Thank You Samoens

So we're coming to the end of the first part of our Alpine adventure as we prepare to pack up and go to meet our friends Helen and Felix for a weekend city break in Geneva over the coming weekend.  It's nearly three weeks since we set off from home in Shrewsbury and when we come back to the Alps we are planning to move to a different village as February is a very busy month with the French (and British) school holidays increasing the population in Samoens ten fold from 2,500 to about 25,000.  So we plan to find somewhere a bit smaller and quieter but more of that later.

Coming to the Grand Massif ski area we were aware that there are a number of villages we could stay in but we planned to stay somewhere, in the first place, that gently introduced us to Alpine living.  We settled on Le Giffre Campsite in Samoens because alongside electric hook up and the basic water filling and emptying it offered hot shower blocks, laundry facilities and a store for boots and skis.  It is also just across the road from  the Grand Massif Express gondola station which can very easily take you up and bring you back from the slopes.  The site is also in Samoens which is one of the larger of the villages and also has lots of history and local amenities.  It has offered us exactly the safe start that we wanted and we could continue to stay here for the rest of our stay in the area but get's a lot more expensive in February and we do also want to experience other places.

Here are some of our pics from the campsite over the three weeks.  

The photo above is the first day we got here when it had just started to rain and before the major snowfall of the next few days.

This photo (above) is from the World Ice Swimming Championships which were taking place in the lake next to our campsite the weekend when we arrived.  There wasn't much ICE at the time (which I'm sure participants were grateful for - there is now by the way!!) but as you can see there was a lot of MUD and it was very cold.  Seriously though, they take their sports and recreation (and culture) very seriously and there are lots of facilities and activities on offer if you're interested.  Our campsite is next to a large leisure centre (Place De Dame) which offers theatre, gymnastics and basketball indoors and tennis, swimming and all types of outdoor activities.  The playing fields nearby even have a landing site for paragliders who we frequently see coming down from the mountains.  You can see some of these as part of the You Tube 'Walk in Samoens' video at the bottom of this blog.  And below is a pic of Melle ice skating which we can do at the rink just five mins from our campsite - and it's free for all staying at the campsite too.  Amazing facility - basically like an open air rink.  We're hoping to come back and go and support the local ice hockey team in future.

The photos above are the campsite during and following the huge snowfall that we experienced in our first week and that has opened up the ski resorts and given us so much fun since then.  At the time I spent most of my time trying to shovel snow off the roof of Homer or make sure we had a path to get to and from our habitation door.

The next three photo's (above) are from nights out we've had in the town, which to be honest have been few and far between because it's been a bit cold and also we have been a bit skint since we had one or two maintenance issues with Homer.  Oh yeh, and we've been dog tired most evenings after all the skiing and other regular maintenance activities (more on that in another blog).  But Samoens is really welcoming - they organise free entertainment evenings with music every Thursday for example.  The traditional Alpine pipes above were just like listening to a brass band during the Shrewsbury flower show - except it was a bit colder, brrrrrrrrrrrr.  And of course it would be rude not to occasionally take part in the Apre Ski.

Samoens also has lots of heritage and we had a really interesting little tour of the town from a local guide where we were told it was the centre of the Haute Savoix region a few centuries ago as it is at a natural crossroads between what is now Italy, France and Switzerland.  The valley it is within is also blessed with many rare and valuable natural resources and so, for instance, they make absolutely gorgeous cheese here.  If I continue to eat as much of it as I have so far we may need to buy a bigger vehicle to come home in!!  

The picture of Melle in front of the gates above is the botanical gardens that was built in town during the Victorian era and the tree we are both stood in front of in the next picture is in the town square - it is a Linden tree which is over 600 years old and very much the heart of the village.

And that's not to mention the natural landscape and wildlife that is a particular feature of the whole of the area.  We have often described it as a 'winter wonderland' but I sense that the beauty and wonder are present whatever time of year you come and visit.  Of course I know the Alps are beautiful but I think Le Giffre river and valley are particularly special and offer a truly jaw dropping natural landscape.  I've included some pictures below but they are just pictures and seeing it all 'in the flesh' is so much more.

Some of you may know that for 2 or 3 days a week Melle has a morning / evening teaching english online to foreign students and so on these days she often takes a local walk around the lakes and recreational grounds and past the river.  We've tried to recreate some of this in the following you tube video.

And of course I know some of you like the skiing so I've included a time lapse of a couple of great runs we found yesterday in Les Carroz.  They were so good we did them twice 😂😂  Look out for Melle getting trapped in the lift turnstile which was quite funny too 😝

So where next - well after our city break with Helen and Felix in Geneva we are planning to spend a few days in a campsite on the banks of the lake and then come back a little Aire in the small village of Sixt Fer-A-Cherval.  Although we'll have electric hook up and the basic services we won't have much more but we hope it will be quiet and offer us a slightly different experience for a week or two before we go on another trip, but we'll keep that a secret for now....

This blog was written by Chris

Just a few more pics of the town that I took, Melle. 😊