Posts Tagged ‘French Alps’

15th April
2014
written by bob

This post is long overdue. Yep, my bad…AGAIN. I’ve been slacking…

Over Christmas we enjoyed a family vacation in the southern French Alps. We have skied 2 of the other ski resorts, Auron and Valberg, in the 2hr drive from Cannes. The last one of the 3 we have not skied, Isola 2000, was our destination of choice for this Christmas ski trip. As we were heading there for a week, Miss G requested to go to ski school for every day. GREAT IDEA, G!

For skiing & snowboarding is something that we LOVE (almost as much as hockey for this Canadian)! We want Miss G to learn to ski as quick as possible. Family ski trips are the one thing that we look forward to and we have started G early with ski lessons. She had her first lesson when she was 3. Technically, she “should” have been 4 yrs old BUT since she was as bigger than most 5 yr olds in France, no one questioned it. Miss G enjoyed her week of ski school and improved to being able to use the tow rope and perform “pizza” braking. Two steps closer!

Christmas Day in Isola 2000.

Christmas Day in Isola 2000.

On Christmas eve, we had dinner at one of the local restaurants. Dinner continued into tobogganing for Miss G outside the restaurant. The conditions were perfect; lightly snowing with a healthy blanket of fresh snow already covering the ground. As it was Christmas eve, Santa was scheduled to make a stop-over in Isola “apres le Decente de Flambeaux”. Neither Katherine nor I have ever seen this event but it looked incredible! And just then, at 19h30-20h00 in the dark of the winter night, a line of torches from the right side of the mountain began descending from the top. The line grew longer and longer. It was quite amazing to see! Then, all of a sudden, a second line of torches were ignited and began a second descent from the left. As they descended further and further down the mountain, they were getting closer and closer and eventually joined into one line to become one super-long line. From mid-mountain onward, the line of torches lit the trail all the way to centerville. It was absolutely AMAZING to see and experience this “Decente de Flambeaux”!

Following closely behind at the end of the “decente” was Père Noël. Miss G was soooo excited to see Santa that she began shouting loudly, “Père Noël, Père Noël”! Within the large crowd around Santa and Miss G on my shoulders, all of a sudden candy was flying in every direction. I bent down and managed to grab a couple pieces from the snow while G balanced on my shoulders; quite well I might add.

Enjoy the video of the Christmas 2013 Decente de Flambeaux in Isola 2000.

Au revoir, mes amis!

31st December
2013
written by bob

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our readers!

Christmas this year is being spent in the southern French Alps at the Isola 2000 ski resort. Spending the week here for Christmas, we’re hoping for some great skiing and lots of fun in the snow. I was a bit worried the week leading up to our departure as there wasn’t much for new snow (for the past 2 weeks). Isola only had a base of 65cm. Not bad, but certainly not great. We were booked Saturday to Saturday and, unlike our last couple of local ski trips (Valberg & Auron), this time we drove rather than take the bus. The weather was perfect for driving and we arrived after a quick 2 hr trip.

This was probably the first real weekend for skiing since there hadn’t been too many snowfalls prior to this weekend. Where to stay? We were booked in the New Chastillon Hotel. Over the last 8 months, it has been completely renovated into a more modern hotel. It’s prior history did not have very good reviews. However with a new look, our first impression was that it appeared quite nice although they seemed to be still scrambling to get things in order upon our check-in; which incidentally took probably 45 minutes. Not a good start; especially if you want to improve your public perception and online reviews! (More on this in a future post.)

Miss G's Chateau Neige.

Miss G’s Chateau Neige.

Sunday was a day full of super-fun stuff to do! A fresh blanket of the “perfect packing snow” had fallen last night and awaited Miss G’s plans for a snowman! We ventured outside to explore the hotel surroundings. While I went to get G’s new, blue sled, G and Mommy rolled a few large snowballs for G’s first snowman. It was about as tall as her. We found a small hill for Miss G to sled down and after a few trips down the hill, we explored more of the area around the SkiPass Ticket building. G found some fresh, un-trampled snow where she could lay in the snow and create a couple of snow angels. Then, it happened. A family snowball fight! At first, it was every person for them self although G was taking the brunt of the flying snowballs. On the downside of a hill, G and I took cover from mommy. We stamped the snow for a floor and build a small wall to keep hidden from mommy’s barrage. Initially what was supposed to only provided cover, turned into 2 hours of snow engineering to produce a LARGE snow fort for Miss G. As time passed, the walls continued to be reinforced and built higher. Once complete, our “Chateau Neige” incorporated a lookout, an ammunition (snowball reloading) hole, and an underside entrance. People started to walk over, observe, and compliment us on our masterpiece. It had especially caught the eye of 2 younger boys that were nearby though they never came over. One gentleman, even went so far as to ask us if were going to build a roof for it? Ummm, not today! That 2 hours created quite the appetite!

Christmas Eve 2013 at Isola ski resort.

Christmas Eve 2013 at Isola ski resort.

After lunch, it was time to go collect our ski rental equipment. Miss G informed us that she wanted to attend ski school for 5 days this trip. Now enrolled, we need to go get her gear at InterSports. The shop was pretty much beside our hotel and following a quick 2 minute walk, we met Jean and his staff. With G taken care of we discussed a small problem we had with Katherine’s equipment. In the flurry leading up to our departure, we accidentally booked Katherine’s skis from the Auron store and not Isola. After 2 emails to InterSports to correct and clear up this honest error, no one replied to help us out (not surprising). At this point, we just figured that talk to the people a InterSports was the best solution. That was when we met Jean, the manager of the InterSports shop in Isola. Jean listen attentively to our situation and explained that it could be an issue since we paid for the equipment online and the money was with the Auron store. Ouch! However, Jean told us to sit tight and he would see what he could do. He would call the “big” boss and explain what happened. Ummmm, what? Actual customer service in France!? True story.

After a few minutes, Jean came back and informed us that it would not be a problem to collect Katherine’s equipment in Isola. Jean and his boss would work out getting the money from the Auron shop. Wow! We were amazed. In all the time we have spent in France, no one has gone out of their way like that before. Most shops/people we have dealt with would have just said, “too bad” and we would have had to double rent with no chance of refund on the mistaken gear. That is the typical French way. Jean and his staff are great! We HIGHLY recommend Jean and renting from InterSports when you visit Isola! Jean will take the greatest care of you when you aren’t expecting it! Merci beaucoup Jean.

Au revior, mes amis!

6th January
2013
written by bob

So this past weekend was the last weekend of our Christmas holidays coming to an end, Katherine and I decided on a ski weekend in Valberg. Located in the southrn French Alps this quaint and scenic town was quite impressive.

Booking such a trip at the last minute, especially, during school holidays, we were lucky to find a place to stay. However, after some painful (day long) internet searching we were able to locate a place the had accommodation with room that could sleep more than 2 people. Hotel Le Chatellan was a great little place to stay. This family-owned and run hotel was a perfect getaway retreat. The family is very nice and extremely helpful in providing an all-around excellent experience. From a “welcome” smile at reception to dinner in the main room complete with large fireplace to holding your luggage and ski equipment even AFTER checkout, our stay was great!

Getting to Valberg is quite easy. We opted not to drive ourselves and take the bus although we met a few people that drove themselves. Either way, it’s about a 2-hr trip from Nice. We got up before dawn on Friday 0500h, caught the 0624h train from Antibes to Nice Ville station. Once here we boarded the #770 Snow Bus, operated by Lignes d’Azur, departed for Valberg at 0715h, and arrived in Valberg around 0930h. Train tickets and bus tickets were under 40€ total. There is no way that we could drive our car, find parking for 3 days, and return home for that price! No driving worries for us was perfect!

Valberg from the top; Miss G ready for her first ski lesson; G lovin the snow!

Valberg from the top; Miss G ready for her first ski lesson; G lovin the snow!

Settling in we found the local shop to sign Miss G up for ski school. Then it was off for rental skis, boots, and a helmet. Check. Now time for lunch at Hotel Chalet Suisse. We tried to book this place to stay but unfortunately it had no vacancy. At lunch we were greeted warmly by Christophe; who was also our waiter on a subsequent lunch on Sunday. Christophe was an excellent waiter and understands customer service. His attention to customers is what I’d expect when dining in a restaurant. We highly recommend visiting him for lunch when in Valberg; he will take great care of you. As for the food at Hotel Chalet Suisse, it was delicious and there was a good variety of choices. All too often in this region you see menus that are always geared towards tourists where they are all basically the same. Not the case here. The food was excellent but, honestly, what made our dining experience most pleasant was Christophe’s service. It goes without saying that he wasn’t French…but South African. Quite frankly after our “service” conversation, it was clear he didn’t understand the French’s lack of customer service either.

Let me provide an example. Across the street was another restaurant/bar called “G”. On Saturday evening while Miss G wanted to play in the snow, we decided to sit on the outside patio and relax with a drink. After sitting for 20 mins, I decided to go into the bar for drinks. Once I ordered and only then did the staff offer to bring the drinks to us. Ummm really? Haven’t I done most of the work at this point? Then they asked me where we were sitting and when I informed them, they told me they couldn’t serve me there. Quoi? I was told to go to the restaurant area to be served. REALLY? I have $$ in my pocket and I choose to spend it at “G” bar, they don’t want it, and tell me to go buy drinks somewhere else? I kid you not, true story.

Ski school was very successful for G. By the end of the 2-hr class, Miss G was ski down the small slope all on her own. She did amazing! Saturday wasn’t so successful for ski school as G decided right at class time, she didn’t want to attend. Oh well…maybe another time but she did have lots of fun the day before. All three days, we rented a toboggan sled, you know…the kind with the pull-handle brakes? Miss G enjoyed being pulled up the hill and sent down by herself. While she didn’t know how to use the brakes (except when being pulled up hill), Mommy & Daddy became the crash pads at the bottom of the short hill. As for being in the snow, Guilliana LOVED it! It’s not the first time G has seen snow but living in Arizona and now the Cote d’Azur snow makes a very rare appearance.

Our weekend wasn’t quite so full of skiing but that’s okay. Getting G taken care of and ready to ski is a bigger deal. Katherine and I love to ski & snowboard! I we would like it to if Miss G would join us on the slopes. So far, all indications are looking in that direction. Yeah, baby! All in all, we had a great 3-day trip and where Miss G was bit by the ski bug. Now to catch that snow bus, provided by Lignes d’Azur, let leave the driving to someone else!

Au revoir, mes amis!