Liz

Thanks BJSLIV - it looks (almost ) idiot proof! - although my experience of anything to do with sorting out computers is that a 5 min job usually takes at least 2hours!! Anyway it looks as if all the leads needed come in the box so I should be ok. Liz

Hi, We have just managed to get our phone line installed - it was a long story -FT said our (new) chalet didn't exist! In the end my  other half decided to take a neighbours advice and sign up for broadband at the same time to save another lot of hassle when we actually need it . He speaks good French but is a complete technophobe (even in English!) so had no idea what on earth he was signing up for! So as far as I know we now have a broadband connection ,and a livebox has just been delivered ( should have arrived while we were still there about 6 weeks ago, but finally turned up at our wonderful builder's office last week). So my very basic question is - what is a live box??? do I just plug in my laptop (in which case what kind of lead do I need) - or is it a wi-fi system and my laptop will just pick it up? any advice about how I set it up? as you will have gathered although I am reasonably IT literate I am not very good on hardware.... Thanks a lot Liz

Thanks everyone for your replies. W also loath ironing - at home we pay someone else to do the essentials! Most of our duvet covers at home are poly-cotton or non iron cotton, and I just tumble dry and fold them, but one set is 100% heavy cotton and they look dreadful if they are not ironed - so I dont want to make that mistake with all the bedding for the flat. I have found out that there is an Ikea in Lausanne which is not too far for us to go so I am going to see what they have to offer - we can check it out here and then buy there. Liz Saddleworth

We have just returned to England after a week at our new flat near Chamonix. We have managed to buy most of the furniture we need , plus crockery/cutlery etc but ran up against some unexpected problems with bedding. All the duvet covers/sheets etc seem to be pure cotton. I know pure cotton is nice to sleep in, especially when it is hot, but I still want to buy some non-iron bedding. I have NO intention of spending my holiday ironing! Anyone any ideas where to buy? I have thought about taking it from here, but that means I will have to buy the duvets here as well because of the different sizes, and that means in the next couple of trips we will have some very bulky luggage!  any recommendations welcome (and if anyone knows what the term for "non iron" is in french so that I can do a search on the web that would also be welcome) thanks Liz

Several people in this thread have mentioned that there are frequent electricity cuts in France. Is this true everywhere, or just in very rural areas? We have just bought an apartment in a village near Chamonix, and it is all electric. We are plannng on fitting a wood burning stove - should we be looking for one which also can at least heat a kettle? Lisa

Many thanks for the suggestion [:$]Dick - I have got that loaded onto my Palm and seems to work fine. Liz

we are in the process of buying a small apartment near Chamonix. Because of limited space I want to fit a combination oven/microwave. I have a Neff one at home and it is great, It works as a conventional oven, or grill or microwave, or a combination grill/microwave or oven/microwave. We have been trying to find the same thing in France and are struggling. I though I could look for the same model number as here on a French internet site, but apparently the model numbers are different and they have different features. So a couple of questions - If I buy one here and ship it over, will I have any problems fitting it there? If I order something similar from a French internet site and it says they deliver to "France Metropolitain" does that only mean they deliver in towns, or near paris, or what? will they deliver to a village near Chamonix? thanks fo any advice Liz

This is really useful, but I would be really interested if anyone knows of a dictionary I can download onto my Palm - either free or not too expensive thanks Liz