We were very lucky and managed to snaffle lots of furniture for the barn from Chamonix for next to nothing. Only problem now was so much stuff no way was it going to fit in Vinnie so we had to come up with a plan….

Guests have all gone for the season in Cham so we borrowed a trailer from David up the road and loaded as much as possible into it and Vinnie and headed south. 800km down one day, unload the next day and 800km back the following day!

We left Cham at 530am and got to the barn at around 5pm so a steady slow drive but Vinnie made it which was the biggest concern. Anouk and Rene kindly put us up for 2 nights, delicious food, fab company and very welcomed helping hands for getting things up the hill. Thank you both masses.

We met Henri the Mayor at 7am on the Wednesday and he kindly got the trailer up to the bridge for us which made life so much easier. Anouk, Rene and their friend Jean-Charles came and helped us unload and by 1030am the van and trailer were both unloaded and in the barn. Time for coffee before they headed off and Al and I had time to sort out the veg patch and deal with the snow damage after the winter.

The back gutter is totally ruined with the weight of snow. So we need to put snow bars on the roof this summer to stop that happening again. The flue in the outbuilding was down as was the main flue for the composting toilet so took photos and took everything off that was hanging mid air!!! In need of stronger brackets for sure. Lets hope insurance pay out.

We were so lucky with the weather the sun shone all day for us. The mountains looked beautiful in snow and it was hot in the sun.

So the upstairs of the barn is now full with sofas, wardrobes, chest of drawers, bed side cabinets etc. lots to sort when we get back but at least it is there and we can about find a bed to collapse on for the first night!!!

We had a quicker trip back but still a long way and again very pleased Vinnie made it!!!! Excited about the summer in the Pyrenees.