31st January 2008 - Happy Birthday Fiona

Well it's a massive happy birthday to Fiona who is 21 today. The day started out a bit foggy but eventually the sun came out.

Many many thanks for all the cards and emails and phone calls we had today wishing birthday girl the very best. Also thanks to all of you who read the blog and send us emails. It's touching that so many keep in touch. It's good to have all our friends and family keep in touch.

So, we went to our favorite cafe for breakfast and walked H in the local park.

Adam and family (the guy who we rent this place from) arrived late yesterday so we had a good chat today. He is here for three weeks.

This afternoon we went to La Plagne as planned. We went as far right and down as we could go, ending up in Champagny. Wow, do they need some snow down there. We took the red down to the resort and nearly came a cropper. The run should have been shut. In the resort itself, the runs are brown and out of use. Some of the nice reds into the mid station are also full of brown patches. The snow gods have gone to sleep!!

The heavy snow forecast from Friday night has been down graded to moderate. So 20 cm's goes down to 8!! This has happened every time so far this season. There is still OK snow higher up, but the slopes are getting hard and icy.

We skied into Monchavin today to pick up the car and it was sheer ice. We need more snow soon and lots of it!! We have noticed that the web sites give the impression that things are not so bad, but that is not exactly true. I don't know if they do this on purpose, but their reporting always errs on the positive side.

We stopped for a coffee and sun bathe on the way down. Some one's got to do it!!

Tonight we are having a birthday chicken Thai curry and it smells terrific. Here we are 5 minutges ago after some bubbly and looking forward to our curry. Adam just popped in as we are trying to get him hooked up to the internet!! Nice Guy!!

Tommorrow Heather gets her stiches out and it's supposed to snow. Fingers crossed for a big dump of the white stuff!!

30th January 2008 - Boring Day In Chambery

Today we had to take the Volvo into the garage in Chambery because the passenger side doors can suddenly stop working so that you can not open them up, unlock them or open the windows. This is a known problem (wish they had told us before we left the UK!).

The job took almost five hours! So, we walked all the way into the centre of the town (over an hour and in the rain), had some lunch and them walked back. At least we found a supermakrket selling Thai food stuffs. We eventually got home for 6PM - What a bore.

We didn't like Chambery very much. The weather did not help, but the place was very dirty with tramps etc. in the main centre. Much of the area felt very run down, especially the part we had to walk through. Heather was equally unimpressed with the place. No sausages or liver anywhere. The place was not a touch on Bourg (see Bourg below).



Our pastry shop ,favoured Cafe and the main street

Tomorrow is Fifi's birthday (21 again), so we plan to ski the afternoon in La Plagne as the weather is the morning is looking foggy. A Thai curry is on the cards with some bubbly. We have also been to the local pastry shop and purchased some birthday treats.

Heavy snow if on the cards for late Friday into Saturday. Let's hope they are correct!!

29th January 2008 - St Foy To Yourself

OK. Here is the deal. You pay 19 Euro's each and get a whole resort to yourself. OK, it's only got 15 runs, but they are all great, with hard off piste blacks, steep reds and smile inducing blues. And they are all empty (well almost). If you like the sound of this, then St Foy is your kind of resort. Three great mountains bars/restaurants offering local food and plenty of drinkies just top the place off.



At the top of the resort, you have breath taking views of Mount Blanc, Val'd'Isere/Tignes and La Rosiere. There are also some magnificent glaciers to be seen. A real top of the world experience. This resort is only 20 minutes away from Val d'Isere but is a complete contrast in every way. Sure, you will have exhausted the runs within a couple of hours, but when you have them almost to yourself, it's worth it.

Fiona was very pleased with the new pair of Nordica ski's that we purchased this morning!! After much deliberation these 160's hit the spot. Fiona is now like a speeding bullet!!

Heather is now almost fully recovered, the stitches come out at the end of the week. Here she is trying to look innocent!!

The sunsets here are beautiful, so here are a few shots for you to enjoy. As with all the images on our blob, simply click the image to see it full size.

28th January 2008 - Another Sunny Day - Snow please!!

This morning we said goodbye to Jenny & Simon. Simon's knee is much better and both are still thinking of going skiing again in the future.

Fiona is still not happy with her K2 Ski's, so we have taken a pair out from SkiSet for a free days trial. They are longer and heavier than her usual skies. We will do a half day in Les Arcs today and see what she thinks.

The weather is wall to wall sunshine this morning. We really could do with some more snow but there is not a lot in the forecast. Yesterday it was looking like we might get a big dump on Saturday but that has now been dramatically revised down. There is plenty of good snow from mid resort up, but a good snow fall would be nice.

6 hrs later - well the ski's were too heavy, so they have gone back. we are going to look around some shops tomorrow.

The snow at the top was OK, but some of the mid to lower slopes are very hard now and need some new snow. We hit the main black down from the Grand Col whch was very steep and with large moguls. The snow was lovely here. We then had a relaxing coffee at the top. The sun was very string and warm, probably too warm for this time of year.

We both felt quite weak today as we had a stomach bug last night which kept me (John) awake for most of the night. We feel better now and hope that a good nights sleep will make all the difference.

27th January 2008 - Relax in St Foy & Val d'Isere

Today is quite cloudy, with flat light, so we decided to take a day off skiing and to relax. we visited a small resort between Bourg and Val d'Isere called St Foy. This resort only has 4 lifts and approx. 20 runs but it is quite a size and beautifully designed and crafted.

All the accommodation is very pleasing to the eye and the restaurant we had coffee at was great (See above picture). We looked around the resort and picked up some information. The lift passes are nice a cheap, so Fi and L will pop back when we fancy some relaxing, easy skiing.

Val d'Isere was quite cold and cloudy. They could do with some more snow in the resort as much of what is left is very brown and dirty. We found a quaint tea/pastry house and had a light lunch (well Fiona and I had a light lunch whilst Jenny & Simon got stuck into some very nice cakes).

We are eating in tonight, Fiona is making a beef steak strogonoff with rice. Jenny and Simon will be leaving us tomorrow, taking the train to Grenoble centre and then a taxi to the airport.

If the cloud goes away, we plan to ski La Plagne. Fingers Crossed!!

26th January 2008 - Les Arc's Fun

Today was yet another fab day in Les Arcs.

Jenny & Simon both took lessons and we skied over to Acr 2000, 1950 and back down to 1600. There are some very nice runs just above 1600 which we had not skied. Simon's knee held up well and Jenny enjoyed her 2 hr lesson even though she had painful shins.

We then met Si & Jen for a spot of lunch. Fifi and i shared an amazing Pizza and Si & Jen shared a plate of local cheeses which was easily enough for 3 people. We have always thought that Arc 1600 is an ugly place, and certainly it lacks the visual charm of 1650, but it has some great walkways and is a massive sun trap. If our lunch is anything to go by, it also has some great restaurants.

We are beginning to notice a few bare patches on the slopes in the morning ans certainly the pistes have become a little hard in places. They were making snow this morning in Arc 1600. There is limited snow forecaste for next week, but we could do with a sizable dump of the white stuff soon. The picture below is from our lounge and shows how different the vista is from just a week ago.

25th January 2008 - Lovely Day

Today was a great day weather wise. We took Jenny & Simon over to Arc 1600 and up the slow chair to do the blue run.

Jenny took to the slopes well, simon found it a little more challenging but as always gave it his best.

we managed to ski over to 1800 for a nice lunch on the Hotel Du Golf sun terrace where we had very good Savoyard omlettes and Simon had pumpkin soup.

In the afternoon we skied back to 1600. By this time, Jenny & Simon were tired, so they chilled out in the sun and we went for a challening few reds just above 1600.

Unfortunately, Simon managed to twist his knee. When we got home it was swollen. We gave him some medication (from Dr John) and went up to 1950 for a drinkie.

We decided to eat in, so went to Super U, and bought some local ham and fromage!

Jenny & Simon have decided to take a lesson tomorrow. Let's hope Simons knee is up to it!!

Heathers leg is getting better by the day and is almost back to normal with all the bandages off.

24th January 2008 - Transfer Day

Today was another transfer day. We said goodbye to Richard at Bourg station. He had a great journey back via Chambery.

Later in the day, we drove to Grenoble, which is a nice enough city. The airport is some 30 miles outside the main centre. Jenny and simon were an hour late, but we managed to park by the arrivals hall. The journey back felt long as we got a bit lost in Grenoble in the dark.

We got back home for about 7.30, had dinner and called it a night!!

23rd January 2008 - Val d'Isere - Nice!!

Well today is cold, crisp and dry, without a cloud in the sky. Infact, the next week is forecast to be wall to wall Mr Blue Sky (we will need some more snow after that).

So, it being Richards last day with us, we gave him the option. Les Arcs or Val d'Isere. So, after 2 seconds we were on the way to Val. It's only 35 minutes away. We stayed to the left of the area to start with and the cold weather made it's mark.

We tried one of the main mountain eateries but were not impressed so, after lunch on the move, we went back down to Val Centre and had a lovely afternoon beverage on the sun terrace.

The snow on the main Val side of the mountain was sublime. We did Le Face twice. They have a new lift that zoom's you up to the top of La Face. It's HUGE and has to be seen to be believed.

We took a couple of red/blue runs back down to Val and hoped back home for 4PM. We then scooted up to Arc 1600 for a few beers. We spoke with a bunch of 60 year olds who seem to be doing a season out here (hope we can do this again when we are 60).

We popped into Super U to top up supplies for Simon and Jenny's visit, which start tomorrow. We will be saying goodbye to Richard tomorrow morning (boo hoo). We are just off for a goodbye meal in town tonight.

Bye for now.

22nd January 2008 - Naff Day

Today the weather has closed in. Raining in Bourg but snow in the rerorts.

We were so bored, we decided to go and view some properties for sale in the area. One was just simply awful (even H would not be impressed) and the other was OK but had a leaky roof.

We then drove up to Val d'Isere where the weather was wild and we had a nice relaxing meal in one of the hotels on the slopes.

We are about to go walking Heather in the rain. Richard are Fiona had bad tummies last night but have recovered well.

Bye for now.

21st January 2008 - Happy Birthday's

First of all, Happy Birthday to Shauna, who is 18 again today. We will be toasting her health on the slopes in La Plagne today!!

Today was another one of those great ski days. The weather was superb as was the snow. We skied from one side of La Plagne to the other, taking in Champery (the back side of the mountain) where the temperature was like March as was some of the snow. We skied some very nice black moguls and some steep reds and off piste.

Richard took a spectacular tumble on the very icy run back to Monchavin, head first, but nothing too painful to report.

We came back to the apartment and drove up to Arc 1950 where we visited the Irish pub (including Heather). Wow, drinks are exoensive up there, costing 21 euro's for three drinks. People were racing behind horses on a small track in the square. Acr 1950 is very pretty, especially at night.

On the way back down to Bourg, the sun sets were simply awsome as was the sun rise this morning. Enjoy the pictures from the day!!

20th January 2008

Today was one of those perfect ski days. The sun was blazing all day and it felt more like March than January.

We decided to go to La Rosiere and La Thuile. Richard took some convincing about La Thuile, having been part of the group that had such a poor holiday a year ago. It was a tad windy in La Thuile, but the snow was fine and we had some fun.

We gave Richard a baptism of fire, taking him a nice steep black run for his first run of the season!! He was very appreciative.

Simon, do you remeber the black run we skied about 5 times in the heavy snow? Well to day the top half was sheer ice, we slid all the way down. The bottom section was fine.

Chilling Out

We then skied back to La Rosiere where the sun was strong and the slopes empty and great to ski. We stopped off at one of the many bars for a coffee and water.

We also skied the La Rosiere race track, which is a steep and windy track where skiers race to the finish. Today it was running fast and we all hit a jump at max speed. Fiona was going so fast she had to bury herself in some grungy off piste snow in order to stop.

On the Ski Lift At La Rosiere


We ended the day at a bar in Bourg, having a few beers in the evening sun. Once the sun had gone it soon cooled down, so we drove back to the apartment.

We also had to change Heathers dressing. It was very difficult to get the old dressing off due to it being sticky with adhesive. She was very brave and a large dollop of local Pate helped!!

Richard Relaxing


We are going down to town this evening to try some of the local food. Tomorrow is looking like another fab day on the weather front, before more snow moves in Tuesday.

Bye for now.

19th January 2008 - Transfer Day - Chalet Godley

Today was our first transfer day. Richard arrived on time at Chambery airport and the trip to and fro was very pleasant. The weather today is quite mild and very sunny, so Fiona has taken the opportunity to take a few pictures of our apartment (See below) whilst walking Heather.




The evening sun setting is wonderful today, with the tops of the resorts looking very pink. The weather is set to be good for the next 4 days, if a little warm, so Richard has hit the jackpot!!


Earlier on today, the contrast bewtween the valley slopes and the resorts was more maked than we have seen before.



As you can see, Heather is making a good recovery, helped by some very nice chicken for tea!! she is loving the snow although she is not a fan of the ski slopes.




Tomorrow we are planning to ski La Rosiere as it is in the sun all day and has some great slopes for Richard to get his ski legs on. Richard has brought some bubbly with him, so we will now be sitting down to some relaxing Champagne and Fifi'a extra special, unbeatable Lasagne (well Italy is just over the mountain).

Best Wishes to you all.

18th Jan - War declared on french farm dog

Hi All,

We are really enjoying reading all the e-mails and comments on the blog



A mixed day - it got off to a bad start - one of the farm dogs across from us decided to take a bite at Heather, at first it didn't look too bad but then we saw her back leg was bleeding so we decided to take her to the Vet - he saw us very quickley and was a really nice chap - he said that she needed a few stiches so would have to knock her out - we left her at the vet all day and got her back about 17:00 - she is a little doppy from the jab but is OK and managed to down some french ham - so its war on the dog opposite its days are numbered.

Brave Girl - Bandages and All






On the brigther side we went skiing in Les Arcs - the weather was pretty good mainly sunny - the snow as usual was brill - a few more inches fell last night - we did several black runs and moguls and we found a really great red run which was not groomed which was really fun - lots of powder snow. We went to the top of Les Arcs today the Aguille Rouge - the view was breathtaking - just a shame we had forgotten the camera !!! - but hopefully we'll get another shot at it.





Well, we get our first visitor tomorrow - Richard - the weather looks great for Sunday, Monday and Wednesday so he will hopefully have a good time.

17th January 2008

Today was mixed on the weather front, with light snow in the morning and sunny skies in the afternoon.

So, we went for breakfast at our favourite and very French cafe. Heather came with us (dogs are allowed in all the main cafe's) and she had to sit through glares from the resident cat.

We had also noticed that the DVD was not working, so Adam (the owner) gave us the green light to purchase a new one on his behalf. We managed to get a Sony for under 70 Euro in the sale.

We decided to visit Tignes, travelling to Les Breviere (30 minutes from the Apartment). We skied over to Tignes Centre and took the worm (the train that travels inside the mountain to the top) up towards the glacier. This thing is amazing, speeding to the top like a London tube (pat you'd hate it!!), but far more pleasant. When we got near the top it was very windy, so we decided not to go to the very top.

The skiing was OK, but compared to other resorts it was busy, the snow was less forgiving and the lifts very slow.




Come 3PM there was a dramatic drop in temperature. We headed back over to Les Breviere, planning to ski over there. However, once we had reached base camp, it was so cold we decided to drive back to Bourg. When we arrived at LB, it was plus five degrees, by the time we left it was minus two.



It has been good to have a couple of weeks to settle in on our own. we have both felt quite tired and both have dry eyes etc. which is probably down to the altitude.

15th - 16th January 2008

Hi All,

Well the last two days have been fun. On Tuesday we went to La Plagne and met up with Jared and Deb's for lunch (we had a fab omelette and salad) and then for an afternoons skiing. We really enjoyed La Plagne, the skiing is slightly more challenging than Les Arcs and the snow was fantastic as was the weather. The slopes were almost empty again. We parked at Montchavin, which is only 20 minutes away. This was the first day, wearing my new cool, ski outfit. (To see the full size picture, simply click the image)


















When we got home we were really tired - but Heather was keen for another walk so we gave in.


Today was a very different day with lots of cloud and then heavy morning snowfall. It was quite wet snow with us but the resorts were getting the good stuff. We didn't fancy skiing so went to Val d'Isere for a coffee and then to La Rosiere for lunch. When we reached La Rosiere, the sun peeped out and the place looked glorious. I (John) have really fallen for this place and will purchase a lovely property when l win the lottery. (see photo's). I wish we had stayed here last year instead of La Thuile, it has loads of character and nice bars etc. We took Heather with is for the day - she had a great time in the snow at La Rosiere - acts like a puppy in the snow. We worked out why she doesn't like going near the slopes - its because of the ski lifts which we used to take in the summer when we went to Chamonix and Lech - she used to shake like a leaf when we took her on them and I think she remembers.

Tomorrow is looking good weather wise, so back on the ski's again.

13/1/08 - another day of the white stuff

We went down to Bourg last night to a restuarant that specialises in Fondue dishes - it was pretty good ( we had a standard beef fondue with fab thin chips :-) ) - we had a hairy trip down as it was still snowing very heavily. We meet another of the band who live next door - Nick - he seemed liked a really nice guy and we hopefully will get to go along to their gig in Val at some point.

Woke up today and the sun was shinning - there was tons of new snow and our appt and the surrounding area looked magical - photo's below. We took Heather for a walk to her favorite park in Bourg - she is settling in and is doing her best to keep the other dogs near us in check - does a good amount of barking to make sure they know this is her house and has found loads of cats to chase.

We went up to Les Arc 1800 this morning and wee Johnnie bought himself a new ski outfit - really wild and wacky - photo's to follow - the last outfit lasted 12 years so not too bad. The skiing was fab there is loads of new snow and the sun shone all day long and hardly anyone around on the pistes - wee Johnnie did his usual trick of leaving his gloves and hat in one of the ski lifts so we had to use our best french to try and track them down which we did eventually after a frantic ski trying to follow the ski lift down - he has learn't his lesson and is now methodically checking he has everything before we get off the chair lifts - not sure how long this will last. We ended the day on the terrace at the back of the Hotel Golf with a glass of vin - all very satisfactory - the sun was still out.

We had fun trying to get back up to our appt - the bottom part of the road is still very snowie and we had removed the snow chains so we took 3 attempts to get up the hill - the snow chains are a bit of a nightmare - one has broken already so not sure what happens when we get the next large dump of snow.

12th January 2008 - Big Dump Of The White Stuff

Well, what a very different day. It was our first experience of a big dump of snow. IT started during the night and its still snowing at 5PM. We have ahad about 15 cm's at valley level so there must be quite a lot at resort level.


We took Heather for a walk at the Town park which she loved. We went to town for breakfast, stopping at our current favourite cafe and eating excellent pan au chocolate's from the local bakery.









We did not ski today as we have skied 4 days this week and we don't want to peek too early.


Steve and Kathie Balser sent us a fabby email. It is good to be in contact with them after all this time. (Steve & Kathie lived next door to John when we a wee boy living in London. They were over from the States and John just about lived with them during their stay).

Tomorrow is supposed to be another sunny day. Jared, Debs and Jarad's Dad are arriving from the UK this evening and staying in La Plagne. We will head over to that resprt tomorrow and try and hook up with them.

We are off down to town tonight for our first meal out since srriving. We are eating at La Savoyard in Old Bourg.

Bye for now.

10th January 2008 - Wow, What a day!

Today was one of those perfect skiing days. Crystal blue skies, not too cold and no wind. So, we decided to go to La Rosiere for the day, after taking Heather for a long walk.

It only takes 30 minutes to get there and the resort just took us in!! The runs were mostly empty with dreamy snow conditions.

We took the opportunity of going over to Italy (it would be rude not too), skiing all the way down to La Thuile centre for lunch. We skied here last February and had an awful time. But this place is pretty good with some sun and no wind. The back bowl of La Thuile is wonderful with wide open, empty, flowing reds and blacks and beautiful snow.

We were back over in France (La Rosiere) by 3PM and stopped off at a lovely mountain bar for a glass or two of vin. I did my usual (John) and left our back pack on one of the chairs. Luckily the attendants found it and we were reunited, much to my relief as Fifi had a new pair of glasses and a new hat in said rucksack.

There are lots of beardy Russian types in the resorts now which makes quite a difference. They all speak very loudly and drink a lot of vodka a lot of the time.

Once home, we walked all the way down to Bourg centre which is a real surprise. Great shops, restaurants and bars with a friendly, cordial atmosphere. We liked the look of Le Savoyard eatery so have booked for a slap up nosh fest on Saturday. The hotel bourg in the centre look great. we took a look at a couple of properties in the local immobiliers. Property is quite expensive but a few are not too badly priced.

Shauna has just emailed to say that Jared and Debs are out in La Plagne this Saturday for a week, so we will pop over and meet for a ski and lunch.

We are just about to get stuck in to some local sausages with mash and onions which er deserve after all the hard work today!! Well, some one's got to do it!!

We would like to wish Ad (Fiona's Dad) a very happy 84th birthday. Lots of love, From Fiona, John & Heather xxx

9th January 2008 - Taking It Easy In The Snow

Took H for a walk this morning around the Bourg St Maurice nature park. It was very icy but pleasant enough.

After shopping at SuperU and having a coffee, we went to the Mono rail in time to catch the 12:20, giving us an afternoon pass.

We got talking to the lift pass office girl who speaks good English. Turns out she lived in Brighton for many years and still misses the shops!! She also told us about a 10 day lift pack which would drop the day price to 34 Euro.

The snow closed in almost immediately but the visibility was OK. We found a route which takes us back to Arc 1600 all the way from Piesey with only one chair lit. This will be handy when we are running late.

We got back for 16:30. It is raining in the valley but snow is expected down to this level Friday night into Saturday.

Tomorrow is looking fantastic, sun and light winds. If it's correct, then we might spend a day at Le Rosiere and La Thuile.

8th January 2008 - Great Day

Wow! What a difference a day makes. Today, it is crisp, clear and very cold.

Perfect snow, perfect sun, perfect company, perfect skiing. It doesn't get much better than that. We skied for 5 hours, then came back home, walked H then drove up to Arcs 1800 and watched the sun set over a glass of rose wine on the sun terrace at Hotel Du Golf. It's cold tonight with snow showers tomorrow. I will upload pics of today next as they say it all!!

Heather's Blog

We went for a really nice walk today into one of the fields near where we live - it was covered in snow which I liked and I had lots of new smells and things to explore- it was a really nice sunny day so all was well. I spend about 5 hours in the flat while Mum and Dad went ski-ing - had a good sleep. They arrived back and I was very glad to see them - we then went up to Arc 1800 and I expereinced my first apres-ski - not too bad lots of people to love me - it got a little cold towards the end so I put on my new sheepskin coat which I got for Christmas from Fergus (little cairn who I love to bully) - you can see my new coat in the photo below also I nice photo of me in the car on the way home. Glad to be back in the appartment I feel nice and safe here - not sure what is planned for tomorrow. Bye for now