Skiing lessons - Day 1

Monday 7th January 2013

Well I am officially a  'débutante' - no not a young lady from an aristocratic family who has reached the age of maturity ready to be displayed to an array of eligible bachelors!! Though I would love to try on one of those big ballgowns I'm not known for being very feminine.  I do however have the most flowery girly pair of ski's you have probably ever seen!

No I am a 'débutante learner' on the slopes and today had the first of a weeks worth of morning lessons. I managed not to make a complete fool of myself - Bridget Jones style - as had been my great fear. I did fall over a couple of times but by the end of the 3 hour session I was able to snow plough, go down the slope in a 'S' pattern, negotiate the button lift and even manage a bit of parallel skiing. 

I took the picture above whilst being pulled up the long button lift to the top of the nursery slope (which you can see to the right of the picture). It was a beautiful sunny day up on the mountain - high above the cloud which was hugging the valley floor below.

Thonon-Les-Bains

Wednesday 2nd January 2013

Our second day off coincided with Dave's birthday so we set off for another trip down the valley - this time turning right at the bottom of the valley. The snow is melting  fast as the weather is very mild now and we took a pretty road heading towards Annemasse / Geneva and stopped for lunch at Le Lac du Mole. 

We drove on to Thonon-Les-Bains which sits on the southern side of Lake Geneva which must be a bustling town in the summer but had a rather 'shut for the season feel' to it now. The funicular railway takes visitors up from the lakeside to the town.

Our journey back to Les Carroz was along the Route des Grandes Alpes - a road which starts in Thonon-Les-Bains passes over all the high passes in the alps and finishes at the French Riviera. The section we followed took us through a beautiful gorge and through the ski resorts of Morzine and Les Gets.

Macaroons in a cake shop window in Thonon-Les-Bains

Bonne année

Tuesday 1st January 2013
  
Bonne année / Happy New Year

New Years Eve in Les Carroz started off with an impressive firework display at 8pm which we watched from the chalet balcony with our guests. We carried on working up until about 10.30pm before heading off to join our friends in the 'local' for a quick drink. Dave and I listened to a bit of live music in the square (it was very cold standing around though!) before returning to our studio to see in the New Year - with 2 party poppers which failed to pop!! 

Revellers were on their way home as we set off for work at 6.30am this morning wishing us a Bonne année and giving us drunken kisses!!

Happy New Year to you all xx

 

It's electrifying!!

Cooking a 3 course meal every day for 20 people has been a 'challenge' on 2 small domestic ovens - neither of which were new or in great condition (broken seals, missing trays etc) however on Thursday morning, just after putting 3 chocolate cakes in the main oven, there was a loud hiss, flash and puff of black smoke. The cooker was well and truly dead! A replacement cooker was purchased later that day and the electrician turned up the following evening, wired it up and I now have a shiny new oven to get the hang of.

French electrics are 'interesting' - reminds us a bit of our former days in Turkey where you often took your life in your hands switching on lights or using sockets. However that was over 20 years ago - the electrics in France today don't seem that different to what we experienced then. The international 'shrug of the shoulders' seems to imply that you just have to accept things as they are. Below is a picture of the ceiling light in our little studio apartment.......