At the end of July, I emailed our Swiss solicitor to ask her advice and get some facts clarified. Trust me to ask the questions right at the start of the holiday period in Valais. So I sent a 2nd email mid August. No reply yet. I thought it was only the Mediterranean countries that closed down for August…

I can make a reasonable Paella, which is the regional dish of Valencia, though I feel that it’s possible to go too far with authenticity. For the meat, I tend to use chicken instead of the traditional Water Rat, which used to be plentiful in the rice fields around Valencia. It was time to try a Swiss dish. I have a friend who lives in the Swiss Alps who seems very fond of Croûte au fromage, so I decided to give it a go. It looked a lot like the photo above, it’s very filling, and I’m amazed that anyone could hike or ski after having Croûte for lunch. I settled down on the sofa for a snooze.

In our household, I’m always the one to book holidays, early. I always arrive at airports hours before our flight departs, and I’m always first in the line. As we are buying an apartment in a Swiss ski resort, we can stay there as regular tourists, whilst we await a permit from the Canton. Unless of course, someone else has made a booking whilst we debated my early booking habit. Which is exactly what has happened. I need to raise my game if I want to stay in our place.

It’s a national pastime to talk about the weather. One set of parents moved to Spain late last year, where they initially stayed in our place. They liked the house, but the weather 2 hours south of Barcelona was too wet and too cold, they told me, and so they moved south as soon as the furniture arrived. Now resident in southern Valencia, our regular phone conversations are filled with tales of how it’s too hot, and how they hate the heat there.

Spanish Banks that is. They make a charge for me leaving my money with them. They earn money from that, which they keep for themselves. Then, when I set up a Direct debit for a utility bill, each month, they send me a letter telling me that they have sent the payment. They charge me for that too. I should have opened a Bank.

It’s good to plan ahead. In this instance, years ahead, take on extra borrowing and try and fund an idyllic retirement by having a place on the Med, and a place in a Swiss alpine village. Lots of “if’s” and “buts”, though most of it comes down to money..As usual.