I know it has been a minute since I last posted. Apologies. Life has been busy! And I am a fair bit behind so I will endeavour to catch up. This year we had a really fantastic ski season. We managed 10 full days of skiing, which for having full time jobs and a toddler with no grandparents living in the country, is pretty darn good. We managed to check out a couple new resorts in Switzerland, Andermatt and Gstaad, both of which were great! We also went back to last years favourites Adelboden and Grindelwald. We took our son to Feldberg just across the border in the Black Forest a handful of times (not counting those days towards our 10), and taught him the basics (super proud mum here!). And for the piece de resistance we went to Courchevel in the French Alps for a 5 day ski holiday!
Courchevel was my first time ever in the French Alps, and it was legitimately my favourite ski resort to date. I have skied in Canada, the US, Switzerland, Italy, Germany and Romania (and now France), and definitely this was my favourite. Verbier in Switzerland is a close second though. The runs were great, the snow was excellent – not too wet, not too powdery, not icy, just the right depth, really perfect. And the restaurants and bars were awesome! We also had amazing weather, there was a fresh snow dumping the night we arrived and then we had a beautiful sunny 5 days, and left just as the snow was getting a bit bleugh (though they were getting a fresh batch as we left). We also skied across to Meribel on a couple of days, but I liked the runs on Courchevel the best. The Trois Valleys had a looooot of options we could definitely do another couple of weeks there and still have new runs to discover. I would really want to go back, however our next season the plan is to tackle the Austrian Alps, since I have yet to ski in Austria!
Another exciting thing that happened this season is I finally got back on skis. I have been snowboarding for the past 20 years, but in Europe I find skiing is definitely more popular and the runs are more made for skiers. And I figure since we will be doing a lot of ski trips living in Switzerland I should probably re-learn. The good news is: I didn’t fall flat on my face, which was better than I expected. But sadly I cannot say I am anywhere near as good on skis as on a board, so my ego took quite the hit. Anyways, I will persevere. My plan is to do half and half going forward in hopes that I will improve after a few seasons. It is definitely a lot harder improving as an adult than as a child, but I will keep trying nonetheless. The exciting thing is that our son will have no problems learning since we started him so young. Next year he’s off to ski school!
So more on Courchevel, the foooood: omg all the restaurants were so delicious! We were able to have fancy fresh seafood platters, delicious Italian food, even a fancy sushi date night. Our hotel had a delicious breakfast selection too. There are definitely some fancy elements at this resort: super luxurious hotels, a 3-michelin starred restaurant, a Louis Vuitton champagne tent on the slopes, Gucci and Prada plastered all over the gondolas, some amazing designer ski outfits, and lots of fur and birkins. It was awesome! Definitely makes you feel a bit poor, but it was still a lot of fun, and will definitely go back! I also loved there were a variety of runs ranging from green to black, so you could really enjoy all levels. Also, this makes me think, I have to do more of the French Alps if my first ever experience has been my favourite!
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