Winter Wonderland

A snowstorm passed through in the evening and left a beautiful winter wonderland for us to enjoy on our last day. 

When we stepped out of the unit, the girls were amazed at how much snow had accumulated since yesterday. They found the sight of our car very funny. As we were walking to the ski lifts, we heard numerous booms in the distance for  mini- avalanches throughout the area for the safety of everyone. 

Upon arriving at the ski lift area, it was complete chaos. There were only two lifts open, so everyone was trying to get on a lift to go somewhere. Then the mini-lift broke down just about the time we were going to board. When it reopened, the workers were not helpful in making sure the numerous children boarded first since they were all going to the ski school as the adults pushed their way through. By teaming up with another parent, the two of us were able to get our kids on the lift and up to the school in time. 

I was glad I decided to pass on skiing this day as well, as I was exhausted by the time I dropped the girls off at ski school and made it back to town for a few groceries. It worked out as Eric was able to try out newer skis by trading in my skis as he left his set in the unit. 

Katerina informed me we were very fortunate, as numerous towns around us were hit very hard from the overnight snowstorm. Some villages had no electricity and others had to be evacuated. It was reported that when a train came into one town last night, all of the passengers had to stay in a school because the roads up to the village were closed.

A few hours later, the girls received their Piou Piou Club medals for completing the ESF French Ski school. After the medal presentation, the girls demonstrated one last time the things they learned these past few days. 

The booms were still occurring around us although not as frequent and the lift area was busy, but not chaotic as earlier in the day.  We met up with the Kopp boys to determine what the plan was for the afternoon. With the weather turning sunny and visibility improving by the hour, they all decided to enjoy the runs that were open a few more times.

The girls were done with skiing and wanted to go sledding again after lunch, so we had our plans for the afternoon.

It was a chilly afternoon of sledding, but lots of fun in the new snow. Afterwards, we started digging out the car. With the rain and snow mix, the huge pieces of snow that were coming off of the car brought much laughter. Eric returned from the slopes in time for deicing the car and then the snowplows came through. This was perfect timing as our spot was cleared so we could pack up the car easily for our ride home in the morning.

Snowfall

We woke up to low visibility, mild winds, and heavy snow falling down. I decided to take a break from skiing and Eric planned to just ski in the morning. The girls were moving a little slower this morning, but we made it to ski school on time and they were already wet from the heavy snowfall.

While they were skiing, I browsed through the little shops searching for souvenirs. I found many alpine related items and numerous things with the area ski's logo on it which was plastered all over the mountain, but nothing specifically stating Les Coches aside from the postcards. 

The plows had been running nonstop all morning and it looked like they had just started clearing the snow away. 

When I picked the girls up at lunchtime, they looked like they had been swimming in their snowsuits from the constant heavy snowfall. It was a challenge finding places to dry everything out for all of us in the unit.

We warmed up in the afternoon and then took a gondola down to the village of Montchavin. The snow turned to rain as we started walking through the town. This made for slippery conditions, so after looking through a few more stores, we took a break in the bakery for some treats and warm drinks.

The Kopp family planned to meet up with us for dinner, but first they had to dig out their minivan as this was the best way for Katerina to join us. Unfortunately they had a dead battery, so Katerina did not join us for dinner, but the boys did as they were able to catch the local bus. We enjoyed a fondue dinner while listening to the rain/ snow come down outside.

It was not till after we were done eating, I realized the bus schedule had a huge break, so we were stuck in the town till after the local movie was out which was another hour or so. Since it was already late, Jean- Marc asked the local bar owner to help us get a taxi for all 9 of us as it was too far for us to walk back to our apartments and the winds had picked up making it chilly.  The owner and some patrons called around and found a van to come and get us. The taxi finally arrived and told us how bad the road conditions were from the village he came from. We were thankful when he delivered us safely and directly to our doorstep.

The kids quickly got ready for bed as they knew the routine. The girls have had fun bunking with the boys all week long. It did not take long for the kids or us to fall asleep from the fresh air and another energetic day.

The weather turned from a snowfall to a snowstorm in the middle of the night and with it brought high winds. The extreme winds woke Emmie up, so Jonathon very kindly brought over Emmie through the snowfilled balcony to our place. She was shook up, but managed to fall back asleep with Eric and I by her side.

Skis, Sleds, & Skates

Today we took full advantage of vacationing in a winter wonderland. The morning went smooth with getting to our ski class and then enjoying the overnight snowfall on the slopes. We moved Adeline down to Emmie's ski class, so she felt more comfortable and gained confidence in her skiing ability. 

At lunchtime, we checked in on Katerina who was freshening up on her French as she watched various television shows and learned she was able to make a few doctor appointments for her knee when she returned to Hofheim.

In the afternoon, we first went sledding as the girls wanted to do this again. Mikael and Steven joined us in our outing. After sledding, we then went ice skating. Jonathan and Christopher met up with us later.

The rink was an open rink and looked out onto Mont Blanc. It was a great view as you came around the one corner and skated down the one side. This was everyone's first time ice skating except for me, so we just took our time. After a few slow times around and couple of falls, Adeline started to get the hang of it and liked it. 

When the sun went down, the wind picked up, so we were happy to be heading back for the evening. 

We did our raclette dinner in two shifts- first the children and then the adults. A traditional winter alpine meal paired with a local Savoy wine was the perfect way to end our second day.

On the slopes

Our first morning on the slopes was a little chaotic. Eric went alone to get the the daily lift passes and it ended up being a workout in itself as they wanted to see the girls before they would issue children's passes for them. So Jean-Marc and he quickly carried the girls over to the booth and brought them back to the lift area. 

Then the mini-gondola that runs across the hill to the ski school area broke down, so we thought we had to hike up a portion of the hill to get to the ski school; however, the teachers were also where we were at, so the girls were able to stay with them. Emmie went in one direction to catch a bus and Adeline stayed near us as we waited for the mini-gondola to start operating again. We finally were on the mini-gondola 15 minutes late and I was able to join my class and Adeline was with her teacher meeting up with the rest of their class. 

Adeline first boarded the gondola that went half way up the mountain and I followed her with my class. Our classes were both going to the beginner hill at the top of this lift. Heading up the mountain the view was very nice as it was clear and the sun was out. 

We put our skis on and went to the hill to start our day of skiing. While Adeline and I were practicing, Eric, Jean-Marc, and Katerina stopped by to see how we were doing.  They then continued on their path and eventually went above the treeline. At this height, they had an awesome view of Mont Blanc.

After a few rounds on the beginner hill, my class continued down the hill. The class moved at a good pace for me. The unfortunate part was there were numerous icy spots because it was through the woods as well. A little while later, Adeline's class caught up to our class. Adeline was holding onto the teacher's lead as she was not comfortable doing these slopes by herself yet. 

At the end of the session, Adeline and I ended up at the bottom of the hill where Emmie's class was and two of the four boys' sessions ended as well. Since it was so nice out, we all took a trip back up the gondola for a break at the restaurant to enjoy the atmosphere. The girls then went for a few more runs on the beginner hill with Eric and Jean-Marc before us girls took the gondola back down the hill.

Afterwards, I took the girls back to the room for lunch and to rest while Eric went with the Kopp family to the top of the mountain again for some great skiing.

In the afternoon, I took the girls sledding. They had a blast and the little ramps added fun to the outing.

At the end of the day, Eric returned with the youngest two Kopp brothers at which time I learned that Katerina fell while trying to help Christopher, the youngest boy, in an icy area and could not ski. They went to get help for her, but by that time, Jean-Marc assisted her in getting down the hill and then carried her to the apartment with the help of the two older boys.

We convinced her to go for medical help since her knee was quickly swelling up. While she was away, I made dinner as everyone was hungry from the days activities. When she returned, she told us nothing was broken and she had a brace to stabilize her leg along with some medication. We helped Katerina get comfortable and had a low key evening as we all had enough excitement for one day.

Oui Oui

Upon arriving in Les Coches, we checked out the apartments. Jean-Marc's colleague owned a unit which the Kopps were staying in and the studio unit next to his was also a family members and free at the same time. This was great for us spending the week together as we could use the same balcony between our two places to ease going between the places. Unfortunately, we did not have any view as it was too cloudy to see the mountains from our place. The girls immediately asked if they could bunk with the boys when they saw the loft in the Kopp's place. Jean-Marc and Katerina agreed to it for the first night, but with conditions for all of the kids.

We quickly unpacked before heading into the quaint little village.  Jean-Marc and Katerina assisted us with getting our ski equipment and setting up ski school since very few people spoke English and we do not know French. The guys were envious that my rental ski boots were brand new. After a few hours, some discussions and then translations for us, and a quick jaunt through the streets to compare ski schools, we had our equipment, lessons lined up for the children and myself, and had walked through town to know where the store and bakeries were at along with a French 101 lesson courtesy of the Kopp family to help us survive the week.

For our first dinner all together, we managed to rearrange the Kopp's social area into a little restaurant with one table for six and one table for four. By combining the two kitchens, we had enough cookware and dinnerware for all of us.  Of course Katerina and I bumped into each other as we worked around the tiny studio size kitchen preparing the meal, but it was all fun. We know by the end of the week, we will have it perfected.

The evening was short as the ski lessons began at 9am, so everyone went to bed early. The girls were super excited to be bunking with the boys. We kept our balcony door unlocked just in case Adeline or Emmie decided to come home in the middle of the night.

We woke up to a breathtaking view of the mountains from our balcony.  

Adeline and Emmie were rousing when I went to get them. Upon stepping out onto the balcony, they thought it was neat to be in the clouds and then watch them pass by so quickly.

We had no issues getting ready and out the door for our first ski lesson of the week.

French Alps or Bust

I was able to pack all of our clothes into a few carry-on size suitcases and a large duffelbag for all of the skiing gear. Eric managed to fit all of it, plus the ski equipment, and some snacks into our A3 before the New Year's Eve celebration began. 

We managed to leave 15 minutes later than originally planned to start our two days of driving to the French Alps. The autobahn was fairly empty at 10:30am on New Years Day, so we cruised along in the morning. We planned this trip with the Kopp family and we were able to meet up for lunch at the German/ Swiss border. This worked out for a good stretch break. 

In the afternoon, we followed Jean-Marc Kopp since we would be staying near his parents place just outside Geneva in France the first evening.

 He took us on the scenic route and it was beautiful when we first saw the mountains. We stopped again for a short break to enjoy the view. 

Six and half hours later we arrived in Geneva. We checked in our hotel and then went to Jean-Marc's parents place for dinner and to unwind from being in the car all day.

The next morning we had a traditional French breakfast of fresh baguettes and croissants and were introduced to delicious Speculoos, a caramel ginger spread made from Belgium cookies.

We were soon on our way to the French Alps. First, we made a stop at the last Carrefour store for groceries before we started heading farther into the mountains. It gave me the feeling of being in Meijers again with all of the choices. After cruising through the aisles and our families loading up two grocery carts, we left the store and managed to get all of the food and drinks into the Kopp's caravan with their four boys and gear.

Thankfully, the weather was cloudy and it was not snowing as Jean-Marc informed us we might need chains on our tires to get up to Les Coches, one of the villages we were staying in the La Plagnes. The roads were clean and we had no issues reaching our village at an altitude of 1450m in the early afternoon.

Happy New Year 2012!

We had a fantastic evening ringing in the New Year in Hofheim. 

Karolin invited us over with two other families. It was a treat for me as her friend used to be a caterer, so she made us a delicious four course meal for the celebration. Even though I was tired halfway through the evening due to the constant translating, it was nice not worrying about cooking and the kids were all playing good, so Eric and I were able to enjoy the evening. Around 10 pm, we departed as we had a long drive ahead of us the next day.  Before returning to our place, we stopped in at our neighbor's place who live in the top apartment and delighted in dessert, spirits, and conversation as they also invited us over. 

15 minutes before midnight is when the fireworks began in the distance and at midnight and they continued for almost another hour all around us. We ended up in the driveway watching our neighbors and every person up and down the street light off fireworks. The guys bought sparklers for the kids, so they were part of the festivities as well. It was quite the disorderly scene with the bottle rockets being launched within such small quarters and the numerous other types of fireworks being lit on the sidewalks and street, but it was fun to be an onlooker in the safety of our garage. We just laughed as we knew a little past midnight, there was no way we would be in bed soon with the amount of noise and street partying going on to get an early start on our drive to the mountains.

God has blessed us this past year and we are thankful he has been with us through life's little and big trials  to overcome them and appreciate the triumphs along the way. We pray that 2012 will be full of blessings to our family and friends who are near and far, but ever so dear to us.

May 2012 bring everyone bright hopes, new success, and many reasons to smile.