Driving Home for Christmas
'So I sing for you
Though you can't hear me
When I get through
And feel you near me
I am driving home for Christmas
Driving home for Christmas
With a thousand memories'
Chris Rea once sang!!
I wasn’t singing as we boarded the Eurotunnel and set out on our journey to the Alps but I was very excited! The early snow reports had been good and although the Alps aren’t strictly home I have spent 12 of the last 14 Christmases in the snow and they certainly have a thousand (and more) memories!
So trying not to jump up and down in the driver’s seat, we were soon cruising down the empty French motorway to our stop over for the night.
Booked only a couple of days before through one of the large hotel booking sites, we had struck lucky with La Maison Rouge in Noeux les Mines. A perfect stopping point if you are driving to or from the Alps, just an hour from Calais and minutes from the A26. And it’s not just a great location - the hotel is welcoming, has a lovely restaurant, fabulous food and a bar to sit in and relax after dinner.
With probably the largest Christmas baubles I have ever seen and a lingerie cupboard (sadly locked – and yes we did try the door! 
), a comfortable bed and a great choice for breakfast what more could you want? However we were soon on the way again and had just an easy seven hour drive to The Alps to go.
Er……except it wasn’t that easy as it rained the whole way and made the journey an hour or two longer than expected – lots of spray and an extra couple of rest stops didn’t dampen the excitement and we were soon driving up the hill into Les Carroz with snow on the ground and more forecast. Excited and some more memories to make!
I have driven this route lots of times and although this wasn’t the easiest of journeys I would really recommend driving as an option. It is much easier to drive on French motorways than in the UK, the volume of traffic is far less, lots of service areas and several places to break up the journey – treat it as part of the holiday and enjoy it!
However you’re planning to get to the slopes this season, I wish you a safe, easy journey and plenty of the white stuff when you arrive.
It’s looking good so far!