Here’s what David had to say: “The picture, taken by my wife, shows me paddling for the first time solo in our new canoe. I’m trying to edge it for the first time, too (I didn’t fall in).

The river we’re on is the Hérault in the Languedoc region of France. You can see Mont St Baudille in the background.

The trip? It took us a whole lifetime to get to this area. It’s where we’ve retired to. Looks peaceful, doesn’t it? Particularly from under the brim of my new Tilley hat. (I lost my old hat in a canoeing incident we shan’t go into here.)”

Thanks David!

Please send your photographs to photos@packyourbags.com.

We had visited Val D’isere many years before and skied on the Tignes side but had always thought it was a purpose built resort with no actual heart. We were pleasantly surprised to discover that Tignes centre was very pretty and in the ‘heart’ of Tignes there were hotels and bars that were typical of the Savoie region in style.

We stayed at the Paquis Hotel which was a very cosy family owned hotel.  We loved the Tyrolean style bar and dining room which overlooked the nursery slopes. The food was amazing!  The Madame would welcome you each morning with her hot fresh home cooked croissants!

In the Hotel they had a heated ski and boot room near the reception, so it was great to have warmed ski boots to put on in the morning.  A big treat for us was to be able to put your skis on outside the hotel and ski down to join the piste just a couple of hundred metres away.

Skiing in Tignes, and the surrounding areas, is stunning. From the centre of Tignes we could chose from a number of lifts or cable car.  Our lift pass covered the whole area called L’Espace Killy with over 190 miles of pistes covering Val D’Isere and Tignes. We went over to Val D’Isere twice during our stay and enjoyed the long green and blue runs down to the town. We also took the cable car up to the Grand Motte Glacier. I had never skied on a glacier before and marvelled at the blue snow in the cracks. However, our favourite route was to take the lift up to Aiguilles percee (eye of the needle) and ski down to a picturesque village called Les Brevieres situated just below the big dam. Here we would sit out in the sunshine and sip our chocolate or vin chaud, soaking up the rays.

This is what ski holidays are all about, aren’t they?

It really is a place where dreams come true, even as a 26 year old woman I got caught up in the magic of it all. You truly are entering into a world of fantasy!

We travelled to Disney via Ferry from Dover to Calais as my nine year old niece who has Rett’s Syndrome and is severely disabled and wheelchair bound, was travelling with us and we wanted her to have the most comfortable journey possible. Our journey over to Paris was awful due to severe winds! It really wasn’t a nice experience at all and, as we left at 4am in the morning, we were exhausted.

We arrived into Disneyland within four hours of leaving Calais (we had plenty of stops!) so we made really good time – plus it’s all along the motorway so it’s ever so easy.

We stayed at the Sequoia Lodge Hotel in Disneyland. We arrived at the Hotel and parked easily and had unpacked within minutes, although check in didn’t run quite as smoothly. We were advised by Disney that we would be able to check in at 2pm, however on arrival at 1.30pm we were advised we would have to wait until 3pm. This was fine for all the adults as we were quite happy to go and relax in the bar; however for my niece or anyone with young children this was just really unpractical as you have to wait in the main lobby with all your cases! Not a very enjoyable start to your holiday, especially if you have been travelling since 4am in the morning!

We asked the receptionist if they had a changing facility we could use for Ellie in order to give her medication etc, but they don’t have any changing facilities at all, just the hotel toilets. After finally getting someone to listen to us and understand our situation we were taken to one of the rooms so that was vacant, which was a relief.

We were finally shown to our rooms at 3pm and, despite the wait, and unsuitable facilities we were very impressed. The rooms were a fantastic size, two double beds in each room and a decent size bathroom. Wardrobe, bedside cabinets and a TV: although you can only watch Disney programmes!

Once we had dumped our cases we headed straight for the park. As it was a Sunday the park was quite busy, as you get a lot of day visitors over the weekend. It was bitterly cold and we were all exhausted, but the minute we walked through the park gates that just didn’t matter!! It was amazing! We didn’t even notice the howling cold winds and occasional rain showers. I was completely overwhelmed!

The detail in the buildings and the landscapes is just unbelievable – from the great big rides to the tiny footprints in the paving, they have thought of absolutely everything. Music was coming from speakers all around the park and there was so much to look at, every building had a shop, ice cream parlour or coffee shop. Everywhere you looked you could see a character or a pumpkin person (the Halloween theme was unbelievable!). I was also impressed with the security at the Park as well; we had our bags checked on entering the park everyday!

I would recommend buying the Half Board Food vouchers as we did when booking your package, it will save you an absolute fortune! You have over 8 restaurants to choose from and they are all lovely – the food was outstanding, we really couldn’t fault it! Especially in the buffet restaurants – there is something for everybody, it’s all fresh and you can have a much or as little as you like! In some waiter service restaurants you will be given a special’s menu for your vouchers, but you still have plenty to choose from and there is something for everyone, especially the children.

The best thing about the Sequoia Lodge Hotel is the bar area – they have an enormous stone fire that is the main feature within the room, and huge sofas and comfortable chairs through out the room. It’s warm and comfortable yet still grand and elegant. You feel as if you have just come straight off the ski slopes, it’s wonderful. The only downside is the price of the drinks - however the trick is to buy bottles of wine, rather than glasses, and share it. You will save yourselves a fortune! You have a choice of two restaurants within the hotel, one is buffet and one table service, both are wonderful and the staff and really friendly.

Disney is a truly wonderful experience, you will have long days as there is so much to see and you will walk for miles, but you will still come back relaxed and refreshed! It doesn’t matter how old you are or whether you’re a fan of Disney or not, you cannot help but allow yourself to get lost in the magic of Disneyland Paris!

Top tips to remember:

• All Disney Guests have entry into the park at 8.00 am – make the most of it and head straight into Disney Frontier Land as you can just jump straight on to Space Mountain – we went on it twice in one morning and we didn’t have to queue at all! You can also get onto a lot of the children’s rides early in the morning without having to queue at all.
• Always plan your day, within reason of course! It’s the best way to get around the park, you can fast track most of the big rides and I would highly recommend this service! It really does work and frees up your day to do so much more with your day. Also make sure if your travelling with children or anyone with disabilities that you make the most of their shared queuing option, if there are only two adults and you have younger children with you with a pushchair or a younger child who does not meet the high restrictions, one of you can queue for a ride with your child whilst the other parent waits in the allocated area, as soon as one of you come off the ride, the other parent can go on without having to queue it’s a wonderful idea and allows everyone to enjoy the ride’s and the experience.
• Visit Wild Bills Western Evening – if you have your food vouchers you can use them towards the price and then pay a further 20 Euros. Although it’s quite expensive it really is fantastic value for your money, as you get an amazing three course meal and drinks all night.
• If you can take a travel kettle and tea and coffee and cold drinks with you to your accommodation – it will again save you a fortune as you will not get tea or coffee making facilities in your room and it will set you back up to 4 Euro’s a drink. It doesn’t sound a lot, but when your on your feet all day and walking several miles, you will work up a thirst.
• Make sure you set aside time in your day to see the Disney Parades, as they are out of this world. I was completely overwhelmed and the characters make such a fuss of the children - they all spent time with my niece, for which we were incredibly grateful.

I have to say it’s got so much better. This was my first trip on the Euro Star so I had no idea what it would be like. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised on arrival at Ashford International we were greeted by a vast glittering glass building. Check in and security took a matter of minutes and by the time we had arrived at the platform the train was there, so on we jumped. Standard class was fine – the seats are comfy enough for a two hour journey and the buffet car sold a selection of yummy treats.

When we arrived at the Euro star terminal in Disney we walked straight out and jumped on the bus headed for the Newport Bay Club Hotel, only five minutes away.  Check in at this hotel took a little longer than usual but was no problem, and the hotel gladly looked after our luggage as our room wasn’t available till 3pm so we could go off and explore the Disney village.

I always turn into a kid when I arrive at Disney. This time was much more special as I took friends that hadn’t been before so everything was magical to them. After relaxing in Planet Hollywood’s bar we decided that ice skating was the order of the day, so we walked over to the New York Hotel and proceeded to try and ice skate. I’m very proud of the fact that I was the last on the ice (although covered in bruises afterwards!).

The Disney Village has a large selection of restaurants so our first night we ate at Planet Hollywood which does reasonably priced food, the second night we ate in the Steak House which was incredibly expensive. Top tip – if you don’t like your steak still alive when it reaches your table ask for it to be well done!

Our first day in the park was fantastic, they had fake snow on Main Street every hour, hours of traditional Christmas and Disney music playing in the background and lots of different characters dotted around for you to get pictures with. I personally think this is the best time of year to visit as the queues are tiny. The longest queue we encountered was at the Crushes Coaster in the Disney Studios, and even this was only 15 minutes long. Our second day in the parks was much the same, lots of wandering round shops gazing at all of the incredible things you could buy; and because the queues were so short we got the chance to go on all of the rides we’d liked the day before. If you’re a thrill seeker try the Hollywood Tower of Terror, I think this could be one of the best rides in the park and the staff that work on this ride really get into the role of spooky hotel attendant.

And you simply have to watch the parades – the characters dance in front of you and grab your hands and the Candleabration parade is magical. It really gives you goose bumps, especially when they light Cinderella’s castle up There’s also a Disney on ice show called Mickey’s Winter Wonderland which is worth watching, a lot of it is in French but you don’t need to be able to speak French in order to appreciate the fun of it all!

All in all a fabulous time had and, whether you’re eight or eighty, I think you’ll love Disney as much as I do!

My final tip for Disneyland Paris is as it’s so expensive for food and drink, if you can before you go book a half board option and if you are partial to snacking during the day take your own treats as crisps, chips etc are very expensive in the parks. Oh, and wrap up warm!