First of all I think I should say we've been
really super busy the last week and the weather has been very changeable too so apologies if this blog post is a bit rushed. We had about a week of torrential rain interspersed with hot sunny days and occasional snow showers as well. It feels like all four seasons and one night we had thunder and sheet lightening that lit up the whole sky too. It's not so easy to sleep when the rain is beating down on your motorhome roof and your bed is only about 2 feet below it!! 😧😨😩
At the weekend we took the second of our free skiing days that came with our
season pass for Grand Massif. This time went to Saint Gervais (see some pic above of the Homer in the aire we stayed in) where we met up
with Tim and Chrissy from New Zealand and Australia respectively - although they both now live in Como in Italy and have recently discovered the joys of motorhoming. Some might remember Tim and Chrissy as new
friends who live an amazing lifestyle in their renovated 1998 Hymer which they
have called ‘Why Not’. Named after a saying that Chrissy’s dad coined whenever
a new suggestion was posed to him. It’s become a lifestyle choice for them
too and their free spirited nature is creating a fantastic transformation of
their motorhome. Both technically in terms of energy sources (which is powered by a combination of solar and diesel) but also to the design and look of the van - which is so cool and chic. On the
outside our vans look almost the same but on the inside they are completely
different. Tim and Chrissy are also great fun to be with and after a van party in Homer on
the Friday night we had a Six Nations day on the Saturday culminating in
France’s record defeat of England at Twickenham. Although disappointing from an
English rugby perspective it was great fun to be in a French bar with Tim and
Chrissy as the video clip below will convey.
We
didn’t ski on the Saturday coz of rain but on Sunday we managed to use our free
pass and enjoyed an afternoon at Saint Gervais slopes - part of the Mont Blanc
Massif - which was always there in the background. See photos and you tube
clips below. It was a bit slushy - mix of new snow and sleet but we could tell
that on a good day it would be a great place to explore more.
Saint
Gervais itself is also v interesting as the town is based on two sides of a very deep gorge and so
has a history of bridges (traditionally they call them all 'Devils Bridge') to link the two
communities. See pictures below which show how they built the first stone bridge during the 19th
century - which incidentally has now been replaced by two very modern suspension bridges. The town is also blessed with a number of spas which again created a
tourism focus in 19th century and so has a feel similar to Llangollen!! I guess
the fact that it rained 24/7 most of the time we were there also
contributed to that feeling.
After we returned to Samoens we also got to meet up with Homers previous owners and now our good friends Colin and
Shelna who came over to visit. They have a great new motorhome they call Missy. We had some lovely
food - Shelna makes a great Tartiflett - and also renewed our love affair with
Cirque Fer-a-Cheval (where we went to the Nordic activities day way back in
January). It was quite different to see it without any snow on the valley floor
but still very beautiful and had some great pics to remind us of time with
Colin and Shelna.
And
finally we’re super excited because tomorrow Zoe and Hugo and friends are
coming to visit and we’re going to drive up to stay in Flaine near to them. Watch this
space….another adventure I think.
This was written by Chris (with a bit of proof reading from Melle 😀)
The Pyrenees and all its rugged beauty I've only skied three weeks in the Pyrenees so admittedly these thoughts are from a fairly minimal experience. I’m not an expert, and have limited experience of 5 resorts in Pyrenees so maybe not everything is true of everywhere. I haven't gone to the trouble of checking all the technical specifications of mountain peaks and average annual snowfall over the last 100 years either - these are just my thoughts following spending 2 months in Alps last year and a month in Pyrenees this. 😁 It seems to me that nearly everyone, especially from the UK and northern european countries goes to the Alps for their winter holiday so the resorts there have especially large size and infrastructure particularly for alpine skiing. For example the ski lifts seem to have considered every slope and possibility and access to slopes is frequent and convenient. The free ski buses in the Alps have routes throughout resorts to make sure it's as...
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. ...
So here we are in Saint-Valerie-en-Caux on the French / Normandy coast with about 24 hours to go of our adventure. Where did the last ten weeks go? Honestly - we have tried to bring the weather back from Andalucia The last week has been a significant driving affair, a real whistle stop tour up through the centre of Spain and then the west coast of France. Over two thousand miles I think and a variety of different overnight stops - some better than others! We stopped for a day visit in San Sebastián and the weather was really lovely with full sun and blue sky to make this little resort seem like a great place to return some day. The sea was really inviting and we stood transfixed for half an hour watching foot volleyball being played 2 v 2 on the beach. Over lunch we tried the local ‘pintxo’ variation on tapas - they were lovely and it was very easy to join in. Once in France we also p...
Love the Saint Gervais info, another stop for us someday. It was fab to meet up with you. Enjoy your last couple of weeks . Didn’t it go quick?
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