IF IN DOUBT, CHUCK IT OUT!

Driving home yesterday (6.25 hours) was amazing. Down a four lane highway with snowy mountains all around us. We didn't want to forget how beautiful it was so snapped off a few pics through the car window.

Today has been busy, busy, busy packing up "Le Moulin." Our motto has been "if in doubt, chuck it out!" Once again, surprising how much we've accumulated in our seven weeks here. We'll finish up packing tomorrow and then leave for Monte Carlo on Wednesday morning. Casinos - ching, ching! Hoping I'll pull off some Pugsley luck!

FEEBLITZEN IT

As well as Jayden blitzen the toboggan runs:















And Sofie skiing:

Today we rode the Feeblitz. One of the beauties about coming just out of season is that there are no lines for things so we were able to ride one after the other constantly until our 2 tickets of 10 turns each ran out.

Each run was timed with Sofie getting the second fastest of 35.8 km/hr.

And the winner was........Shelley and Jayden with 39.2 km/hr. Woo hoo!

The second run down Sofie and I rode together to take a movie. See it here.

And more photos here.

Arriving home it was time for the spa, sauna and steam room. I'm in the sauna and in come another couple wrapped in towels. They drop the towels and are completely starkers and it was ALL hanging out! Apparently, that's the Swiss way. I felt out of place in my kini ;)

Back to Uzes tomorrow :( and :)

PS Our record temperature so far, last night minus 23 degrees celcius, in the village.

PSS Dave's had a dry week since Monday. Wonder why?

SURVIVING THE COLD

Shopping was on the agenda this morning. We needed to equip Sofie with some extra bits and pieces to combat the cold today as she was so cold skiing yesterday. And also there's a couple of special boy's birthdays coming up. A quick bite to eat then up the mountain Dave took Sofie for her lesson whilst Jayden and I stayed warm and cosy in the room, Jayden watching a movie and playing nintendo and me reading and sleeping :). Sofie faired much better in the cold today and is improving every single day, conquering the red run today with only a couple of stacks. Today's skiing here. The temperature on the slopes today was minus 38 degrees celcius with wind chill factor.

FFFFFFREEZING

Sofie had her ski lesson today at 11 am. First of all though we headed up a bit earlier for a practice run and also a go with the toboggan. See dare devil Jayden here.

We then met Loz (hubba hubba) who took Sofie half way up to the top for her lesson.















See Sofie skiing here. As Dave, Jayden and I weren't skiers as such we couldn't take the drag lift but had to walk up the hill to the first station to catch the cable car to the Morenia Restaurant meeting point. After Sofie had finished her lesson we had a quick bite to eat then jumped on the cable car again to get to Felskinn (3000 m) then on the funicular to get to the very top, Allalin (3500 m). To say it was freezing at the very top would be an understatement at minus 21 degrees celcius, our record so far. The wind factor didn't help.

But on the other hand the view is so well worth it, simply incomprehensible (4500 m mountains).

So cold, the steam room and sauna got a work out from Dave and myself this afternoon.

SAAS-FEE VILLAGE

Apparently, according to the wetteramp, it was minus 13 degrees celcius last night so no wonder the water bottles the kids had left on our balcony were frozen solid this morning.

As daylight broke and the sun rose the view from our balcony:




















It was all on foot today. Sofie had a practice ski in preparation for her lesson tomorrow. She was a little frustrated as the slope she used wasn't fast enough but later today Dave and I walked to the top to check it out and have found where to get off the drag lift and a quicker slope for her tomorrow.

After lunch, whilst the kids were watching Star Wars and I was napping, Dave went out on his own and trekked half way up one of the nearby mountains.

We're roughing it tonight and have opted to stay in our room for dinner. We get sick of eating out sometimes as well as the expense. We've no facilities in our room other than a kettle but who needs a fridge when it's so cold outside? Any cold items we buy we simply put on the table on the balcony. Dave's eating tinned corned silverside, gerkins and corn, the kids - apple, ham, chicken loaf, peanut butter baguette and creme yoghurts and me - oats, sultanas, almonds and soja yoghurt sweetened with agave. I'm thinking a last minute dash to the supermarket for some Movenpick icecream for dessert is in order :)

Today's photos here.

SAAS-FEE, SWITZERLAND

Guten Morgen Australia. Yep, another language to learn, at least the basics - German.

After a slow start to the morning we were off on our two and a quarter hour drive to Saas-Fee in the Swiss Alps. The scenery along the way was again amazing.

We stopped briefly here and there to take some pics. No snow chains required but God damn, it was and still is cold. All I can say is, "thank God for thermals!"

We were welcomed in Saas-Fee and as the whole town is car-free we parked the car in the undercover car park at the entrance to the village and were then picked up and taken via an electric-powered taxi to our hotel, Hotel Berghof.

We unpacked and were straight out the door to hire Sofie's ski equipment and toboggan for Jayden. They had an hour or so mucking around this afternoon with the toboggan, snow and icicles. Sofie is soooo excited (like the day before Birthday or Christmas excitement) about skiing tomorrow, she reckons she'll be out of bed by 8 am. We'll see about that one.

The whirlpool and sauna got a run this evening just before dinner and it won't be long before we're all racking out the zeds. Someone is in bed already busting to close his eyes as I speak. Wonder who that would be?

CAILLER OF SWITZERLAND

Allo........it's a tough life when you have to get out of bed at 8.30 am and drive 5 hours to a chocolate factory isn't it?

We're on our way to Saas-Fee for a week of snow again but on the way went to Cailler of Switzerland since we promised Jayden we'd visit as many chocolatiers as we can. In the Maison Cailler we were able to view the production, a specialty made of the most aromatic cocoa beans and the rich milk of the cows of the region, delivered fresh daily.

Then it was into the degustation room for some sampling of these delicious treats. Their slogan "pur chocolat, pure emotion."

Of course we had to try one of each :) We pretended to feel sick but there's always room for more chocolate ;)

Then we checked into Hotel-Restaurant de la Tour in Bulle for the night. Across the road was a bar so Dave and I decided to go for a couple of drinks.

Cutting a long story short I came home, Dave was to go and get pizza for the kids for dinner but somehow ended up drinking with a couple of locals and ended up SHATTERED! Jayden and I went to look for him when at 9 pm there was still no pizza and the kids were starving.

The end product:

He did manage to bring a souvenir home in his pocket though, which someone gave him.

Needless to say, it's after 9 am and he's still in bed. We'll get him up and at em shortly for breakfast and a 2.5 hour drive to Saas-Fee.

More yummy photos here.

THE LAST ONE

T'is the last one..........I swear ;)

We went to Nimes this afternoon for me to get a tattoo. Olive (man) at BPS Tattoo did a fantastic job. It's on the inside of my right wrist. Liberte is French for "freedom."

And just for something different, Dave and his scoff:

It's pouring rain this arvo/evening so we're in our jammies already (5 pm) and settled in for a night indoors :(

SOFIE HITS THE SLOPES

Our last day at Tignes and Sofie hit the slopes for a final lesson and ski. We didn't realise how well she did until we seen this movie which Bruno took. Here she is with Bruno. So jealous she can ski!















And Jayden, the ferret, looking for wabbits in a hole he dug which took about 20 minutes.

Just before we left Dave took off for a quick walk and some last minutes pics of the lake which had frozen even more.

Just to be on the safe side Dave fitted the snow chains.

And off we headed home saying good-bye to the snow until next week :) Swiss Alps, here come the Stark's.

GLACIER GRANDE MOTTE

Our little snow bunny Sofie was ready for another day of snow and skiing. It was a beautiful clear day, with the sun shining.




















First, we took the free bus to the first skiing area to catch the Funiculaire to the Grande Motte Glacier where we then took the Telepherique (cable car) to the very top. The views were absolutely amazing. See movie here.

We then came back down for Sofie to meet her instructor, Bruno Richard, and off she went with him again to the top for her 2 hour lesson. She's now obtained the "1er ski" level and was awarded 1er degre. She's doing so well and really loving it so we've organised a late check out tomorrow so she can have one more 2 hour lesson. This is part of her birthday present.

Dare devil Jayden strikes again. See movie here. Also, at one stage we thought Jayden might be climbing the glacier at the top as he headed off. In one of the photos you can see a speck in the middle which is Jayden.

We finished the day with the kids watching a movie whilst Dave and I relaxed in the jacuzzi and sauna. And finally for Dave, a beer.

More photos here.

TIGNES SKIING/TOBOGGANING

We had organised ski lessons for Sofie through ESF so once we were all suited up and ready to take on the snow and the cold we took the free bus up to the ski area to wait to meet the Instructor.















One of us was a little more protected than others. I didn't feel the cold at all today.

Sand or snow, it doesn't matter. Jayden will play and roll in it for hours. At the end of each toboggan run he laid in the snow to recover.

We're so proud of Sofie. She seems to be a natural and after just a 1 hour lesson she's ready to take on a beginner run tomorrow with the Instructor. She only had 2 stacks for the whole day, one of which I videod but I think I distracted her and she lost her concentration. See stack here.

The toboggans or sledges, as the are called here, were so much fun. Movie here. Races here and here.

Dave took a walk around Le Lac (the lake) this afternoon and said it was amazing. The snow was falling really heavy. Part of the lake had already started to freeze over, which is where ice skating takes place later in the season.

The kids went "wow" when they seen how thick it was falling.

We again spent some time in the jacuzzi and sauna this afternoon, had din din's and now were off to bed in order to do it all again tomorrow.

Today's photos here.

TIGNES

It took us around 5 hours to get to Tignes yesterday. It was raining for most of the trip which meant that the speed limit was reduced to 110 km/hr instead of the usual 130 in clear weather. Dave was concentrating very hard as it was hard to see through the rain sometimes. As we approached Tignes we were struck with the amazing sights of the Alps.

Once checked in and settled into our hotel, Le Refuge, we went and organised Sofie some ski lessons and hired ski's and boots and bought some goggles for both the kids.















As soon as the kids seen the Espace Aquatique they begged us to go there so home for swimmers on and they hit the pool whilst I hit the gym for 1/2 an hour. Just wasn't like old times though and it felt much better when I left and went out for a walk before relaxing in the wellness area in our hotel which consists of a jacuzzi, steam room and sauna.

See movie here.

The rest of the family met me in there.

We awoke to the most beautiful sight this morning. It had been snowing all night and the town was covered in a blanket of white and still snowing. At 6.50 am it was minus two degrees. I took the photo to prove it when I went out for a refreshing walk before breakfast. Here I was thinking I was working hard walking up a hill but apparently the altitude had something to do with my heavy panting ;)

Dave took this photo when I got back to the room looking out our window. And a movie here.

We're about to leave and head up to the top of the glacier and the slopes for Sofie's lesson and some sledging (we hired 2 sledges (toboggans) also). Yeehah!

More photos here.