Travelling allsorts

How lucky we are! Our friends rented a house in the Pyrenees and invited us along when their daughter had to drop out at the last minute.  We flew from Stansted to Lourdes and spent a couple of hours wandering around this interesting spa town before meeting with our friends who had driven south from their home in north-west France.  We were staying in Cauterets, a spa town at the foot of a ski resort, a short walk from the cable car which went to the small ski resort. It's less expensive and less crowded that the Alps, perfect for a long weekend. For non-skiers, the cable car ride is spectacular and there is a large snack bar/restaurant to sit and watch the activities. In the town, there are restaurants (of course) and thermal baths.

California is long - over 1,000 miles, which is more or less double* the length of Britain (*depending which criteria you use) therefore the temperatures between the northern and southern-most areas varies greatly, enabling visitors to enjoy a pleasant climate at any time of the year, somewhere in the 'The Golden State'. There are also differences between coastal regions and inland (mountains, valleys and deserts). At the time of writing, mid-October, the current temperatures midnight-midday are: North Lake Tahoe 34F - 66F (1C - 19C) San Francisco 49F - 63F (9C - 17C) Sacramento 55F - 81F (13C - 27C) South Santa Barbara 52F - 67F (11C - 19C) Los Angeles 62F - 66F (17C - 19C) Palm Springs 69F - 91F (21C - 33C) One reason why wealthy people often have homes in Palm Springs is quite obvious; there is also the aerial tramway and many golf courses. By contrast, Lake Tahoe is close to Mammoth and June mountains...

We've done both. Christmas is great with all the snow for the kids to play in but it's best if you can arrange for family or friends to stay in the same resort - the same villa, if possible, otherwise another apartment in the same block. The first time we stayed in La Plagne  (French Alps) many years ago with a bunch of friends, all on a tight budget, and we shared a two-room apartment which slept six when using a sofa-bed.  The last time, we were in a large apartment with three bedrooms; ourselves and our friends, each family having one child at primary school. We spent Christmas there, plenty of snow! After dark, there were candlelight events which looked spectacular.  In February, there is more likelihood of snow and, being higher up than the clouds (sometimes) means that there is plenty of sunshine so don't forget the factor 50 - especially for the children's fair skin. It is still quite expensive, too, as school holidays always are. La Plagne is a great choice. Upd...