The snow may have been thin on the ground this season, but Cervinia in Italy still had enough to cushion our falls, ok, maybe there wasn’t quite enough. With family and friends we made a good size group of twenty-two, and with the kids pushing us oldies (or was that the other way round) there was bound to be a few spills along the way.

Cervinia is one of the highest resorts in the Italian Alps and is dominated by the Matterhorn. Cervinia also backs on to the Swiss resort of Zermatt, which has some great all year conditions, though a lottery win would be needed just about pay the hotel bill if you want to stay there.

The hotel we stayed at closed for the season after we left, nothing to do with us, but it did make for some interesting shortages you wouldn’t expect in a restaurant. While they were happy bunch, you could tell they were waiting for the own holidays to start.

Its funny how each day gets more competitive, and not just between the kids, us Dad’s may not bounce so well, but then they do say pride comes before a fall, and fall we did. I left my camera kit at home, but we still had a couple of pocket ones to capture the scrapes and bruises.

Having just seen BBC new, its hard to believe they’ve complaining about broadband speeds, last week I couldn’t even get a connection, Cervinia doesn’t have broadband, though it does have an internet café. One computer on a dial-up connection and then you’ve got to register with the police before you use it. Happy to have a faster link, but a link is more than some are getting in Europe.