hello all

well, after only 2 nights in the big brother tent i was already up for eviction. after a gentle introduction to the road with a tour of one of frances champagne houses we had moved onto annecy, a lakeside town in the alps, where it proceeded to lash it down into the night - not a problem for the tent but it was foir the car which wasnt sealed becxause of the dodgy fiiting of the surf roof rack* meaning thast a small puddle of water had collected in the passenger seats. not good. of coourse i lept into action(!) and started bailing but only after leaving katherines** on the side of the road. where it remained. and maybe does to this day with all her jewellery, expensive beauty products, some clothes etc ... not a cool move!

onto better things. the alps were awesome. chamonix took the breath away but the swiss alps around lauterbrunnen and interlaken were just about the most beautiful places i have been to and i canb see why kjatherine has raved aboiut them so much, certainly lived up to the billing. so much space and yet intimate all the same as you trek through grassy meadows with these imposing and stunning snow capped mountains keeping you company by your side all the way.

katherine went paragliding in interlaken and was buzzing for hours afterwards and for both of us it was very hard to say goodbye. now, we are in italy and io think the whole country is on holiday judging by the congestion, switzerland it aint! lake garda okay, verona charming, venice stunning. tuscany next...

will close this first account now, a combination of time running out and heabutting mosquitos trying to syphon my blood is more than my meagre literary and physical powers can take

all the best one and all

mike and kat

* yep, feels daft having surfboards in the alps ... role on san sabastian and biaritz
** sorry for useless spelling and grammar - cant work the itlaina computer!!