Winter in Paris has been cold and dry. The skies are grey, the rain comes down hard, and even the chicest Parisian is running into the nearest shop to protect their cashmere scarf. As I have mentioned before, things have been quite stressful with the family for a few weeks, and I needed a break. Luckily I had pre-arranged with the family to have a week off while the kids spent the first week of their holidays with Mamie and Pappie in Biarritz.
Many people would no doubt choose somewhere hot & sunny for a break away. Good choice. However I have always been a fan of cold weather holidays and I needed some physical exercise (there's only so much cardio running around after the kids can give you). So I headed south-east, for the fresh air and exercise capital that is the French Alps. Specifically I headed for the Chamonix Valley - home to the first Winter Olympics.
I jumped on the TGV (one of the most comfortable trains I have ever been on) from Gare-de-Lyon and headed for Geneva in Switzerland. At the airport, I got into a hire car and headed back across the border into the Haute-Savoie region of France. Haute-Savoie is a department in Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, South-Eastern, along the borders of Switzerland and Italy, and home to Mont Blanc - the highest mountain in The Alps and the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucuses. The area is filled with spectacular scenery and a mix of forests and mountains. It is a real winter wonderland and about as picturesque a place as you could hope to go to escape the pressures of Parisian life.
I am clearly not the only person to think this, as the area was filled with Parisians enjoying the first week of the school holidays. I even met another au pair in the ski equipment rental shop. The guy helping me fit my boots asked me my job, and when I said I was an au pair in Paris he looked at me and asked
"Où exactement?"
"Seizième"
"Dommage."
And he proceeded to tell me how the kids from seizième are the worst behaved, he knows because he sees so many passing through the shop and in Chamonix. I remained diplomatically silent at this, but it is true that the Chamonix valley is a popular choice for Parisians looking to enjoy some winter sports.
I was staying in Les Houches, a ski resort fairly low down the mountain, where a lot of families with children go to start teaching the kids to ski and snowboard. I was staying in an old, traditional chalet, with some quite unpredictable hot water in the bathroom. But the view alone made any cold showers entirely worth it. Wow - completely breathtaking.
The weather for the first day of skiing was completely spectacular. But it was a little more unpredictable for the rest of the holiday. It ranged from brilliant sunshine and temperatures edging up to 20 degrees celsius on the top of the lifts, to zero-visibility and winds blowing horizontal snow into your face. Part of this can be explained by the Foehn Effect, a famous weather condition in the Alps caused by warm winds on the downwind side of a mountain that cause rapid jumps in temperature, snow to melt quickly and rain to fall hard. When this happened we jumped in the car and drove through the famous Mont Blanc Tunnel to Italy and the Courmayeur ski resort, where the weather is amazingly different, and brilliantly sunny. Its 30 minutes drive and no passport check to move between the countries - if you buy a week long ski pass for the Chamonix Valley a day in Italy will be included.
Spending six hours a day skiing is of course amazing exercise, so you would expect that all those croissant-related kilos would be falling away - that is until you know a little about Savoie cuisine. Raclette, fondue, tartiflette - dairy is one of the big exports of the Haute-Savoie region, especially the famous rebluchon, which is an amazingly delicious but quite smelly cheese.
Pierre Chaude is one of the local specialities (though it is found all over the world) where thin strips of meat are placed on a hot, salted stone or piece of metal with burners underneath, in our case duck, beef, and chicken. It is served with sauces, for us it was a herby hollandaise, garlic mayonnaise, and creamy pepper sauce. This one was found at Le National in Chamonix, a restaurant formerly known as being a haunt for English mountaineers. Its not the highest quality restaurants in Chamonix, but its good value for money.
There are many cafes and rest stops along the ski slopes, or at the foot of the mountains. One of my favourites is L'Arrêt Bougnette, at the base of a red run in Vallorcine/Le Tour. Here I had an amazing tartiflette - which is a Savoyard variation on gratin made with lardons, onions, potatoes and loads of rebluchon cheese. It's not health food, but after hours on the slopes it is what you want. So bad, but so good.
Chamonix is full of shops. Most of these focus on ski, snowboard, or mountaineering gear. A lot of these shops are expensive. But being one of the top destinations for the Parisian (and international) chic set, there is also a Chanel and Louis Vuitton in the city centre. But be warned, there are also a lot of tourist traps - both cheap shops and poor quality restaurants. Stay aware.
This is a stunningly beautiful region of France. A real winter wonderland, but even if you come in the summer, there are plenty of hiking and mountaineering routes to get you out in the fresh air. There is plenty of excellent food, but you will have to burn those calories doing outdoor pursuits rather than dieting because it is not light cuisine.
As for me, the skiing and fresh air has really boosted my mood. But now I hurt like hell, partly from the amount of exercise my unfit body was doing, and partly from a few nasty falls (parts of me are entirely blue and purple). I can't recommend this beautiful region enough, and if you have to choose a holiday, why not forget the sun, and head for the snow?
For more information on the area, check out http://www.chamonix.net/english
Many people would no doubt choose somewhere hot & sunny for a break away. Good choice. However I have always been a fan of cold weather holidays and I needed some physical exercise (there's only so much cardio running around after the kids can give you). So I headed south-east, for the fresh air and exercise capital that is the French Alps. Specifically I headed for the Chamonix Valley - home to the first Winter Olympics.
I jumped on the TGV (one of the most comfortable trains I have ever been on) from Gare-de-Lyon and headed for Geneva in Switzerland. At the airport, I got into a hire car and headed back across the border into the Haute-Savoie region of France. Haute-Savoie is a department in Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, South-Eastern, along the borders of Switzerland and Italy, and home to Mont Blanc - the highest mountain in The Alps and the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucuses. The area is filled with spectacular scenery and a mix of forests and mountains. It is a real winter wonderland and about as picturesque a place as you could hope to go to escape the pressures of Parisian life.
 |
| The centre of Les Houches |
"Où exactement?"
"Seizième"
"Dommage."
And he proceeded to tell me how the kids from seizième are the worst behaved, he knows because he sees so many passing through the shop and in Chamonix. I remained diplomatically silent at this, but it is true that the Chamonix valley is a popular choice for Parisians looking to enjoy some winter sports.
I was staying in Les Houches, a ski resort fairly low down the mountain, where a lot of families with children go to start teaching the kids to ski and snowboard. I was staying in an old, traditional chalet, with some quite unpredictable hot water in the bathroom. But the view alone made any cold showers entirely worth it. Wow - completely breathtaking.
The weather for the first day of skiing was completely spectacular. But it was a little more unpredictable for the rest of the holiday. It ranged from brilliant sunshine and temperatures edging up to 20 degrees celsius on the top of the lifts, to zero-visibility and winds blowing horizontal snow into your face. Part of this can be explained by the Foehn Effect, a famous weather condition in the Alps caused by warm winds on the downwind side of a mountain that cause rapid jumps in temperature, snow to melt quickly and rain to fall hard. When this happened we jumped in the car and drove through the famous Mont Blanc Tunnel to Italy and the Courmayeur ski resort, where the weather is amazingly different, and brilliantly sunny. Its 30 minutes drive and no passport check to move between the countries - if you buy a week long ski pass for the Chamonix Valley a day in Italy will be included.
Spending six hours a day skiing is of course amazing exercise, so you would expect that all those croissant-related kilos would be falling away - that is until you know a little about Savoie cuisine. Raclette, fondue, tartiflette - dairy is one of the big exports of the Haute-Savoie region, especially the famous rebluchon, which is an amazingly delicious but quite smelly cheese.
Pierre Chaude is one of the local specialities (though it is found all over the world) where thin strips of meat are placed on a hot, salted stone or piece of metal with burners underneath, in our case duck, beef, and chicken. It is served with sauces, for us it was a herby hollandaise, garlic mayonnaise, and creamy pepper sauce. This one was found at Le National in Chamonix, a restaurant formerly known as being a haunt for English mountaineers. Its not the highest quality restaurants in Chamonix, but its good value for money.
 |
| Apologies to all vegetarians reading this blog |
There are many cafes and rest stops along the ski slopes, or at the foot of the mountains. One of my favourites is L'Arrêt Bougnette, at the base of a red run in Vallorcine/Le Tour. Here I had an amazing tartiflette - which is a Savoyard variation on gratin made with lardons, onions, potatoes and loads of rebluchon cheese. It's not health food, but after hours on the slopes it is what you want. So bad, but so good.
 |
| It looks simple, but you have no idea how good it is. |
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| Even the street art is classier here. |
As for me, the skiing and fresh air has really boosted my mood. But now I hurt like hell, partly from the amount of exercise my unfit body was doing, and partly from a few nasty falls (parts of me are entirely blue and purple). I can't recommend this beautiful region enough, and if you have to choose a holiday, why not forget the sun, and head for the snow?
For more information on the area, check out http://www.chamonix.net/english
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