are based within the old city walls. The masseurs are allegedly all ex lady convicts.  It was a nice experience!

For budget accommodation – James and Marie recommend Awana House – www.awanahouse.com.

Back to Bangkok to meet up with James and Marie who completed their stint at the orphanage. We stayed at the Shangri –La (www.shangri-la.com/en/property/bangkok/shangrila). When James & Marie arrived covered in garlands given by the kids, the Shangri-La upgraded us to a couple of suites with just about complementary everything. Marie was in seventh heaven (coming after 3 months in a basic room at the orphanage) and had one or two cocktails. A very nice gesture by the hotel.

Off by train to Koh Tao and Koh Samui, via Chumphon. The train journey was very relaxing (once it started an hour and a half late!) and it let us see a bit of the varied countryside – lots of paddy fields and weird rock formations. Not a lot to say about Chumphon – it’s just a hop off point to island ferries. However, we did have our best all round meal of the holiday in a Thai run beachside cafe just over the road from the Novotel.  Very cheap and the five or six dishes of food we had, plus a few Chang beers, were superb. Note: James decided that we should judge restaurants by the quality of the Thai dish of Tom Yum Goong.

Koa Tao by ferry, we used www.lomprayah.com via on-line bookings, to the Koh Tao Cabana (www.kohtaocabana.com), which turned out to be a quirky but nice resort with a great beach – shallow and ideal for kids. A snorkelling trip became an adventure. The first long tail boat (No. 1) had an engine failure mid sea and then the back-up boat, after a transfer at sea, did get us to some snorkelling locations (Japanese Garden and Mango Bay), but then the complete propeller/drive shaft mechanism decided to detach itself from the engine! We eventually were towed back and Marie had to do some serious negotiating on payment.  Food at the Koa Tao Cabana was good as was the scenic location. We also had a very nice meal nearby at a restaurant called Barracuda.

Another island hop to Koa Samui and an all together different island experience from Koh Tao.  If you don’t want hustle and bustle at the beach front, Koh Tao is the island to go for.

Having said this, we found a real oasis of a hotel – The Montra (www.montrasamui.com). Sathit, Noog and the staff made the stay really nice and they were always helpful.

Eating in around Lamai/Chaweng Beaches is not a problem and there is plenty of choice – Thai or rest of world cuisine. Poppies Restaurant was our final blow out meal and it was super (www.poppiessamui.com). Evidently, after meeting a couple of Aussie ladies at Koh Samui airport, we should have had the Coconut Milk Creme Brulé for dessert!

Transiting though Koh Samui Airport is probably as laid back an experience as you will ever get. An open air lounge straight onto the runway apron – and the lounge had free drinks, snacks and wi-fi!

Overall Thailand is a nice country to visit. We never felt in any way threatened – even when we were Thai-jacked, but you can do without the intrusion of being asked what you are doing and where do you want to go several times a day. Would we visit again? Yes.

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As usual we did our own thing with flights (EasyJet from Edinburgh/Gatwick/Innsbruck and a return from Salzburg – RyanAir, and EasyJet up to Edinburgh), accommodation, etc, all booked via the net. Transitting through and staying one night in Gatwick was the worst experience of the vacation. The Hilton was fine, actually quite good value, but food, drink, etc, was seriously overpriced. It’s a captive market!

Flights were O.K. but French air traffic control problems gave us a late flight into Innsbruck, otherwise all flights arrived on-time or early. Salzburg airport is quite small and there was the usual ‘scrum’ at the departure gate for the RyanAir flight.

The photographs are shown/numbered in the order we travelled around Austria. We used Shanks’ Pony or public transport for all travel.

Day 1 – we arrived later than expected in Innsbruck and had a quick look around the town. We took the tour bus – big mistake; it was useless and a genuine waste of money. The best way to see the old town is on foot which is not far from the railway/bus station.
We then took a train to Kitzbuhel and checked into the Hotel Goldener Greif (www.hotel-goldener-greif.at). The hotel is family run and the rooms, food and service were excellent. Kitzbuhel is a very nice town, picturesque, etc, and definitely worth a visit.

Day 2 – off early morning in a cable car to the Hahnenkamm-Rennen, where Brian got to stand in the downhill start gate. From here back into Kitzbuhel and, with full packs, took a gondola/cable car to the top of Kitzbuheler Horn, lunched at the Alpenhause (www.alpenhaus.at) and then hiked to St. Johan to pick up the train to Zell Am See. Scenery stunning.
In Zell Am See we were supposed to be booked into the Hotel Zum Hirschen, but got bumped into an adjoining hotel, Heitzmann. Maybe it was because we were in full hiking gear! Definitely the poorest accommodation we had in Austria, but staff were friendly in ‘both’ hotels!

Day 3 – a day in and around Zell Am See. Pottering around the very nice town, whose market was in full flow, and then a walk around the lake – about 8km. An evening meal in the Hotel Zum Hirschen was very good.

Day 4 – full packs again and a cable car from Zell Am See to the summit of Schmittenhoe; where we saw golfers teeing off in the annual summer event. The impromptu golf course follows the various pistes to Zell Am See. Definitely different! From Schmittenhoe we set off down a steep ridge for Viehhofen. Supposedly a 2hr descent – which took a good 3hrs! Picked up a PostBus to Saalbach.
Checked into the family run, Hotel Kohlmais (www.kohlmais.at) which was definitely a real find by Brian. The accommodation was super and the evening 5 course meal was of a very, very, high standard. Easily the best food/hotel we had of the whole trip. Full marks to the Gappmaier family.

Day 5 – up on the first gondola of the day to the summit of Schattberg. From here a 20km hike along a ridge to Schmittenhoe at about 2,000m elevation all the way – photos numbered from 23 to 38 cover the ridge walk. Absolutely glorious weather and hardly a cloud in the sky; it’s just a pity all the photos taken can’t be put on the website. Down from Schmittenhoe via cable car and a PostBus back to Saalbach.

Day 6 – we stayed in the Saalbach area and went to Hinterglemm. A nice town with plenty of choice of gondola transport to the peaks. We chose to visit the Alpen-Blumenweg Hut for coffee and to see the alpine garden and then we lunched at the top of Zwolferkogel – in the mist. It was recommended, by Matthew Gappmaier, that we visit the Rosswald Hut for lunch but time was unfortunately against us.
From Hinterglemm we travelled by PostBus to Lengua and then in a ‘Noddy Train’ to Lindlingalm and dipped a toe in the ‘Devil’s Water’ – which is supposed to bring you luck; it rained harder and the mist descended! An interesting place to visit with lots of outdoor pursuits – especially for children of all ages.

Note: all the time we stayed in the Saalbach area we used a Joker Card for all transport. Participating hotels, of which the Hotel Kohlmais happened to be one, issue the cards and ‘all’ means of travel is free – even the Noddy Train’! An excellent deal. Travel by PostBus to, for example, Zell Am See, was at a reduced fare.

Day 7 – travelled from Saalbach to Salzburg, via Zell Am See. The PostBus ties in with the train arriving which arrives on time, etc. Why can’t we have this joined up transport in the U.K.?
Checked into the Crowne Plaza Hotel – a short walk from the railway station.
Salzburg is a very pretty city and easily walkable. The market, which happened to be in full flow, is not large but the quality of produce was excellent.
We had an evening meal in Sternbraeu (www.sternbraeu.com), a very old established restaurant which was good value and has plenty of choice for Austrian dining and ales.

Day 8 – early breakfast of croissants/pastries and coffee just outside the Crowne Plaza, at Wallner’s City Snack on Rainer Straza (excellent service, very friendly) and then PostBus No. 2 to the airport and home.

Overall the trip to Austria was great. Visiting in mid September is about the latest you would want to be for the more rural areas (for the cities it doesn’t really matter), as they do take a breather before the winter season starts on the first weekend in December.
The Austrians are very friendly, helpful, etc. Everywhere we travelled, and by whatever means of transport, was clean and tidy – but so was Austria in general.

Would we visit again – a definite yes.

Reference book to purchase: none really. We just visited Tourist Information Offices and picked up local maps, plus Brian had researched the various walks on Google Earth/Maps.

Next year’s vacation (John’s choice) was divulged on the last night in Salzburg over the ‘last supper’! Poland and a two centre break (Zakopane / Krakow) and walking in the Tatra Mountains.

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This year the funds raised have been donated to two charities – Bliss and Tayside Children with Cancer and Leukaemia (TCCL).

Bliss – Around one in nine babies require some form of specialist hospital care when they are first born. Some of these are born premature and some are born at term, but with conditions that mean they require specialist care. In total this equates to around 80,000 babies every year, or around one every six minutes.

Bliss, the special care baby charity, provides vital support and care to premature and sick babies across the UK. Founded 30 years ago, they offer guidance and information at a critical time in families’ lives. Bliss also fund cutting-edge research, campaign for improved hospital resourcesand for babies to receive the best possible level of care; regardless of when and where they are born. Details about Bliss can be found at > www.bliss.org.uk

TCCL – has been providing quality support of families with children, who are under the age of 21 years, who suffer from Cancer or Leukaemia.

The diagnosis of Cancer and Leukaemia in a child causes tremendous stress for families who must struggle, physically, practically, emotionally, and financially with the intensive, intrusive treatment regime and the inevitable disruption it brings to family life.

TCCL attempts to alleviate some of these stresses by organising group activities such as Panto Visits, Summer Outings and Parties. There is also a holiday fund which enables families to have weekend breaks at a location of their choice where they can spend time together, after perhaps protracted treatment regimes in hospital.

Monetary assistance to families experiencing financial difficulties caused by the child’s illness, or to facilitate travel to hospital is also available.

Apart from the cost of stationary, printing and advertising, all funds raised go directly to the children and their families. Details about TCCL can be found at > www.tccl.org.uk

The walk – the weather gods smiled upon us, again, and the 30 of us who walked had a dry day with some great views (24 hrs earlier would have been a whole lot different!). The walk route was probably a surprise for a few, with it being so close to home but having a lot of contrasting terrain.

We finished the day at Edzell Golf Club > www.edzellgolfclub.com < for supper and a putting competition – won by a team with two non golfers, captained by John Forbes!!

Thanks to Mike Beattie and Tony Peters for supplying some of the photos.

A special thank you to Margaret Nethery of Bliss, who came up from Dunfirmline to walk with us.

The total amount raised was £2,501 and with gift aid this will increase to £3,009.28. The individual charities received – figure in brackets is with gift aid added:

Bliss – £1,200.50 (£1,408.64)

TCCL – £1,300.50 (£1,600.64)

Kinneff Reelers would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who generously donated.

Just a long weekend visit to the Aix Les Bains / Annecy area of S.E. France over the weekend first weekend in Oct ’09. Not a part of France Margaret and I had been to, but Andrew & Rebecca had spent some time in the region during their travels.

We arrived in Geneva, from Edinburgh, 3 minutes after Andrew’s flight from Bristol (well done EasyJet), Hertz were good with the hire car – an upgrade – and we arrived in Aix Les Bains about one hour later; with the friendly staff at the Hotel Notre Dame Des Eaux allowing us to check into our ‘wing’ early.

Rebecca had set off for Paris with her Mum (Sharon) the previous Tuesday and they arrived directly into Aix Les Bains via TGV on time late afternoon. 3 hours from Paris to Aix Les Bains – UK rail operators, eat your hearts out!

A celebratory drink was required followed by a tour of the town centre, and a look at the old time dancers near the Kiosk a’ Music. A nice evening meal on the Rue De Genève; followed by a nightcap at our hotel.

Saturday is market day in Aix Les Bains and what a nice experience. Everything you would expect from a French market. Cheese, meats and bread were bought for a picnic lunch.  A Clik bag was spotted being used as a baguette carrier. How did it get there, who was the pretty girl carrying it??

A car trip to Le Mont Revard for a view over Aix Les Bains one way and to Mont Blanc the other way.  A wee bit hazy for good photographs. A vintage car club had decided to have a day out and there were some superb vehicles on show.  A good walk on the ridge was had before our picnic lunch. We were over 5,000ft up and in short sleeve shirts; in October! The area has quite a lot of facilities for skiing and boarding but one suspects it is probably used a lot by the locals. It would be a good place for learning to ski as the runs look beginner friendly.

A visit to Lac Du Bourget, Aix Les Bains and both the Grand and Petit Ports. Very nice atmosphere, plenty of brassieres, etc.

A tour of the casino – Rebecca lost her €5 pretty quickly, but it was an experience – pre dinner drinks on the Ave. Des Fluers and onto Brassiere De La Poste for a really nice meal.

Sunday was a day trip to Annecy via some back roads and taking in some lovely scenery with Sharon picking up a supply of Chestnuts from the woods. Annecy is a very pretty town and the number of people there on a weekend lay testimony to this. However, if you want a quiet coffee just go one block back from the waterway!  Annecy is a very walkable place and the parkland by the lake is ideal for a picnic.

Back to Aix les Bains and the girls, plus Andrew, headed off to the Spa – Thermes Chevalley (Spas are one of the things Aix Les Bains is famous for) – and I headed for town to explore; and then to get a beer (or two!) and people watch in the Place Du Revard.

Another nice meal, this time on the Rue Albert at L’Ecuelle, nice ambience and the cellar area in the back of the restaurant is ‘interesting’.

Monday was an early breakfast (we walked down into Aix Les Bains every morning for a coffee and croissant ) and then an uneventful one hour drive to Geneva; but it was fortunate Andrew knew how to get us to a gas station (under the World Trade Centre building) and to the rental car drop off point. The signage for the latter at Geneva Airport was abysmal.

The return flights, once again via EasyJet, were both on-time into Bristol/Edinburgh. Brownie points awarded again.

A great weekend break with the weather holding out until we departed. One thing you notice about Aix Les Bains, Annecy, etc, is how clean the places are and residents take pride in how their town looks.  Would we return – definitely, especially off season.

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