We've decided to post an extra special jumbo edition blog for Phoebe's birthday, aren't you lucky? Phoebe turned 21! It was a joyous day which involved delightful cleaning in the morning followed by a quick snowboard, then a hitchhike to Tignes up the valley where we did some hilarious ice skating on a frozen lake and enjoyed a scrumptious 3 course meal. Felix even russled up a dairy-free carrot cake which, surprisingly, was pretty tasty. The staff pitched in for a HUSKY RIDE, OMG (on a sled, not a husky) which will be done in the near future, mush mush!! Also, Felix would like to point out that it was his half birthday on the 29th of January, but he received no presents, no cakes, and no facebook messages. Thanks everyone.
A couple of weeks ago, we got given the job of dropping a client's car off in Chamonix. This was one of the most ideal 'jobs' we'd ever been given, as it basically just entailed driving to Chamonix for the day, which happens to be one of the most beautiful places in the world, and also conveniently happens to be where Felix's grandparents own a chalet (referred to in this blog as 'Le Chalet'). It's a 2 hour drive to Cham ('cos we're locals we tend to just call it Cham, no biggie) through the beautifully snowy Gorges de l'Arly, and we were very lucky with the weather! We plan on returning to Chamonix in August-ish when the temperatures are more welcoming and the marmots aren't all hibernating. We love marmots.
Like most people who spend a season in the snow, we're slowly turning into ski snobs. We know this because we pretty much only ski when the the sun is out and/or there is fresh snow, and we try to stay off the groomed trails to avoid mingling with troublesome English tourists. They smell and they speak funny - every time we tell them we've been working on our deck all morning (in a kiwi accent) they look at us as if we're total creeps. Seriously though, the off-piste here is amazing!
Our thoughts are with those back at home venturing into the world of 4th year med. For god's sake don't hurt anyone.
Aiyiyiiiiiii! Grabbin' snow on her birthday.
Wow it looks... delicious?
Figure skating on the Lac de Tignes. We calculated that on average we fell over 0.5 times each...
Yes I like piña coladas :)
The Gorges de l'Arly on the way to Chamonix (more like the Gorgeous de l'Arly, am I right??)
The most dangerous thing about driving through here was the beautiful scenery!
Travel Fact: This is a statue of Jacques Balmat (and his mentor) in Chamonix, the first dude who climbed Mont Blanc about 200 years ago. He's the one pointing to Mont Blanc, which doesn't look particularly huge seen from Cham, but believe me, it is quite large.
Phoebe and Laura touristing in Cham.
Arty photo taken in front of Le Chalet, photo credit to Laura.
The most beautiful view from any balcony ever? Taken from Le Chalet. Mont Blanc is hiding behind his friends to the right of the pic, if you were wondering.
Felix has trouble differentiating between pistes and roads. Roads have cars on them, pistes don't. Get off the road you blithering idiot!
This dog lives in the chalet opposite and is ALWAYS staring out the window at us. Whenever we leave the house, he runs outsides and does a faece on our stairs. This dog is cute, but we don't like him.
Spot the Phoebe!
Look behind you Phoebe! There are beautiful mountains!
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| Chris (the Redeemer, lol) next to La Croix in Sainte Foy. The ski down from La Croix is absolutely amazing and makes the hike up completely worth it! |
Rush hour in the backcountry of Sainte Foy.
...We live in a beautiful world.
