La Reve Complet!

"Dream it, plan it, live it"

That we did!

Geneva Day 2

Margaret decided that she needed to get home a day earlier because she is so uncomfortable and in pain with her rib injury. Steve was able to book her on the same flight a day earlier so after breakfast we got Margaret in a cab and instructed the cabbie of her situation and asked that he give her a hand at the airport. It's unfortunate that this happened, but as we talked last night, at least it was the last day...unlike Joe who tore both ACL' s on the very first day.

Kathy and I decided to head out to a district just south of Geneva called Carouge, a suburb of Geneva proper. Today for the very first time in the past 9 days, the weather was gray and cloudy..we've been blessed with bright, sunny days on and off the slopes. Our hotel is very centrally located in the Vielle Ville, so we walked down to catch the tram to head out to Carouge. Arriving there, we set out walking and got our bearings after heading the wrong way. Found a wonderful patisserie and had a cafe au lait and patisserie. Talked to our waitress who directed us to the city center...wandered the streets of Carouge and found that most of the businesses are closed on Sunday. This is very typical of Europe...unlike America where things are 24/7...Sundays are very quiet. Restaurants, shops, grocery stores, etc. are closed. We got back on the tram and got off at Planpalais, another district just outside of
the city centre and found ourselves wandering through a large open farmers market where the locals shop. There were stalls of fresh produce, artisanal cheeses, meats, many Mediterranean delicacies, pastries, spices, teas, clothing, ethnic delicacies, etc. One thing that was very noticeable in the neighborhoods Kathy and I were wandering, is how ethnic in nature they were...most of the people looked middle-eastern, Italian, Spanish, or from the eastern Slavic countries...a bit like the gypsies we saw while in Italy several years ago. Geneva is definitely a melting pot and international...but even these ethnicities speak French, although in a somewhat different dialect. Got back to the hotel and walked over to the Cathedral St. Pierre, a large beautiful church that has a lot of history with John Calvin and the
Reformation period. We woke up to the cathedral's church bells ringing this morning. Wandered the streets of Vielle Ville...had raclette, a Swiss specialty and a glass of wine then onto dinner at a well known restaurant in the Vielle Ville, Le Pied au Cochon. We are wondering how the Swiss and French maintain their svelte physiques with all this glorious food!

Geneva

We leave Chamonix this morning with an unsettling circumstance. Margaret took a fall yesterday and it seems that she may have broken, cracked or separated her rib. She wasn't feeling it too much right after her fall, but more as the day went on. She is very uncomfortable and the pain is getting worse as time goes by. Having done the same thing in a ski accident at Wisp 5 years ago, I can understand her pain and discomfort. She had a difficult time sleeping last night and as time goes on movement is very uncomfortable. Martina, the hotel manager walked across the street with us to the pharmacy to help us get Margaret a rib belt and pain medication. Had about an hour before our bus ride so we went up the street to the Saturday open market where the local people shop on Saturdays. As most open markets in Europe, there were stalls filled with all the local delicacies...Savioe cheeses, saucissons from the local farms, flower stands, jewelry, regional fruits and vegetables, knives which are a local specialty craft by Opinel or Laguilot, chocolates, confections, etc. The town was abuzz with locals out and about shopping, skiers lined up at the bus stop to go to the different ski venues, as well as people taking in the World Cup event.

Chamonix in the morning is rather interesting. The town is situated very deep in the valley, with the mountains jutting straight up from the town proper. It appears rather dark in the morning, but as your eyes gaze upwards to the mountains peaks that are 360 degrees around you, you see
the sun splashed brilliantly across the highest peaks and jagged crests. It is so eerily spectacular and dramatic. Chamonix valley created by the glacier is so narrow...it' s as if you are at the bottom of a funnel.

Got the bus at 10:30 for Geneva. As we approached the small village of Les Houches, it was crowded with people getting ready to watch the World Cuo competition. Saw the bottom part of the downhill run as we were leaving the small village. Arrived in Geneva about 2 hours later. You would think it's spring time...weather is sunny and fairly warm. Geneva is a very international city...you see many nationalities. Lake Leman is very big with the city divided into the Rive Gauche (Left Bank) and Rive Droit (Right Bank).. The Hotel Bel Esperance, where we are staying is on the Rive Gauche near the Vielle Ville (Old Town) area. Very picturesque, sophisticated, and a very easy city to walk about. Spent a couple hours exploring along the lake front and the streets of the old city. Obvious there is a lot of wealth here...Ferraris, Bentleys, Alfa Romeos are parked on the streets of the city as well as many haute couture designer shops lining the main street. Will continue to explore tomorrow.

Le Brevent & La Flegere

Our last day of skiing...hard to believe a week has gone by. Nico was here to greet us as usual at 8:45 a.m. This morning he wanted to take us to two ski areas that are interconnected here in Chamonix proper....Le Brevent and La Flegere. Only about a five minute drive from the hotel it is located on the north side of the town. You take a gondola up to the top of the mountain. It was very evident how badly they are in need of a big snowfall here at the gondola site at the bottom of the mountain. The steep mountainside was rocks and vegetation with very little snow...looking more like it was May with summer approaching. When we arrived at the top however, surprisingly the mountain top was covered with lots of snow and groomed slopes! Many skiers we've met told us conditions weren't great at this ski area, but I thought it had some of the best conditions we've skied on the entire week. Again, maybe having a guide is the advantage of knowing where to go. The view of the Alps from Le Brevent and La Flegere is the most spectacular and panoramic....you see Mont Blanc, the vast Mer de Glacé glacier, all the famous named rocky prominences and beyond to Italy and Switzerland. Incredible vistas as far as the eyes can see. It's unbelievable and spectacular and you feel so close up to them. At every turn, as you ski from run to run, there is another breath taking view with the scenery taking on a different look from each vantage point...the weather couldn't have been better with bright blue sunny skies. Nico had made reservations at the mountaintop restaurant, La Brasserie...probably some of the best food we've had here. We had a nice, leisurely lunch and wonderful conversation with Nico about his life here in Chamonix. He said his grandmother who is 85 used to hike up the mountains (before chair lifts!) in the winter in a long skirt to ski down on wooden skis. In the gondola area there are many historic pictures showing mountain life before skiing became such a recreational sport. In the summer months Nico owns a business with a partner in Bordeaux...they teach kite surfng....www.kitezonesurfing.com. It is becoming a big sport in France along with kite skiing. After lunch we took another gondola up to another vantage point...the view gets more and more spectacular. The runs up here are black so Margaret and Kathy decided to take the gondola down to where we had lunch. Nico and I skied down to meet them. It was the ending to a great day of skiing. Said goodbye to our wonderful host and guide, Nico...he really has  been a big part of our week.

Packed up to leave tomorrow for Geneva. Met with Margaret and Joe in their room to see how Joe was faring...they've made all the arrangements for the ride home. Went to dinner to L'Atmosphere along the river here in town.  There were lots of people on the streets due to the World Cup competition this weekend. Going to be hard to say au revoir to this wonderful alpine town.

La Belle Courmayeur Encore

Set out this morning to ski Courmayeur again. Nico arrived at our hotel and said the best skiing in the area continues to be on the Italian side of the Alps. Our friend Margaret Z joined us today as well. Joe, Margaret's husband is in his hotel room resting up for the long plane ride home...they have been working out logistics with doctors, transport, the insurance company, etc.

It was another blue bird day....brilliant sunshine, turquoise skies and no wind...c'est magnifique. The mountain was busier today than on Monday...lots of Italians, Australians and Brits. Their is a definite international flair here and in Chamonix as well. In fact, starting this weekend there is a World Cup competition in Les Houches...downhill and slalom. Bodie Miller was to compete, but Nico said he pulled out at the last minute. There is a buzz about town as many teams are arriving for the event. We saw the Swiss team tonight walking through the town. There is a large area in the town where tents and a staging area are being set up as well as many exhibition booths. Would have been great to have an extra day to see the World Cup.

The skiing has been wonderful despite the fact that it hasn't snowed in weeks. Having a
mountain guide has been great...not having to look at a trail map and to follow the most skillful and elegant skier around the mountain has been a time saver as well as a lot of fun. He leads us to the best areas in the morning where the sun shines, to slopes that are on-piste and groomed, makes reservations for lunch at quaint mountain-hut restaurants, picks us up and drops us off at the hotel, and has shared with us the history and lore of this incredible part of th Alps. Nico is a fourth generation Chamonix native. His father and brother are also mountain guides and instructors. There a deep love for the mountains and the way of life here that is evident when talking to the local people who live here... they realize this is a very special and magical place. It is really even more than I imagined...unlike any other mountain town or 46 ski resorts I've experienced.

Annecy

Today was our "down day" day so we decided to do a day of touring around the French countryside. We've developed a great rapport with our mountain ski guide, Nico. He took the day off as our mountain ski guide to take us to a wonderful town near Chamonix called Annecy. This town is actually a candidate for the 2018 Olympics. About a one hour drive from Chamonix it is situated on a large alpine lake in a very pristine setting in the Alps. We walked through the Vielle Ville (old town) which was so picturesque and quaint...so much of it reminded me of Venice...canals, winding ancient streets and very old world European. There is definitely a different "pulse" here in this part of the world. The first obvious difference is that it is a very pedestrian society...very few people are overweight as you see in America. Also, what is very obvious to me is so few people are "wired".... you don't see people staring down at their smart phones or hooked up to their iPods...there's definitely a different type of life style and pulse here. The town has large plazas, parks, running paths, and bike paths around the enormous alpine lake. So many people are walking, running, skulling on the lake in their skiffs, roller blading, biking, etc. We also walked to the more "moderne" part of the city and found a buzz with many of the local people...Wednesday is a big shopping day with the locals. They have a big mall like we have in the US with the Foot Locker, H & M, Sephora, etc...not as interesting as the old part of town. Lunch was at a nice, charming restaurant in the old part of town. Best creme caramel by far! Oink, oink!!
Back to Chamonix by 6:30...met our new best friend Margaret and caught up with her at the hotel brasserie on her plans to get Joe back to the States with his double knee injury. She's having difficulties with communications back Stateside. Tough situation. Tomorrow skiing where Nico thinks the conditions are the most favorable...ready to schuss.

Skiing in Chamonix ~ Le Tour

Nico had planned to arrange for another guide to take us to Le Tour today to ski in Chamonix. Much to our pleasant surprise Nico arrived at the hotel to be our guide for the day. The group he was taking to another French ski resort changed their plans so he was able to accommodate us today...which was great, as he has been a lot of fun and a wealth of local, historic, and regional information. Also, he is very safety conscious and knows what we want from our European ski experience.

Being here now in Chamonix I have a clearer understanding of what this mountain demands. It is not the typical American western resort. The geography and physical layout of this glacial monstrosity does not lend itself to groomed, mogul, tree lined runs. Because of the sheer steepness and the incredible rock formations the mountain is left in it's natural state...there are areas where it would not be possible for a Cat to even get on the mountain. The mountains feel so close to you...the valley is very narrow and deep from the glacial formation and the jagged, rocky peaks jut straight out from above the valley floor. The elevation isn't as high as some parts of the Rockies, but there is a dramatic immenseness with the Alps. Chamonix also is in an area where you are accessible to the French, Italian, and
Swiss Alps...all within minutes of each other. This in itself gives Chamonix a very unique cultural diversity.

Our friend, Margaret Zuccarini, whose husband tore both ACL's joined us today. We headed out to Le Tour which is west of Chamonix. The winding road took us through charming, quaint villages...Le Tour is about 20 minutes from Chamonix proper. A small resort, but completely different in feel from Courmayeur, it is less rigorous than the other three ski areas...Le
Brevant and Le Flegere, Les Grands Montets and the Vallee Blanche. Much of it was above treeline and reminded me of Mammoth Mountain. There is a need for snow, however, Nico took us to areas that were on piste and well groomed. Had a wonderful lunch at a hut on the mountain...Europeans eat a large lunch, enjoy their wine and really take it very leisurely.
The food has been excellent and we have not missed much in that area...great cheese, pasta due to the Italian influence, bread to die for (baguettes and croissants not like at home),and of course all the great patisseries! We need to be skiing moguls and steeper terrain to continue on this regimen of trying everything!

Back to town Nico drove us to the Aiguille du Midi...this is the cable car that takes you up to a second cable car that ascends to about 12,000+ feet. From here you have a magnificent view of Mont Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps...you are actually about 370 feet away from it. The view is spectacular and never ending as you are above much of the Alps. It is from here that the very brave and skilled skiers ski the Vallee Blanche and ski on the Mer de
Glacé. A guide is highly recommended due to crevasses and unstable terrain. Got a view of the long, narrow catwalk one must navigate first in order to get to the beginning of the run. Very, very treacherous looking for our liking...made for a Warren Miller movie!

Decided to get in our PJ's and stay in tonight and finish our French provisions we bought. Another great day.

Skiing In Italy~Courmayeur

Our mountain guide, Nico met us at the hotel at 8:45 a.m. Our plan to ski In the Chamonix area has changed due to the lack of snow. The areas that are being skied are very icy or very extreme and require skiers who really know how to ski off-piste and have NO FEAR. There is a run called the Vallee Blanche that requires you to go up onto cable cars to about 14,000 feet. From the top you have to walk across a narrow (about 4 feet wide) path for about 175 yards. There is no railing and the drop on either side is a sheer drop off of about a 1,000 feet. Not for the timid and our guide has told us there are even tiimes he will not walk this to ski the Vallee Blanche. The areas where we could ski have terrible snow conditions at the moment....very, very icy and we've been advised not to ski in these areas. In fact, we saw Margaret from NYC who we met with her husband Joe on our first day at breakfast...asked about their ski day and she confirmed that La Brevent and La Flegere had terribly icy conditions. They went over to Les Grands Montets to ski...she saw the terrain and told Joe she was not going to ski here. This is one of the most difficult ski area in Chamonix. Joe an expert skier, on his run down fell at the bottom and tore his ACL's in both knees!! We are learning that Chamonix is a mountain to be respected. Courmayeur was sounding better and better.
On the drive to the Italian side you go through the Mont Blanc Tunnel, which is about 7 miles long. Once over the other side a beautiful, quaint village appears in the
valley...Courmayeur! Nico, a Chamonix native, has been a mountain guide for 10 years with the ESF...Ecole de Ski France. It was great to be able to ski with him on the mountain as he knew the kind of skiing we wanted and we did not have to worry about looking at a trail map. Kind of like having a caddy in Scotland! Courmayeur is a beautiful ski area...the Italian Alps create a stunning backdrop to the valley below. Couldn't have been a nicer day...blue skies, perfect temp and groomed slopes! Stopped to have lunch on the mountain at 1 pm at La Maison Vielle...wonderful Italian cuisine. At the end of the day Nico asked if we would like to go visit the village of Courmayeur, which we did. Narrow winding stone streets with many high couture type of shops. Stopped to have a drink at a wonderful bar where there were tons of après skiers serving a wonderful buffet of Italian antipasti. All in all, it was a super day of skiing with our great guide Nico...learned a lot about the life of a mountain guide and life in Chamonix. We've arranged to have him ski with us on Thursday and Friday as well.

Day 2...traipsing in town

With being up for 35 hours the day before we decided not to ski today and sleep in...got up about 10 a.m....a great night's sleep and so rested. Spent the day exploring this quaint and charming town. It almost feels like a movie set...very unique and everything within walking distance. You definitely feel like you are in the Alps...very French, Swiss and Italian all in one. The streets are lined with the most beautiful confection shops, charcuteries, brasseries, patisseries, etc. Window shopping is wonderful here! Bought some saucissons, local cheeses, wine and baguette to take back to the room for happy hour. We popped in and out of various shops and went back to the hotel to meet with a friend of Olivier's, Jean Louis, to discuss a possible tour to Italy if the snow conditions weren't favorable one day at Courmayeur. Jean Louis was a wealth of information on where to go and what to see...picked his brain!
This evening at Jean Louis's suggestion we had dinner at La Cachere, a beautiful restaurant that serves wonderful local Savoyard cuisine. The atmosphere was charming and the food
excellent...we all had the regional specialty, tartiflette...a potato, local cheeses, onion dish tha was the ultimate Franco comfort food! Off to bed to get ready for a great day of skiing in Italy!

Bienvenue Chamonix!

We can hardly believe we are here. Plane ride from IAD to Geneva was quick and easy...no problems. Arrived in Geneva 8 a.m. the next morning. Had to wait till 11:45 for the next bus to Chamonix so went to the Jazz Cafe in the airport for a cafe. Time passed quickly as we met another American, Keith (from Sacramento) who was coming to Chamonix to ski as well.
The bus ride out of Geneva to Chamonix was uneventful....but as we approached Chamonix the mountains started looming out of the horizon in the distance. Not your typical mountains in the distance, but magnificent rocky pinnacles and massive granite promotories that shoot up from the valley floor thousands of feet into the sky. One part of the landscape looked like their were five El Capitains (Yosemite) all overlaid on each other jutting out of the valley. I have never seen mountains like this. We also noticed that the snow level seemed very low on the mountains and almost none along the roadside and in the small towns we were passing. We learned later that it hasn't snowed since December 25th!
Arrived in Chamonix and walked with our gear to the Hotrl Croix Blanche, right in the center of town. What a quaint and lovely ski town this is! Established in the 1780's it is the ski Mecca of the Alps with the first winter Olympics held here. Our hotel was built in 1793.

Checked in and took a stroll around town...lots of international people here. Margaret and I are going nuts seeing all the major ski vendors here with their own shops...It's like the Madison Avenue of ski shops...very haute couture and edgy.

We learned from talking to several people that the skiing is not great now in Chamonix proper...with little new snow and warm weather recently it is very icy. The good snow is at the higher elevations, but requies you ski at an expert level. Chamonix makes Jackson Hole
look mild in my estimation. Advice we are getting is to go to Italy's Courmayeur to ski which is 30 minutes away...tons of snow and great conditions. Met with a mountain guide that evening at the hotel and arranged to be picked up at the hotel to ski Courmayeur on Monday.

Had a great meal at a brasserie this evening at the suggestion of our hotel concierge, Olivier. The town in the evening is lit up like you are in Disneyworld...very pedestrian and people milling around with the casino and nightclubs full of action!