Thinking Allowed: I just can't Alp it

The Alps are my favourite mountains. Their peaks are just right, chunky and jutting and excitingly snowy. The passes breathe mist, and are knit into the history of Europe - we came across Roman roads, millenarian monasteries, the paths of Hannibal and Napoleon. The refugios (which all have astounding views) are tucked into every mountain fold, offering shelter and cold drinks to needy hikers. It's everything you could wish for.

We spent a week climbing the hills around Chamonix, Aosta and Courmayeur. With only Zadie to tote around, we walked a lot. Because babies and sudden elevation gain don't mix, we had to hike the vertical kilometre to and from the ridge line instead of taking the ski lifts like everyone else. The hike from Courmayeur past Bertone was perfection: blue skies above us, gigantic mountains all around, a cute baby spitting up on us...there's nothing better.

We also explored the Aosta valley's castles (fireplaces big enough to walk around in! Frescoes three hundred times older than us!), ate ice creams wallowing in thick local whipped cream, soaked in hot tubs, ate Conte cheese on hillsides, and generally revelled in the Alpine life.

Although a multiday hike sleeping in refugios was awfully appealing - at first we'd even planned to walk all the way around Mont-Blanc - my spine's continued sketchiness made us opt for softer mattresses and day hikes. So we indulged in local inns, Zadie had her own space to yowl in peacefully, our walks targeted the nicest summits...and the fulfillfment of a thru-hike like the Tour du Mont Blanc will just have to wait!