maisie's first impressions, recountd over a glass of red wine (the rose being insufficiently chilled)

Travelling economy is not to my liking. So cramped! And that awful child three rows back who screamed and hollered all night. The final indignity - no cheese course. In fact no food at all as la patronne chose to sleep rather than dine. Then of course much agitation as our hour delay in montreal meant we arrived in geneva after official vet hours, so I just kept quiet in my travelling gym bag and despite having all my papers in order,have essentially found myself an illegal alien in the EU. Ne t thing you know I will be put to work selling knockoff kongs in the market. We are parading around in a huge deluxe station wagon, upgraded to automatic, which I understsnd is a good thing, particularly if one is, like me, uneasy in the car. My first impression of France was a lovely cheese plate shared (not equally I might add)with la patronne at a roadside service centre. At least I got my own bottle of Vittel. Our rental property was hard to find, but is quite suitable. We have french doors in the bedroom that i enjoy using to survey my domayin, plus a terrace where i am too often chained after an exuberant survey of the extent of the property, with its shady areas, grassy areas, and ball-playing pitch. Also, supermarkets here stock a superior brand of terrier kibble. Cheese also pasable, but i am waiting anxiuosly to try some beaufort from the mountain man.