Something in the Air...

So, having realised I left you all in the lurch at the end of the season with a few days to go and then been massively busy since doing my other 'oh-so-terrible' job down on the French Riviera, I thought I would quickly bring you all up to speed.

Phil and I had a fab last week with two very good friends. We mostly skiied in the mornings, had lunch and chilled in the afternoons once the snow was too slushy for skiing on. Chris, first time skiier, got the bargain of the year by buying a weeks worth of group lessons and, although he only did 3 mornings (9 hours), he had one on one tuition for the bargain price of about £10 an hour!! Unfortunately on day 3, his ski instructor brought him back looking a little worse for wear and Lucinda, a usually very attentive girlfriend, had not heard her phone and we were soon to discover that Chris had tried off-piste in the mud but not waxed his skis! This resulted in a very bruised rib.

Injury aside it was a fab week. After that we had a couple of days to pack and finish the chalet and that's it we were off. Only we weren't leaving as the pair that we came as, we were leaving as a three...

Some people do their ski season and take home some French produce for their parents, or some designer gear for their friends or jewellery for their girlfriend. Some leave with less desirable things like a ski-bum boyfriend that the parents will just love or a vague memory of some 'great' nights. Others, like us, leave with great memories of fab skiing and an amazing company to work for, but this time we got more than we'd bargained for...

Sure enough, we've left with our own little ski bump due at the end of September just in time for the snow of 2014! 

For now, I'm enjoying a sunny summer on a yacht in the French Riviera and will get home to the UK just in time (legs crossed) for the bump to make it's grand entrance into the world...

Two 4 Year Old Boys and a Whole Lot of Snow!

This week we've had a noisy, superhero-filled, snowy week. Let me set the scene for you...

They arrived on Saturday lunchtime just as I was finishing the upstairs rooms and it wasn't long before I had two little visitors asking 'Who are you?'. The boys are twins, but thankfully very easy to tell apart, and they arrived with their mother and father and their lovely nanny, Melba. It wasn't long before the boys were demanding Nutella on a spoon, even though one has Type 1 diabetes, and the pot was opened and the tantrums started when the word 'no' was muttered. Let's just say that the idea of discipline was a long way away from Megeve this week!

Most evenings I cooked the boys a healthy meal, and I soon learnt that it should contain no carbohydrate as this would mean the blood sugars would go soaring but it wasn't from the mother who had no interest in letting me know what she would like them to eat, just complaining about what was on their plate when it arrived! My popcorn chicken made with chicken breast, egg white and cornflakes went down well (after some protests from one) with the boys but the mother was not impressed! I still cant work out where I went wrong with that one! The adult meals where healthy, vegetarian and within the guidelines they had given me such as quinoa stuffed butternut squash, vegetable lasagna and we even sneaked in a raclette.

When the boys were playing nicely it was great. We've had slipper-clad ice man, mega-wotsit as well as dogs, babies and various other creatures that make interesting and loud noises and are usually naked! We're now proud owners of an igloo, several beautiful sculptures, we've had the snow planted with logs so we get trees in the summer and sledges too, although I'm not sure what they were hoping to get from those! The walls have new colourful drawings all over them and not even my trusty Cif will shift them. Various keys keep turning up in odd places which is unfortunate for the gentlemen who have to use the middle loo - we've resorted to whistling when on the loo!

It's not been a difficult week but I've been doing a lot of guessing and Phil's been doing a lot of running around! He's even managed to ski with the boys and they were rather excited to show him the magic carpet! I did feel sorry for him when I had to leave him mid-week to make a quick trip home but he was prepared with veggie lasagna, panna cotta, sausages for the kids and a day off as well! He managed fine and didn't look any the worse for wear when I got back! He also got an amazing ski in on Saturday morning. It had snowed overnight and he was the first person up Mont Joly, a big off-piste area, making tracks in the snow.

Today we changed guests and swapped a relatively easy 5 people for 8 adults. We then have a full change on Wednesday for another 8 adults and then next Sunday my brother-in-law and nephew and niece arrive. So it's all go here and whilst the French holidays are starting to slow down, our chalet bookings certainly aren't!

PS I cannot believe that this blog has had over 1000 views since I started it! Happy reading, whoever you are and please feel free to leave a comment...

Things I've learnt about the French...

So this week saw the start of the mammoth French February holidays which also tied in with Engish Half Term. Thankfully it's not been as busy on the slopes as everyone made out it would be but then maybe we know where to go to avoid the masses. We have a lovely French family staying in the chalet who basically don't want us around other than to make breakfast, clean the cooker and take them places! So it's been a pretty easy work week and I'm very grateful for that as I'm currently stuffed full of a stinky cold and rivalling Rudolph for his job next Christmas!

So things I've learnt about the French:

1 - When on holiday (even a ski holiday) the French do not get up early! Whilst the majority of our guests have been British and very keen to get up and off in the morning to get the best snow of the day, the French couldn't care less what time they make it to the slopes. We've been doing breakfast at 9am (very loosely) with a lift to the slopes at 1015! Craziness!! I did however take advantage of this and took some time to teach the children how make Coke/Mento fountains!

2 - The French know how to make a right royal mess of your cooker! Every morning I have cleaned my cooker and washed the entire contents of the pan cupboard that has made it into the sink. I don't know what they cook but they use a lot of olive oil (I use 1 bottle in 3 weeks - they've used 3 bottles in 1 week!) and make a huge mess in the kitchen.

3 - They cook enough for an army and eat enough for a bunch of mice! Every morning the remnants of the night before's dinner has been left on the hob. This morning, for example, there was enough pasta and salmon for 10, a pressure cooker full of something (I don't know what because I couldn't work out how to open it!) and a large pan of rice from 3 days ago!

4 - The French are terrible and very impatient drivers! Now, whilst I already knew this, today it has been reaffirmed. Whilst waiting for the bus (the safest mode of transport at the moment), a car stopped on the roundabout to pick up an elderly passenger. There was a bit of a faff with which side she should get in and then the door was locked but after roughly 30 seconds she was sorted. Within this time 5 cars were continuously honking their horns at the rudeness of the said car for stopping in their way, shouting out of windows and then some decided to bypass the problem by driving over the roundabout!

When it snows, they also struggle with which side of the road they should drive on and whilst they know it's the right, there's no white line, which obviously causes them much confusion as well as a temporary loss of memory resulting in other road users having to drive precariously close to the edge of the mountain side and constantly getting wingmirrors bashed!

5 - The French can't swim in straight lines! I've taken to swimming at the local sports centre and it's usually a relaxing hour where I can swim at my own pace up and down the lane. Occasionally I have to share, and that's fine as I am polite and let the faster swimmers through. Some seem to think they can fit between two swimmers already passing each other (surprisingly they don't fit!) and some just attempt to swim over the top of you! I particularly enjoy having my feet tickled and water thrown in my face by very 'splashy' swimmers! Today I tried the wider slower lane but that backfired when two young boys who thought they were better than they are got in and proceeded to swim under, over and alongside everyone else. They didin't understand the swim on the right rule and may have had a helping 'push' from several people!

6 - The French Ski like crazy people! There's no accounting for bravado in France. If you say you can and talk the talk then you better get down that hill as fast as you say you can no matter what the conditions, who gets in your way and never mind that you can't stop! Yesterday was rather icy and slippy in places so I was skiing within my not-so-comfortable zone at the edge of the pistes in the softer stuff with crazy Frenchies whizzing past definitely not in control!

7 - The French do not queue. Whether it's in a bakery, at a bus stop, at the ski lifts or in the supermarket, there's no such thing as a queue and the only way to get yourself seen, heard or a seat is with your elbows out and an ability to see that you are the only person there that matters learned directly from the French. Goodbye manners, British politeness and 'after you'!

8 - They know how to make pastries! It's not all bad and after most activities I do enjoy a little trip to the bakery. I believe that so far in Megeve I have sampled at least 4 different patisseries and boulangeries but, believe me, there are many more! My particular favourite is a Croix de Savoie - a delicious bricohe based cross with custard inside the arms of the cross and icing sugar liberally sprinkled over the top. I also like Torsade Chocolat - a brioche twist with custard and chocolate chips and today I tried something I've never seen before, can't remember it's name but it was delicious - a croissant style flaky pastry with custard and berries. There are many more delicious things in a French bakery like Flan, Croissant Amande, Brioche sucre, and all the cakes that Phil likes! I could tell you about each one individually but it may get a little boring for you...

All of this said, I love to be in France and actually a trip back to the UK reminds me that people in the UK are no longer how I thought they were. So for now I'll stick with my Frenchies, with their stinky cheese, love of garlic and lack of manners and enjoy working my way through Megeve's bakeries in my little snow globe!

Love is in the Air in an Eventful Week!

It may be some time since I last posted a blog but I'm going to make up for it with a very eventful week! We'll start at the beginning with some more corporate skiing. We left the chalet heading for Mont d'Arbois with 7 guests. This may not sound particularly challenging but when they're hanging out of their arses (for want of a better phrase) it's a challenge! To add to it we were also experiencing the heaviest snow of the season so far - so much in fact it was sticking quicker than the ploughs could clear it and we were skiing in about 6 inches of fresh snow on each run! We enjoyed the blue and red Princesse runs with a trip in a dry telecabine at the end of each run and then it was time for coffee so we skiied all the way back to the bottom of Mont d'Arbois and enjoyed an hour in the warmth of the Club Mont d'Arbois. We did have to de-snow before we went in but luckily the radiators were pumping out hot air and my gloves dried whilst I enjoyed a hot chocolate.

It was a little bit windy as well so when we first started skiing our route to lunch at L'Alpette was not open but by some stroke of luck by lunchtime it was open and we took the lift across, skied to the chairlift and quickly lost three to the warmth of the restaurant! The more hardy of us skiied a red run and then a black run - properly earning our lunch - before heading in to enjoy copious amounts of Savoie wine and food! Needless to say after lunch we skiied one run and retired to the chalet!

Our next guests arrived, a group of 5 gentlemen with a penchant for red wine, and a couple who spend a lot of time in Megeve with Ski Royale. We guided the gentlemen for two days and were rewarded with one gentleman declaring it was one of the best days of his life! Sadly on the second day one gentleman took a couple of big tumbles and the second one resulted in a lift down the mountain on a back-board sledge. Luckily he was ok, although not happy he missed out on lunch at the Forestier.

We're now back onto corporate skiing and whilst rather well behaved on their first night, last night was much bigger and this morning's guiding was a challenge. Add into the mix the heavy snow and it's not surprising we didn't start skiing til 1030 and stopped for lunch at 1230! Phil and I enjoyed lunch at Le Face au Mont Blanc very much but I think the others were struggling slightly! I enjoyed the salad buffet and soup followed by the dessert buffet and Phil had some salad, chicken and chips and then destroyed the dessert buffet! Needless to say there was no more skiing and the only things happening this afternoon are hot tubs, football watching and sleeping!

I hope you all had a lovely Valentine's day whatever you got up to. We were very lucky and had the day off so we had a lie in, a late breakfast, a box of Ferrero Rocher, went for a swim and then went for pizza in the evening. Whilst we might not have had the most romantic night, from what I can gather, there was plenty of romance on the cards for other members of Ski Royale with a hot date in the Wake-Up bar and a market-fresh meal for one lucky lady!

We've got a busy couple of weeks with a French family for half term and another family with twin 4 year olds after that! Then we're into March and the season of family visits. I've been checking out things to do with my niece and nephew and at the moment, if they're being a little bit trying, the threat is no horse sleigh ride! There are plenty of horses to choose from - I just hope they choose the right one!

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!!