Earlier today I was exploring the narrow streets of a pretty French town just to the south of Paris. My parents had told me the name of the place my brother mark and his family are moving to, and, it being rather overcast and gloomy in London, I thought I would head over and give it a look. It struck me as quintessentially French, it’s winding, narrow streets so evocative of the taste of wine and strong cheese; you could scarcely get more different to dull old London.

Of course, my explorations were limited to google maps, as much as we’d all love to suddenly whip off to somewhere exotic. I love how that website allows you to explore the world from your desk, so that whenever you feel down, or your feet itch, you can instantly transport yourself to somewhere far away (or, indeed, down roads you know well). This afternoon I was following my nose down pretty winding streets, feeling slightly jealous of my bro. Then again, those streets didn’t look very easy to navigate in a wheelchair – another advantage of website-bound exploration. With luck, we will see it for real soon enough, but for now, whenever I yearn for those streets, the taste of wine and strong cheese, Google does nicely.