Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Ice Skating at Somerset House
Lou has had a bad experience with ice skating in the past (with me) and was very brave to give it another go. The rollerblading and skiing practice she has had in the intervening period definitely helped with technique and confidence.
We started off hand in hand but later she was off on her own and doing well. There is a wonderful atmosphere with everyone enjoying the novelty of open air ice skating. But for a minor mishap just before our hour was up, there were no tumbles. Well done Lou.
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Sunday, January 16, 2005
Settling back into London routine
I’m sure that title has whipped you up into a frenzy of anticipation….Not! Nothing particularly exciting has happened since we got back from Chamonix. We’ve settled back into the work routine and are enjoying catching up with friends after the Christmas break.
Dinner with Raewyn
This Wednesday we caught up with Raewyn, Pam, Brian, Rae and Steve at an Italian restaurant called ‘Carluccios’. It was a lovely evening. Raewyn and I were trying to figure out when we last saw each other. The exact figure eluded us but we agreed that it was a long time! She had been enjoying the London New Year sales. I was a little jealous as I have resisted my natural urge to hit the sales… so far. I’m not sure how long I can hold out for though (o: I have to keep reminding myself of the travel pleasures I’m saving up for.
Travel plans
Speaking of travel…. Joy, Joseph and I have started preliminary planning for our trip to South America, plus I’ve already booked our flights to Venice and Amsterdam. Fantastic!
Apple store
Joseph and I spent some time drooling in the new Apple computer flagship store on Regent Street on Saturday. The machines and accessories sure are very pretty. But it’s not practical for us to buy any of them at the moment. We just hung out there amongst the trendy design types making like we were hip and happening (o: The store is two levels. On the ground level all the goodies are on display for you to play around with. Lots of people were surfing and checking their email. Joseph managed to set up the video chat functionality between the two ibooks we were on which was fun. There were also some crazy looking speakers for the ipods. One looked like a jelly fish another like some sort of space age machine. The next level has the ‘Genius Bar’ where you can go to pick the brains of Apple experts. There is also a large seminar area. Very cool.
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Wednesday, January 05, 2005
Christmas and Chamonix
Christmas Parties
I was lucky enough to go to the Christmas parties of both my past and current jobs. The English Partnerships do was in the evening at ‘Tiles’ on Buckingham Palace Road. There was a buffet meal and music and dancing. It was great catching up with my former workmates albeit a little surreal. It took a bit of time to re-familiarise myself even though I’d only been away for a couple of weeks after working there for a year! The Assets Recovery Agency do was lunch on a boat travelling along the Thames. It was nice to spend time with my new colleagues in a less formal environment. Great fun was had by all and the Christmas spirit was alive and well (o:
Carol services
I had heard that another way to get into the Christmas spirit is to attend a couple of carol services so I trotted down to a Sir Christopher Wren designed church just off Fleet Street called St Brides for a sing-a-long. Rae and I also went to a Christmas concert at St Martins in the Fields which is beside Trafalgar Square.
Faithless concert
We saw Faithless in concert at the Brixton Academy a couple of weeks before Christmas. Beforehand we went to the Brixton Bar and Grill for dinner. This is Kiwi owned…the kumara chips on the menu gave that away. The menu, which was tapas style, also contained crocodile pancakes! Suffice to say we didn’t try them but may go back to do so.
The big day
Christmas Day was lovely. Rae cooked up a storm as usual. We were treated to a huge salmon and roast veges with meringues, fruit and brandy snaps for dessert. Joseph and I made yummy mulled wine which we drank throughout the day. We had fun opening our pressies and then played Monopoly and that game when you stick a piece of paper with a famous person’s name on it to your forehead and have to guess who you are by asking questions that other players can only give a yes or no answer to. We finished off the day by watching the first Harry Potter film on tv.
View our Christmas pics.
Chamonix - Monday
“Chamonix has the distinct honour of being one of the first ski resorts with already 200 years of history, bringing with it a very French and traditional high-mountain atmosphere, full of charm” (SkiEurope).
Joseph, Tim (Joseph’s workmate) and I flew Air France via Paris to Geneva. We were very lucky with the weather. The snow dumped a few days before we got there so there was lots of lovely fresh snow. Real winter wonderland stuff as Chamonix town is so pretty and the mountain range provides a stunning backdrop. We were pleased to find that our chalet was very pleasant. The other guests had arrived a day earlier and were all Kiwis – mostly Wellingtonians! Small world and all that. Through out the week we found more and more connections. One of the ladies was the cousin of a friend from St Mary’s. Another chap went to Wellington College and knew Tane and Nathan Gray. We hired our gear that night and settled down for a nice Mexican meal. The chalet was catered chalet so we had breakfast, afternoon tea and a four course dinner, with wine, each day. We were well looked after by the Alpinefix team who cooked, tidied and provided transfers to the slopes and villages. One draw back was that the chalets are a little bit too far out of town and the public buses to the slopes and town were not always reliable. I liked it better than staying in a hotel though as I really enjoyed the personal chalet feel.
Chamonix - Tuesday
The next day we were all keen to get out for our first day on the slopes. Getting ready for a day’s skiing and boarding is like getting ready for a military operation. There’s so much to remember. Sunglasses, ski pass, sunscreen, money, hat, gloves, scarf, phone, food and drink, skis, boots, poles etc. We started at Le Tour which is a good field for beginners and those like me trying to regain their ski legs. It took the whole day for me to start to get the knack again! At the end of the day it snowed which was good for the snow quality the next day. That evening was the cooks’ (Katie and Flo) night off so we headed into town for some yummy pizza and pasta at Le Bartaval. We enjoyed the local Blonde Mt Blanc beer too. After and long wait for the bus we fell into bed and enjoyed a great night’s sleep.
Chamonix - Wednesday
We woke up the next morning to a beautiful clear blue sky and fantastic view of the mountain range from our room window. Stunning! Went back to Le Tour. It was very cold on the chair lifts as it was a bit windy. I did my first blue run of the trip and fell over many times, sometimes in powder which is very difficult and tiring to get out of as it can be deep. Because of this I got a bit disgruntled and went to the café for a rest and some lunch. Joe and Tim (Joseph’s workmate who joined us for the trip) had to wait in line for some ‘pomme frites’ and ‘chocolat chauds’ for 45 minutes! Plus the prices were high. It seems all ski resorts are the same on this front whether it be in the French alps or Mt Ruapehu! After a good break I went back to the nursery slopes to regain my confidence. Our dinner that night was delicious salmon. I forget the desserts we had because I was always to full to enjoy them!
Chamonix - Thursday
Thursday was a great day for my skiing progress. I felt much more in control. There was a beautiful blue sky again. We went to a different resort called La Flegere. It had a great long green (beginner) run which I enjoyed. I got the hang of relaxing my knees, cutting across the track in the steep bits and not going too high up the sides so as not too get too much speed coming down again (these are notes for me to remember next time it hit the slopes!). Eating the yummy chalet dinners doesn’t seem so greedy when you’ve had a good day skiing. We also went into town to get some lunch supplies. It was hustling and bustling with snow holiday makers. The village was decorated with pretty lights and the buildings were also pretty as they were very traditional looking. The old bod was starting to feel a little achy by this stage but it could have been worse. I think my running regime helped a lot as I had more energy and wasn’t as sore as I’ve been on past ski trips. The meal that night was vege pie and garlic mash. Yum.
Chamonix – New Year’s Eve
On Friday we had a day off from skiing and boarding. Instead we went to the Aiguille de Midi which is the famous cable car that takes you to the top of the mountain (3842 metres). We were a little affected by the altitude which makes you a little woozy. The view was worth it though. Breathtaking! The Vallee-Blanche run (22km), which Chamonix is famous for, starts from up there. We stopped for some more ‘pomme frites’ and ‘chocolat chauds’ and enjoyed the view from the restaurant. After coming back down again we returned to the town and bought some choccies from the local Chocolatier. The meal that night was vege lasagne with salad and garlic bread. After dinner we went back into town for New Year’s Eve drinks first with our hosts Katie and Flo first (shots and cocktails) at the Chambre Neuf, and later at another bar where we met a lovely couple from Edinburgh. We had a great boogy and there were plenty of New Year’s hugs and kisses all round.
Chamonix – New Year’s Day
For our final day on the slope we went back to Le Tour. The pistes were getting a bit icy and snow had melted a lot as there had been no fresh snow since Tuesday. We decided to do the trail to the village of Vallorcine which is right next to the border with Switzerland. This took over an hour as we took our time admiring the landscape. It was the longest and most beautiful run I’d ever done. One that is probably common in Europe but hard to find in NZ. I happily cruised along the tree lined trails and enjoyed the views. Just magic. Joseph on the other hand struggled with the iciness and rockiness which are not friendly to boarders. We caught the train back into town and returned our gear. Stuffed zucchinis and roast potatoes were on the menu for dinner.
Chamonix - Sunday
I mentioned to Joseph that this trip was relatively stress and trouble free. Boy I should have held my tongue. We almost missed our flight to Paris as the traffic from Chamonix to Geneva was a nightmare! On top of that I was busting to go to the loo the whole ride. Luckily we got to the airport half an hour before the flight was due to leave, you are meant to be there two hours before! On top of that we arrived in London to find that Tim’s snow board had been left in Paris. Luckily it was delivered to his door the next day. Quite handy really.
I’ll leave the last words to Mr Charles Dickens:
“Mont Blanc and the valley of Chamonix, and the sea of Ice, and all the wonders of the most wonderful place are above and beyond one’s wildest expectation. I cannot imagine anything in nature more stupendous or sublime.” Charles Dickens, 1846.
Bonne Aneé (Happy New Year)!
View our Chamonix pics.
Bonne Aneé (Happy New Year)!
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