Chalet Girl Swear Words Number 3: 'In the chalet last year I...'

This week we have three lovely ladies staying in the top rooms and 4 men staying, three of which seem pretty normal and pleasant but one of which seems dead set on telling us indirectly all about the things he's done in previous chalets he's visited to annoy the chalet hosts! If there's one thing you probably shouldn't tell the people looking after you, cleaning your room and cooking your meals it's probably how you 'searched through every cupboard looking for the red wine'! When you've had your allocated wine and some more on top of everyone else's then it's probably time to stop drinking or pay up! At least he hasn't been through the fridge and helped himself to tomorrow's dinner!

Yesterday we had a lovely ski with our guests. Phil went off with Martin the ski guide and the men and I went with our ladies and a few other people from the hotel and Michelle down some blue runs. I enjoyed my gentle ski, practising my small turns and trying to get to grips with a 360 flat spin but somewhere along the way I get stuck facing up the hill! The visibility wasn't very good at the top of the hills and skiing to coffee was like skiing into the unknown - luckily I know that part of the piste well! By lunchtime the clouds were starting to clear out which meant the guests had a fab afternoon on the slopes.

I received a parcel in the post this week from my Auntie who, having read my blog, decided I needed some fur and sent me a fabulous headband/earwarmer from Jack Wills. I have to say I now fit in perfectly in Megeve and it's also very warm and hides a bad hair day amazingly!

I've also been chatting on Skype with my nephew and niece who are paying us a short visit in March. They've seen their room, argued over who gets the big bed (although I have a feeling Daddy will have that bed!), seen the hot tub, the swings, the sledges, my skis, the snow... I also told them they'd have to make a cake for the ski shop so they can get skis and Maurice told me he needs to make a big cake in order to get big skis!! Good 4-year-old logic if you ask me! We're also going to go on a horse sleigh ride which caused rather a lot of excitement! Here's Beatrix in her new ski suit - can you guess what colour is her favourite?!

Today we're not skiing. Instead we walked down the Calvaire Way, a 19th Century walk,  into Megeve to write some postcards and drop off a lamb shank for Charlie in the hotel. We had a lovely walk down past the small churches, chapels and other buildings, stopped for coffee whilst we wrote the postcards and what a difference 30 minutes makes!

We looked outside and it was snowing, not just a few flakes but proper snow! We walked over to the bakery for a tarte citron meringue and a croix de Savoie, posted our postcards and made our way to the bus stop, abandoning our plan of walking back up the Calvaire walk.

I looked something like a snowman by the time we got back to the chalet but it's all good because it means that tomorrow we have all morning to ski on new snow! I'm also going to watch some amazing mogul skiing (skiing over very tight bumps with a few jumps added in just for fun!). We have a changeover tomorrow with 2 guests arriving for dinner and 5 more at midnight. We're then guiding them on Friday with a lot of others joining the group before stopping for lunch at the Alpette. It could be interesting trying not to lose anyone, if we find them all to begin with, as the forecast is currently for heavy snow all morning!

We then have a day off on Saturday when the forecast is better and are very much looking forward to it!

Beautiful Megeve

Today is one of the most beautiful days I have ever seen. Yesterday the fog was down low, the skiing difficult as visibility was down to 2 metres in places, the snow was occasionally falling and it was cold. We welcomed 2 guests and enjoyed a dinner of 'clean out the freezer' which turned into scallops on pea puree, honey and balsamic glazed duck breasts with mixed vegetables and strawberry and mango Eton Mess!

This morning I enjoyed a sunrise with the mountains turning from black to deepest blue and slowly gaining definition against a dawn sky. The sun then starts its path down the mountain, highlighting just the tips first before steadily making its way down the sides to wake the village. The sky is now bright blue with the odd wispy cloud and a few vapour trails from the local little planes. We've also seen the early morning balloons making their way through the valley and what views they must be seeing!

Phil had to take the car to the airport this morning to help with a mammoth transfer. I am stuck in waiting for 5 guests to arrive but have been outside to defrost the van and take the guests we already have to the slopes. They are a lovely older couple from Australia and one has never skiied before! I've had to lend them our ski trousers and gloves as they had no stuff and then take them to the ski shop, book a lesson, get lift passes, equip them with maps... I've also cleaned the chalet, made dessert, done afternoon tea and now I'm watching the Australian Open and Andy Murray trying to make his way against Federer.

We have a rather complicated few days with people arriving and leaving at various times and then on Wednesday we get 8 men with a 9th arriving on Friday! I think after that we're back to corporate but I'm not sure - they like to keep us on our toes!!

This week we've got the horses in town for some polo matches which I can't wait to see. Last week was the dog sled racing but I was rather disappointed to find that in actual fact most of the dogs looked like random strays and there were very few husky dogs around. We also didn't get to see any proper racing as they did a 'Megeve challenge' in the evening before moving on over night.

Our guests last week had a lot of fun on the fabulous snow and one pair even decided to try and ski back to the chalet on their first day out! They were in the right area from what we could make out on the telephone, but walked the wrong way (away from the chalet) before coming back, finding the horse field and eventually the chalet! not happy that he'd provided his wife with a suitable story of adventure for the week, the next day, our gentleman in question, took his wife off-piste through some trees, one of which she became rather entangled with by all accounts! So on sunday we skiied with the pair of them and had a fabulous time on piste whizzing around Jailet.

We're having a staff ski afternoon on Friday followed by Adam cooking some ribs I think was mentioned. I'm looking forward to it and we should have some amazing snow and new powder as the forecast says it's 'dumping' on Thursday night! 

A Great Week for Skiing!

So the snow has arrived in Megeve and we've been very spoilt with the slopes to ourselves for three days. Unfortunately today the excellent weather forecast and fabulous snow conditions meant that the Genevoise arrived in their dozens making the pistes a little busier and also inducing a little piste-rage at moments! There's nothing like skiing carefully down a green path, watching out for kids and beginners, and then nearly being run off the edge by a crazy nut shooting straight down taking no prisoners! I won't tell you the words that involuntarily flew from my mouth! It was worth it for the view though.

Earlier in the week Phil did some guiding whist I took Charlie shopping and then on Tuesday we both did some guiding. We were guiding our 4 guests plus two more from the hotel and somewhere along the way I had 4 with me and had lost Phil and the other 2 in the off piste somewhere! We waited for ages, decided to move on and if all else failed we'd meet up at coffee. We had some fabulous skiing and stopped for coffee at Chalet Bachais in Jaillet. Two of ours decided not to stop and then we lost them! 

We've also managed a little ski with Charlie the chef, Natasha and Toria and I have to say that I wish when I learnt to ski I'd been as good as Natasha is after only a month of trying out this crazy sport!

We enjoyed a ski today from Rochebrune to Cote 2000. We haven't been able to ski this bit until now because it's been icy and hard packed snow. We had a fabulous time playing on some long runs under the Petite Fontaine lift before heading up the steepest drag lift ever - 50% to be exact! But I still managed to take a picture of it! 

We had a lovely time until we met the crazy French and Swiss teenagers and young adults bombing it down to the air bag and ski park! I've had fun trying out some new skis although I think they'll be even better when there's new snow. Still, it gives Fred a chance to wax my other ones and sharpen the edges (when they're not eating all the cake we take them)!

We've got another busy week coming up with shopping, guiding, and a family of 5 arriving on Wednesday. But I'm sure there'll be plenty of skiing fitted in as there's also the promise of more snow on it's way...

How to Scare a Frenchman!

Yesterday afternoon the snow started to fall and I think it probably kept going most of the night. It was certainly enough for the lady next door to be snow-blowing our drive before 8.30 this morning. I don't mind the noise because it can only mean one thing: fresh snow! It also encourages Phil out of bed and into action!

Sadly it was still snowing and the cloud was right down in the valley so we had breakfast and made the beds upstairs for the guests arriving tomorrow. We then skiied to the bus stop, missed a bus by two seconds - the driver refused to stop even though we waved at him like crazy yetis - and we had to wait 20 minutes for the next one. We filled the time with a quick game of snowballs and were soon on our way to Mont d'Arbois.

We decided to stay low whilst the cloud was down and stumbled our way around the pistes down to the Mont Joux lift. We bumped into Martin, the ski guide from the hotel, who was enjoying the snow but probably not at the speeds that he's used to! There was also a mention of Mont Joly (a huge off-piste area for crazy nuts) tomorrow when he was free of guests! 

We dropped off the back of Mont Joux and headed for the Clementines blue run down towards Saint Nicolas de Veroce. After a rather steep drag lift we arrived at the top and carried on down. I'm not sure what piste we were on as it all seemed like off-piste to me as the snow was way above my knees!! We arrived down into Saint Nicolas via the Chattrix run and took the lift of the same name back up. The cloud had cleared out and we had some lovely views over the valley.

Phil had trumped me today by changing his skis to some fat all-terrain wide jobs ready to float through the powder. We had fun under the Croix du Christ lift (well he did, I sweated it out with the effort of keeping my sinking skis afloat!) and once back at the top decided it was time for lunch. As Phil missed out on Le Boitet the other day I decided we'd pop over there. I led the way and without too many diversions (I overshot one lift and had to get a drag lift back up) we were soon enjoying duck liver salad and local hams by the fire.

Phil hadn't had enough powder yet so we skiied down a bit further and went to play under the Monts Rosset and Princesse lifts. I did the obligatory recording of Mr Professional and after my fabulous attempt

it wasn't long before I was back into 'Kate style' and stacked it in a big heap right under the chairlift where everyone could see!!

The cloud was starting to come back down again so we headed back down the hills where I duly landed in a heap somewhere on a green run before we crossed the farmer's field back to the chalet. 

Now, onto the question of how to scare a Frenchman: Ski all day, jump in the hot tub (minus the swimsuit you left at home), wait for the French chalet owner to come and clear snow from his solar panel above the hot tub, et voila!! Thanks to Phil's hasty turning on of the most powerful bubbles, Alex's eyes and my dignity still remain intact - I think! However, the poor gentleman feeding his chickens at the bottom of the garden, who happens to be Alex's dad, may well have got more than a view of the mountains as he locked his chickens up for the night!!

The Best Changeover Day Ever!!

We had a very early start on Sunday with guests leaving at 7.30am. By 7.15 they were all up and ready to go having enjoyed bacon butties and porridge with lots of coffee! We had planned on getting the first lift up the pistes at 9am but it was snowing and very low cloud so we got on with the cleaning. We stripped all the beds, cleaned 3 out of 4 rooms and then the sun came out, so that was us changed and up the mountain by 10am! What a changeover day we had...

We went up the Mont d'Arbois telecabine and then over the back towards Bettex and St Gervais. These runs are fabulous and, if you don't stop, give your legs a really good work out. We then came back up and played around the Ideal lift and Mount Joux before taking the plunge and heading up to Mont Joly. This is one lift you would not want to do on a cold, wet day as it takes about 15 minutes to get to the top! 

The wait is worth it though as when you get to the top the view is amazing and Mont Blanc is so close you feel you could reach out and touch it! Feeling inspired, and knowing I need to improve my off-piste skiing before I can do the Vallee Blanch on Mont Blanc in March/April, we set off down a red run. With fresh snow on top it was a lovely ski, but then we hit a path. Watching people side-slip down an icy path is almost as terrifying as being on it yourself, so I took the plunge and went into the powder! It was all going very well until I decided to start turning and having made two successful turns, the third didn't go quite so well and I ended up with my head down the slope and my skis firmly planted in the soft stuff and sticking straight up in the air. Unfortunately for you, Phil had no camera so couldn't take a picture and I can assure you getting out of these amazing positions is much harder than getting into them!

Having got myself out of a big hole and navigated the rest of piste with a greater degree of success, we decided it was time for a hot chocolate (well I did!). We wanted to find a little restaurant in the trees on the blue piste 'Raviere'. We'd seen the signs from a chair lift but the chalet is well hidden from view. We had so much fun riding the bumps on the slope that we shot straight past and had to try again! Having explained to Phil where it was I managed to stop on our second attempt, however Phil shot past a second time and had to walk back! I slipped down a little track and shot off the snow onto the restaurant's balcony and almost made it through the front door! It was well worth the effort for the delicious hot chocolate and the amazing views of the valley.

The reason for navigating the trees and ice is that this week we have a corporate group coming and thought they would enjoy this place if it was a bit of a snowy day. Anyway, we enjoyed another hour or so of amazing skiing before our legs were well and truly worn out and then skied all the way down from the top of Mont Joux to our chalet and I have to say my little wiggly tracks over the farmer's field left Phil green with envy!

Sadly, the temperature has risen and the snow is once again disappearing but with the big freeze in America, surely it won't be long until it reaches here?! Our lovely chalet owner, Monsieur Alex, said that if you have Christmas on the balcony, you'll have Easter by the fire, so I'm crossing everything for a big snowfall anytime soon! 

We don't have any guests just now so have used the time to clean some windows, catch up on emails and, of course, ski. Phil took his skis back to Fred, the happy ski shop owner, and asked for some faster ones as his wife was faster than him! The boys got to work and found him a couple of pairs - one for giant slalom, one for slalom! He chose the slalom skis but was regretting it this morning when we went up Rochebrune and quickly discovered a lot of ice! We made our descent and tried Mont d'Arbois instead which was much more friendly before it got a bit sticky in the sun.

We have a number of men arriving at various times this weekend and we're looking forward to doing our first bit of guiding. There's also rumours of a lunch at L'Alpette restaurant - the most expensive place on the mountain. I'm just hoping there's some snow on Thursday night so we can get there! 

One Giant Jump for a Chalet Girl...

Happy New Year!! We celebrated in style here at Chalet Megeve. The guests kicked their night off down in the town and enjoyed a few beers whilst they watched the ESF and ESI ski instructors parade past with big fire torches. One back in the chalet we enjoyed garlic butter escargots as a deliciously French canape before moving on to a starter of pan-fried scallops on pea puree with very crsipy bacon. Next on the agenda was honey and balsamic glazed duck with roast beetroot, asparagus and celeriac mash and to top it all we had a delicious orange vodka and cranberry semifreddo. Of course some smelly cheese followed to just make sure we were completely full to the brim!! I have to say that only one brave soul attempted the snails (as well as me) and we enjoyed a good dozen or so!

The French enjoy a good party and have developed various contraptions to aid the process. Whilst in Metro I picked up a 'party box'. Hats, streamers, noisy things and pea-shooters with cherry-sized 'peas'! I think I'll be finding the 'peas' for the next 3 months!! After dinner the men retired to the hot tub for an hour or so and made good use of my kitchen window conveniently placed so as to be able to top up wine glasses without them having to leave the warmth of the hot tub and also without me having to leave the warmth of my kitchen! We now also have various sized and shape snow angels in our garden! A good few games of 'Who am I?' and lots of fireworks from chalets all around and we were well on our way to midnight and a glass of champagne.

This morning we had a slow start in the chalet but scrambled eggs andd smoked salmon soon sorted everyone out and by lunch time I was enjoying a sandwich with a view up the mountain on a deck chair! Some clever people we saw had used their skis and poles to make bench seats but I think if I returned my poles to Fred, the ski shop man, in a less than straight condition, all the cake in the world wouldn't put it right! (He's probably feeling a little neglected this week as the guests like cake and eat most of it every day. I'll have to make him a special one next week...)

Today we skiied around Mont d'Arbois and St Nicolas. Some runs are really empty and have good snow on them whilst others are very busy with no snow, lots of rocks and patches of ice. We stuck to the empty red runs and had a fab couple of hours in the sunshine. I am definitely faster than Phil over the moguls and I even managed a huge jump today. Well, I thought it was big and it certainly felt like I was flying for a least 20 seconds before I landed (on two skis) but Phil says it was barely an inch off the ground! When it was time to head home I decided I'd show Phil how to ski back to our chalet. He attempted it on Monday having finished guiding the guests but left the piste too early, went up a track, crossed the river and ended up not at our chalet. So today I led the way and we made it first time! I'm not sure I looked quite so competent whilst skiing through the hard off piste snow of the farmer's field but I got us there! 

Tonight we're having a Thai Green Curry for tea which I can't wait for, so I'd best be off back to my kitchen! 

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Chalet Girl Swear Word Number 2: Shopping Day

For most girls the word shopping usually brings about a warm fuzzy feeling inside; the anticipation of spending money on much wanted goods for some means spending a little more time on the 'essentials' of make-up, hair and clothing, before showing themselves to the world. For other girls it means dressing up ready to walk the catwalk of Megeve highstreet and for some the word shopping just aids the loss of all rationale! For me, the 30 year old chalet girl, the word means one thing and one thing only: get there, get it done and get back as quick as possible!

Usually I get treated to the delightful company of the hotel chef, Charlie, but today when I arrived in my not-so-trusty steed (will explain later), he announced with a rather sheepish look that he would not be accompanying me today as he had to go on Saturday due to something he had thought was in the freezer not being there! However, being the lovely sort he is, he presented me with a very carefully drawn map of our very wiggly route down the mountain (although I'm pretty sure he missed a couple of big bends!) and gave me the magic card which, when presented at the checkout, allows me to fill the van with all my goodies without handing over any real money! 

So, back in the van and with no radio as it doesn't work below freezing, I wiggled my way down the snowy mountain, ignored Charlie's directions, took a route with a slightly wider road suitable for driving big beasts down and arrived at the chalet girl's dreamland called Metro. Now there's no point even trying to go to Metro if you can't park a van as there is usually only one space and a very small, mini-sized space at that, that you have to park in. I can do it, but how the cars either side get out is a mystery to me! After that the only vehicle you need to drive is a rather unruly trolley - forget supermarket trollies, these are another breed altogether! Mine, yet again, made a beeline for the champagne stack at the entrance as I made my way through to the rather empty veg section! 

I find the easiest way to shop here is to dump the trolley in a place that is as in the way of everyone else as possible and run up and down the aisles, grabbing things from the shelves and then running back to the trolley to check what else is needed. The trick is to leave the cold section for last or to do it in shifts so that you don't loose any fingers or toes due to frostbite setting in! Some people stop to have conversations in there, but even with hat, scarf, gloves, snow boots, thermals and ski suit, I think you'd still risk loosing your nose whilst chatting!!

Once you've got everything, (this is where Metro is worth the trip), you hand your magic card over to the checkout guy, leave your trolley with him and go and raid the coffee bar. It's all free and there's usually some yoghurts and nasty cake things to work your way through! Then it's off to load the van, no mean feat by yourself I might add! Then it's a quick stop at a real Supermarket for the bits wholesalers don't have. I might have also treated myself to a yummy little thing called a Scoubichoc this morning! Whatever it was, it wasn't healthy or nutritional, that's for sure! 

Whilst this all might not sound too bad, bear in mind that yesterday we did a full chalet changeover, dinner for 9 last night, up at 7.30 this morning ready for breakfast at 8 (and yes, the cake for afternoon tea was already in the oven!), two runs to the ski lift and to top it all off my husband got the job of guiding the new guests round the slopes, having a whale of a time skiing on beautiful new snow! That's the part that makes it the worst day!!

Anyway - it's over for another week and next week I won't have to get up to breakfast before going as we won't have any guests! And I left the rooms for him to do on his return...

As for my not-so-trusty steed...It's been good to me and I did drive past a Jeep in the ditch this morning with a rather smug smile on my face, but on Saturday night it did not behave so well for Phil. Our lucky guests had been invited for a drink after skiing at an apartment in town. (I say an apartment but it's actually the top and bottom floor of an old grand hotel right in the centre of Megeve, worth about 10 million!) They asked to be picked up about 7.15 and so Phil duly left at 6.45 only to discover that in the ast two hours 6 inches of snow had fallen. He got the van out, and slipped and wiggled his way through what can only be described as carnage to the the very big corner and decided that the van was just not going to make it back up if it kept snowing. He rang Adam, who, with a German-made heavy-duty beast picked the guests up and got them back to us no problem. Phil arrived back with hands shaking and what I think was relief that he hadn't joined the Jeep or the LandCruiser in the ditch. He was fine after a beer and some chocolate!!

So now we have two families for New Year. All I can say is that cooking for 9 is like feeding an army compared to last week! So if you need me you'll find me up a mountain, skiing the good stuff, avoiding the inevitable pile of potatoes that need peeling!

PS. The yummy chocolates that our guests gave us for Christmas that probably cost a small fortune, were delicious and as you can see did not last very long at all!

What a Difference a Day Makes!

24 little hours...

We had a lovely Christmas Day with our fabulous guests from down under. We were treated to a leisurely start with time to open presents, chat with family in various places of the world and a breakfast of brioche eggs benedict. Sadly it was raining but the guests were determined to get a ski in and by midday were ready for the slopes. The garden surrounding the chalet was looking very green and the promise of snow just seemed to be getting further and further away...

Our fabulous boss at Ski Royale invited us down into town for a Christmas Day beverage, so at 2pm, after I'd peeled a few potatoes, watched Carols from Kings on our amazing Apple TV and dodgy free British tv link from an iPhone App and made a very traditional Pecan Pie for Cristmas dinner, we ventured out into the wet. I enjoyed a demi-peche (half a lager with peach syrup in it) and a diet coke, we played a couple of games on a lotto ticket but didn't win anything :-( nothing to do with my dodgy choice of numbers!

We arrived back at the chalet loaded up with crackers, party poppers, Christmas Puddings, and even table cloths! The guests were also back and were enjoying a roaring fire!! The turkey made a quick entry into the oven with some salt and pepper and a clementine quickly placed inside (I'm not sure hwat this actually does but I've heard it's good for it!). Whilst the teenagers enjoyed testing out their Christmas presents, the adults enjoyed some champagne in the hot tub (with specially arranged fire works) and I enjoyed a Skype with Spiderman and Rapunzel!

By 7pm dinner was well on it's way to being an ample feast for 20 (there were 7 of us!) and a well-earned glass of champagne and a couple of rounds of a dodgy Christmas game later it was time to gather round the table. After a quick starter of scallops on a pea puree the main event was up: Roast turkey (including fights over the legs), very crispy roast potatoes, honey and mustard glazed carrots and parsnips, sprouts with chestnuts, pigs in blankets, homemade cranberry sauce, turkey gravy and of course a delicious apricot and pecan stuffing.

We enjoyed a couple of games around the table. I think Phil and I managed to make ourselves very unpopular with our game as it took the parents most of Christmas Dinner to figure it out much to the amusement of the teenagers! After a delicious dessert - voted for by the younger residents - a hasty retreat to the fire was beat and so ended our fabulous Christmas Day in Megeve.

Boxing Day arrived and with it, hallelujah, came the snow - rather a lot of it! I woke up about 8.30 (it's my day off!) and had a peak outside and might have mumbled the words 'it's snowed' to my snoring husband. Of course he didn't believe me and carried on snoring so 15 minutes later I tried again: 'It really has snowed'. This acheived the desired effect and within seconds he was out of bed, giving me all the covers, and on his way for breakfast! 20 minutes later and I was skiing down the road to the lift station with Phil walking behind insisting on boarding for the day.

We've had a fab day, tried a new ski area (Jaillet) that was much quieter than Mont d'Arbois, won a battle with the French ski school kids as I managed to get a seat on the bus, enjoyed lunch at a tiny chalet restaurant called la Petit Ravine, skiied some amazing 'closed' runs through soft powder, Phil got stuck in a hole but we made it back all in one piece. So I'll leave you now whilst I just pop upstairs to enjoy the hot tub whilst the guests are out at dinner before round two of the delicious Christmas Dinner! A bientot!

Chalet Girl Swear Word Number 1: Changeover Day

The two words 'changeover day' are the two words most chalet staff dread to hear. Most of the time we just pretend it's not going to happen, bury our heads in the snow, carry on skiing and avoid mentioning it until the last possible moment! Phil and I are no exception and it certainly was a hectic day, but with understanding guests and a bit of organisation, we made it through!

We started off by doing breakfast for our departing guests - who had promised to be out of their rooms by 10 - at 1015! We finished this about 1045 and by 1100 some packing was done and I could start in the first room. At 1130 Phil took the guests into town, via the ski shop to return skis, and then returned to find the new guests just arriving! I'd finished one room and started the second, so after a cup of tea they were able to change and head off to the ski shop with Phil and then ski for the afternoon. Phil came back again (I'd done the thrid room) and loaded up the departing guests luggage and the linen and took it to the 'mother' chalet. On his return I'd finished the fourth room and decided that once he'd hoovered his way upstairs we'd have some lunch (a quick sandwich and some chocolate and pear cake from yesterday). I've been given a new gadget for the shower doors, mirrors and windows. You spray the glass with cleaner, give it a quick rub with the soft cloth and then use the battery powered gadget to vacuum away all the dirt, water, soap...It apparently leaves it streak free but I still had to clean the bits around the handles and the bits it missed!

We then did a joint effort on the living area: Phil made a fire, I dusted, Phil wiped all the chairs, I hoovered, Phil mopped the floor, I laid afternoon tea - lactose free lemon and raspberry cake (yes we have one those weeks) that I made this morning during the slowest breakfast ever and I then I decided to have a shower and read a magazine. 

Phil collected the new guests from the slopes at 4.30 and made sure they were ok. Afternoon tea was enjoyed and swiftly followed by a hot tub experience! Luckily for them ours is lovely and hot unlike the one above we found on the slopes yesterday! Champagne and canapes (endive tips with Roquefort, walnut and honey as well as mini amoked salmon toasts) were served at 7.30 and dinner just before 8. 

Tonight we enjoyed Wild Boar Terrine with fig chutmey, Poached Salmon with Lemon and Pea Risotto and a Coconut Panna Cotta with red berries. 

I've discovered that soya milk does not like to be set with gelatine, it just splits and curdles, but almond milk makes a delicious chilled rice pudding.

I've made my menu for the week and can't wait for Christmas day. We even have presents under the tree now and lots of Christmas music and movies on the oh-so-cool Apple TV! 

As you can see from the above picture, I've now met Mont Blanc (that's him just to the right of the tree, I think)! As each area opens in resort Phil and I go up there, ski around and then find our way back. It's been good fun so far and I've now skiied some nice red runs (something I wasn't overly keen on 3 years ago) and have even been down my first black run of the season! I was rather put off doing it again though as on our return up the slope on the chairlift we saw a young man about to be given a lift in the sledge with a leg injury! I can't tell you the words I actually heard to clarify that his leg was the problem!

So for tonight we've left the new lovely guests relaxing and dozing by the fire, digesting dinner and planning tomorrow's adventures on the slopes of Megeve. 

A Topless Tree!

Whilst I don't intend to write a daily blog I'm making the most of a quiet chalet. Our first guests arrive this evening, well, tonight at 10pm and would still like dinner! Not a problem - I've revamped the carrot soup and we'll be having chicken (now down to 26 pieces!) in a delicious homemade tomato sauce with a green salad, finished off by Mrs Ginger's Chocolate Brownies (recipe here) and homemade ice cream!

Talking of dinner, last night's went down very well with the lovely Ski Royale owner, manager, staff and family. We impressed with some yummy canapes - I didn't even get one - and some yummy vin chaud. The soup was tasty, the chicken worked well (I still have 30 odd more to use!) and the Tiramisu was such a success that one dinner guest managed 2 and a half and another was 'forced' into enjoying a second! It's all part of my determination to not gain the chalet girl pounds but give them to guests instead...I'll post the recipe next time I make it.

Luckily for our guests our tree, which, until yesterday afternoon, was feeling rather naked and bare with no top part (it's a three part fakey) was found a top and some decorations and now looks beautiful!

We've been for another little ski today on the very limited amount of lifts open. This is partly due to the resort not being officially open until Saturday but also in due to the lack of the white stuff - snow! The Megeve snow makers have been busy and they are keeping the open runs in a really good condition. I've certainly got my ski legs back and am very much looking forward to skiing the rest of the resort.

I am certainly not the fastest skiier and whilst I'm negotiating the second bend of the run Martin, the guide from Les Cimes, is already back on the lift ready for his seond run!! Today Phil took is board up and I thought I'd have more chance keeping up but he's like Mr Daredevil himself and was hurtling down the hill! I'm not sure what level of control he had over the board but he didn't look too bad! We took our sandwiches up to the top of the open hill nd enjoyed lunch with a view - the only thing spoiling it was the delicious smells of BBQ and chips with vinegar coming out of the horrendously expensive restaurant!

So now we're back at our chalet hoping for the return of the powdery sparkly stuff tonight - it is forecast and all the French say it's coming and they're NEVER wrong!

PS Alex (the rather handsome chalet owner/mountain climber/ski instructor...) came by this morning just to empty our fire ash on the garden?!

Hot Tubs and Sparkles

For those of you who don't know me and probably found this by accident let me tell you a little bit about myself... I'm Kate, married to Phil, and am quietly refusing to grow up, settle down and attach myself to one particular region, town or even worse, a house! We can usually be found somewhere at sea on a rather nice yacht called First Essential. You can find out more about that here: Essential Sailing

Currently our lovely yacht is taking a well-earned break having done 36 months non-stop. She's in the lovely home for yachts called Port Napoleon sleeping in her cradle until April when she'll be coerced back into the water! 

So, I hear you ask, what are you doing if your boat's not in the water? Well, sticking with France and refusing to grow up, I'm currently employed as a chalet girl! We have a beautiful chalet to look after in Megeve with 4 rooms, a fab kitchen and an more fabulous hot tub. Check it out here: Chalet Megeve

We arrived on Friday with more luggage than ever before, courtesy of a very generous brother-in-law and the odd snowboard... We were quickly whisked up to our new home and with the moon shining and the snow sparkling it looked magical. I'm a sucker for pretty places and this one is pretty high up there! 

We've made the obligatory trips to Metro-a French Mecca for chalet staff buying in bulk desperately trying to stick to budgets but miserably failing as the biggest tub of Nutella in the world hits the trolley (I resisted) and enough chicken to feed a small army is bought by mistake (I failed!). We've also done the necessary cleaning although we have been very lucky and only had to hoover and dust an already pretty clean chalet! Beds are made in readiness for the imminent arrival of those oh-so-inconvenient guests (who without you would have no job!). The oven has been tested by making a cake of the delicious caramel and pear variety. Phil and I tested it out and admitted defeat after a quarter had gone so took it to the other chalet where cheeky Charlie ( the chef!) claimed it as his own and served it to us for dinner!! 

We've also met the owner of the chalet - the oh-so-handsome French ski instructor/mountain guide/artisan builder Alexandre. I think I'll be needing some lessons this Winter!! I've already impressed him with my snow-plough position...

Tonight we're trying out all our kitchen as I'm cooking dinner for 9. On the menu is carrot and coriander soup, chicken breasts stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes, basil and ricotta served with crushed new potatoes and braised peas and spring onions and for dessert a delicious amaretto and date tiramisu. 

Easy peasy! 

The highlight so far of being a 30 year old chalet girl has been sitting in the moonlit hot tub, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and sparkling snow drinking a coke zero siting next to my husband!!