We were going to go to Val Thorens yesterday to meet up with some of the Snowheads but the Col du Galibier is still closed which meant the journey would have taken us 3 ½ hours so we abandoned the idea.    We have guests arriving tomorrow so had plenty to do anyway like housework, shopping and cutting grass, as I will be too busy over the next week for such menial tasks.  The two friends arriving are Pat, who I have known since our oldest children started school together, and Jenny who worked with me at the university.  Having husbands who either do not travel or only play golf, I suggested they come together, having met before through me on several occasions.  It’s Pat’s second holiday here, having visited 4 years ago but first time for Jenny although she does travel to the Swiss Alps every year with the family so is familiar with the mountains.

Today Sue and I took a trip into Italy.  Sue wanted to treat me to lunch as a thank you for babysitting and we decided it would be good to go a little further afield.  We drove to Oulx and after a coffee we wandered round the Wednesday morning market.  It was a little cloudy but the sun came out enough for us to be able to sit outside in the café garden where we consumed pizzas and beer.  We then headed just outside town to a small shopping mall where Sue picked up a pretty but practical pair of sandals.  I then decided to do my shop in the supermarket there.  Not easy in a foreign language but luckily Sue had her handy Italian phrasebook with her and we managed to buy mince and chicken breast from the fresh meat counter.  Sue enjoys a challenge and was managing very well whereas I tend to go to pieces.  The supermarket trolleys were novel, being constructed of a thick see through plastic.