It's 10:54pm on 1st February and I'm three hours into the 20-hr coach ride home from Moütiers, France. We have been away from London, skiing in the idyllic setting that is Valmorel, for the past eight days, and it has been one of the best holidays I have had.
It all started months ago, with the question from Em via her coworker Michael, if we would like to join them on the ski trip he was organizing. I said yes, never one to miss a chance to travel! Nadia said yes too, and after deposits were made, there was no turning back. The whatsapp group was the countdown, with the boys (especially Michael) über excited about the whole thing - from ski wear to snow level, we got reports on the lot.
And suddenly, it was the week of the trip! We planned meet Friday afternoon at Victoria station, jump on the coach and awake in France! It was a little more prolonged than that, but we had a jolly old time siting at two tables at the front of the coach, chatting away and eating assorted goodies from Sainsbury's. We got off the coach in Dover and onto the ferry to Calais, during which we had a drink and toasted to our trip. In France, we all fell asleep with intertwined legs under the table and jackets for blankets, for a hearty 6 hour sleep. We awoke somewhere further south to a beautiful sunrise. and it was only 6 more hours until Moütier, and an easy 45-minute bus up to Valmorel!
Driving up the winding mountain road and stepping out into the fresh mountain air, the whole ordeal was made completely worthwhile. It's different air up there, and the sun was shining. It was beautiful, like a painting...
We collected our bags (plus Michael's additional four!) and found our chalet - which faced the Altispace piste and overlooked the town! We claimed sleeping quarters and hastily unpacked, then headed down to get our skis, boots, poles or boards, ready for the day ahead!
We found a restaurant for late lunch - some had Tartiflette, Nadia and I shared some delicious pizza, and the owner brought us liqueur to finish the meal, which went down a treat... We got food and drinks from Spar and headed home, and began celebrating the successful start to our skiing adventure (by listening to 90s hip hop and watching videos of cats doing silly things on TV!)
And then the skiing began! Some were clearly more enthusiastic about hitting the slopes, but we all made it out - some heading to lessons, Michael and Stevo heading over yonder mountain range to test their abilities; Em and I pushing ourselves down the steepest blue slope and having to stop five times because our "ski fitness" was practically non-existent. By the bottom, Em was the same colour as the snow! Then she swore in a small French boy's face and we continued with our day...
I was quickly impressed with Em's and my own ability to ski without looking like an uncoordinated fool... We didn't crash (aside from one awkward moment getting off a chairlift) and took on some pretty big slopes! I was constantly conscious of my left knee and the fact it often became quite stroppy and refused to
maneuver the ski, but eventually it settled and we had a grand old time.
Tuesday was the most magnificent day on the mountain - blue skies and fresh snow, no wind and sunshine. Michael (on his snowboard), Stevo, Emma and I decided to go to the other resort, which involved going up one chairlift, skiing down to the next lift, up and down (with some steeeep parts in the middle) to eventually reach the top of the ridge that looked down into St Francois. It was magnificent - the view from the top was 360 degrees of mountain ranges, extending out to Mont Blanc and beyond... The runs down into St Francois were so fun, not too steep and not too icy, we had a really good time - we even skied all four together at one stage!
The other highlight was, of course, our Ski Family dinners. It started out as a casual suggestion from Steve, of "shall I make Spaghetti Bolognese?" Which in itself was delicious. Then Esther and Angela raised the bar in spectacular fashion with some delicious chicken dish... Ryan made the world's biggest bowl of guacamole, then Carla impressed with a hearty vegetable soup and amazing sausages. And the final night, Michael made a chicken curry - from SCRATCH!!! Thankfully Em, Nadia and I weren't called upon to cook, or people would have been enjoying cheese on toast and tuna from a can... We'll practice something for the next trip...
The final day of skiing and we almost all made it on to the slopes together! With Angela and Esther missing, we all met at the top of Altispace, got a Ski Family photo and we all skied down the slope together! I even was confident on my skis to film everyone as we went down the mountain!! It was so fun, we had an amazing day. Emma and I even dominated the red slope with banked turns and JUMPS!!! Then we continued down the red slope leading to our place!!! Very exciting - insomuch that we didn't severely injure ourselves...
And then the time came pack our gear, return our skis and bid farewell to Valmorel... It didn't feel like a week had gone by, it was far too quick. But like most holidays, you take what you can and enjoy the memories.
We reminisced the whole way home on the bus, on the ferry back from Calais to Dover, on the tube back to East Acton... And into the week - we caught up on Thursday to reminisce and drink to France and our great time away... We hardly realised how many in-jokes we had created in a week of living in each other's pockets, but there are so many!
So, all in all, a successful, exciting, funny, energetic trip to the French Alps with a wonderful bunch of people...
I can't wait for the next trip, wherever it may be!
