Cottage Clear Up

Three weeks on the road! Visits, dinners, coffees, catch ups, Christmas dinners and general high quality tom-foolery with multiple family members and friends across the UK, France and Switzerland has provided some excellent Christmas adventures. There was the small matter of unpacking this morning from the back of the well travelled car...

And then dealing with it all, once it was indoors!...

It's been overcast, but dry and nice to be back.

Even got the skis serviced and packed away! 

We both got negative travel test result back this morning, so are all good to celebrate at The Cottage tonight! Happy New Years Eve!...

Homeward Bound...

Rain continued to pour down all night before our departure from Boug-en-Bresse and it's not just the alpine mountains that were beginning to flood. The fields that line the toll roads were also filling up and getting worryingly close to the tarmac.

The toll roads are not cheap, but they are worth the money for easy driving. We travelled over 600km at a steady 110km/h, stopping only to swap drivers and stretch our legs. We had a good audio book on the go and the day through France flew by despite the poor driving conditions. We pulled into a shopping mall in Calais, but after admiring the Christmas light, were quickly overwhelmed by the size of it and the crowds of shoppers, so beat a retreat to the hotel instead.

We had a lovely final French evening, with a fun meal in the Hotel restaurant (with the two other guests and four staff) and a good nights sleep. In the morning, at the Euro Tunnel terminal there was almost no one to be seen.

Travel into or through France is currently banned without a 'compelling reason' - such as returning to your country of residence as we were. The usually jam packed car parks were empty, the terminal deserted and the queue to the passport checking area looked abandoned and felt a little spooky.

Our train was waiting though, so we boarded with the few other cars and half an hour later had arrived in the UK with no questions asked.

Another test was completed and dropped off at the first possible moment after arriving in Dover, then the long, slow, traffic ridden onward drive began...

The journey was much slower than the previous day and much more mentally taxing as the driving involved avoiding all the other drivers as well as contending with some pretty ferocious weather as well.

However, we finally made it back to The Cottage, where it was a barmy 13 degrees outside and a disappointing 10 degrees inside! First job was to get the fire on, before climbing into bed. What a journey! What an adventure. We fell asleep feeling incredibly grateful that we'd been able to get away on a final adventure for 2021.

In Bourg-en-Bresse

As we fled from the mountains, a period of torrential rains, storms and floods were all beginning. We'd snuck out just in time! In the lower altitudes, just past Geneva, we made home in the little town of Bourg-en-Bresse for a couple of nights to give us time to rest and relax before starting the journey back to The Cottage. It's a cool little town that had all we needed for a little down time.

From our apartment, we could walk into the town square, which was quiet and relaxed.

It served it's purpose well, with a gentle stretch of the legs, as well as providing fresh crepes in an outdoor Cafe outside the Hotel François. All very typically French! And an exciting reminder that we were a long way from home.

As always, Clare had found us some luxurious accommodations at a very reasonable price. Our apartment was part of an old house conversion and brand new - I think we were possibly the first people ever to stay in it. The paint had only just dried on the walls, but outside it was still a building site! 

It even had a fancy coffee machine in the new kitchen, which I just about managed to get the hang of...

Skiing at Les Houches, Chamonix

The red sky in the morning, was a beautiful sight, even if it meant that a change in the weather was on its way. We watched beams of sun blasting up, out from behind the jagged skyline of the Mt Blanc massif, while sipping tea on the sofa. It was quite a display.

The weather was actually much better than we though it would be, so decided to sneak in a few more ski runs, rather than continue on our journey north!

With the ski lift only a short walk from where we were staying, by 09:30, we were getting whisked up onto the snowy slopes above Les Houches.

With the incoming weather forecast, we got a four hour lift ticket and were delighted to find plenty of fresh, powdery snow up on the higher runs.

It had been the first good powder we'd encountered on this trip, so enjoyed the smooth, quite sensations of gliding about in it.

After a late lunch back at the Chalet, the weather arrived, so we said our farewells we drove northwards, out of the valley with the wipers on full speed. A few hours later, we arrived in the town of Bourg-en-Bresse, where a warm studio awaited us. Exhausted, we kicked back, watched a movie and fell into a long, deep sleep....

Out and about in Chamonix

The Porte du Soleil 'all inclusive' Christmas experience has finally come to an end, just as the weather has taken a turn for the worse. We were packed up early before enjoying a final breakfast in the Panoramic Restaurant. With skis and gear all stashed back in the car, we drove down the winding roads that lead out of the mountains as the rain poured down. Our next stop was the town of Chamonix, where the weather was drier. Judging by some of the cars in the car park, they've also had a good amount of snow recently! 

We had a lovely afternoon wandering through the town, reminiscing about the summer that we'd spent living here, checking out the ski shops and generally enjoying the rest after six solid days on skis.

Not all the skis were new!

The High Street was looking very festive still and not too busy. You had to be careful not to walk too close to the buildings as every now and then, melting snow would avalanche from the roof tops!

For old time sake we stopped for the Chamonix classic 'Steak & Frites' hot baguette.

With the clouds low, we were happy to be having a day off skis. 

A social afternoon and evening ensued, with friends, Rachel and Stu, who looked after us in the evening, with fine foods and plenty of good chat by the fireside at their chalet. There was a good bit of reminiscing too as Stu was part of the team that went to Norway with us for Christmas eighteen years ago!

Christmas Day - Festive Freshies

The last time that we had a white Christmas, was in Norway, eighteen years ago - where Clare got her first ever ski lesson from our friend Dave! While there was snow on the ground in the morning, a heavy rain shower convinced us to postpone our departure for the slopes and the hotel bar provided some morning indoor sports after breakfast. 

The clouds then cleared from the valley and we set off up on to the mountainside.

We made a journey over to our favourite slopes, then stopped for an early break to chat with the family.

We took our Christmas lunch (cheese baguettes of course!), on the Swiss/French border in a complete whiteout. We took shelter under a hut as the snow became heavier. For a while, there was another clearing, so we carried on down into Morgins in Switzerland on fresh snow.

Where we met Father Christmas!...

We could see the next dark clouds arriving up the valley and they were clearly bringing more snow with them. As fast as we could we skied back to the border, where a mountain hut cafe would provide some indoor shelter and warmth.

Hot Chocolate and fries were the order of the day, which we enjoyed while both drying out and warming up as the storm raged outside.

Once rested, the weather cleared again and there was a mass exodus from the warmth to ski on the fresh centimetres of snow that the storm had deposited.

The light was beautiful as we skied around on the fresh surface, putting in tracks wherever we went.

Eventually, we made it back down to Chatel, where apres ski drinks and snacks were being served in the Hotel Bar. 

It's certainly been a different Christmas day for us, but our tradition of an unusual Christmas Dinner happily continued, with Wild Boar being served! Excellent!

Chatel to Champey - a journey on skis

The warning signs from the clouds that began appearing yesterday afternoon as the foretelling of a change in the weather were true to form and things have been a bit different of the slopes today. 

Starting out under overcast skies, the clouds gradually lowered during the morning and by midday, conditions were considerable under par for skiing. Sleet and snow flurries combined with low light, gave rise to some cautious descents as we traversed the Swiss border, linking up the numerous ski lifts along the way. The low light meant that we skied a little slower than the last few days, where I'd clocked speeds in excess of 50km/h!

It was a hoods up and goggles down kind of an afternoon as we wove our way under the cliffs of the Dent du Midi and surrounding areas. There was no afternoon sunbathing in deckchairs today - instead we retreated inside to the picnic area to dry out. Despite the conditions, we still clocked up over 8000m of skiing descent on our journey, so it's no surprise that I was feeling a little tired by mid afternoon. 

The journey back was completed with much better visibility and excellent snow conditions, but the skies remained very dark. There was barely anyone else on the slopes in the afternoon as presumably, not everyone fancied the mixed conditions (clearly they've never skied in Scotland before). We descended several long pistes without encountering another skier. Fabulous!

After Christmas Eve drinks and a candle lit dinner, we took a walk into the town square to listen to the Church bells and see the lights.

Even though tonight is the 'main event' as far as Christmas is concerned here, we've kept our pressies for tomorrow in UK style! It looks like it'll be our first white Christmas in 18 years....

Ski Stats:

75km Distance Travelled

8007m descent on skis

45km/h top speed