Category: Chalet Dairy 2010

Merry Xmas to you All !! We have had a great time so far, with Ian Hancock and his family in over Christmas. Really sorry the Courtney’s couldn’t make it due to flight cancellations but looking forward to seeing them in January now they have re-booked. Xmas eve brought fresh snow and it snowed for over 24hours. It made Christmas even more special and we had a snowy ski on Xmas day in Villaroger along with the guests after a lazy  smoked salmon breakfast . A few drinks at La Ferme before heading back to the chalet for Canapes and Champagne followed by a traditional Christmas dinner. Then a few jumped in the Hot Tub to round every thing off ! Boxing day has brought more snow, and sunshine so a perfect day for everyone. We have just had a 2nd Xmas dinner lunch with all the leftovers and the girls have been to ski club. We are looking forward to spending NY with Sandy Lewis and friends, as well as our friends Gonz and Lorraine, Fletch and Nicola. Here are some pics from last week, snowy ski on Xmas day, girls helping out with prep on Xmas day and Xmas Eve celebrations in the square with the live nativity , hot chocolate and vin chaud, with a visit from Santa.! Happy NY to you all and hope to see you in 2011!!!                         

Les Arcs has opened and the Season has started. We skied there on the first day and once again there were few people on the pistes. It was pretty cold but the sun was shining and we had a good first day. The week before we skied in Val D’Isere. Great conditions for the beginning of Dec and once again nobody there. Our first guests arrive on the 12th Dec and we are all ready!! New recipes have been tried out and the wine is in the cave!! Here are a few photos from the week. Fabulous Conditions all around!!!       Still lots of availability so give us a call !!!!     

Its snowing down to 1500m as we speak. Yesterday we went to Bourg St Maurice Bourse to buy the girls some ski boots and Anneha got some skis. Its a second hand place where all outgrown boots and skis from last season can be bought and sold. Everone helps each other out and its so much cheaper than buying new year on year as they grow so quickly. Jonny had a ski this week on the Tignes Glacier. Its open and at 31 euros for the day, worth going up with the conditions at the moment. Here are  a couple of pictures from the day.   We are all looking forward to the start of the season. I’m planning our menu and we have bought all the wine, after numerous tastings, which is actually great fun. Here is a video clip of us wine tasting lol…click here! Jonny passed his Summer Mountain Leader course this month, which is a requirement for the International Mountain Leader Qualification he is aiming for. Hope to hear from you all re booking, still lots of availability!!!!!            

The weather has changed in the last few weeks, its still bright and sunny but the evenings are alot cooler. Infact on 21st Oct we had the first snow in the Village. It didn’t stay for long as the ground is warm but that is an early start compared to previous years. I was lucky enough to get a short break away with www.frenchridingholidays.com at the beginning of the Month. it was my first visit and I went on my own but had a fabulous time. The Riding, company and area were perfect and I felt very comfortable even though I was on my own. If anyone is into riding I would highly recommend a holiday with them. Its based on a similar way to the way we run the chalet , you ride all day and then they cook for you at lunchtime and evening, so very relaxing. The horses are all good, non were plodders as you might expect with a riding stables and the rides were superb, hardly ever seeing a car. I definitely want to go back. Here are a couple of pics from the trip.        Its been Half term for the girls so we went back to see Family and Friends before the start of the season. It was Anneha’s birthday whilst we were there too. We managed to fit in a couple of curries, which is what we miss , and generally had a busy time. Sorry to anyone we didn’t manage to see, we just ran out of time.    Villaroger now has another snow cannon on its blue run down to the Village. Infact its right under the lift , before you do the final piste down to the first lift, which is where it needed to be. This should ensure skiing to the end of the season now without having to download. The developement has had the go ahead in Villaroger so in 2 years time we will see some big changes. We are in two minds about this, yes great because it will mean more publicity about Villaroger, which will benefit us, but sad beacause we love how unspoilt the Village is, and sooo French and this may well change a bit in the years to come. All our wood has been cut and got in from the forest.The girls have been helping stack it with us. We have put a door on the bathroom now in the double room for all those that know it. A bit of painting, new dining chairs and a few new furnishings means we are ready for the start in about 7 weeks time. Bookings are going really well, thanks to everyone supporting us again this year, but we still have lots of availability so please get in touch. Les Arcs opens 11th December this time, Tignes Glacier is open now and Val opens at the beginning of Dec.  

July and August passed so quickly and the girls are now back at school and we are getting back into a routine, doing jobs on the Chalet before next season and getting the wood in for the Winter. The weather is still warm, although we have had a couple of rainy days this week. In the last 2 weeks of August we had friends and family out so did lots of activities. Jonny and Andrew did Hydro speeding on the river in Bourg St Maurice, which involves going down the rapids holding onto an infaltable float. Great Fun!! We also did the High adventure Assault course 5 mins from the chalet. It was pretty challenging actually. Children from as young as 3 can go on the smaller bit, ours all loved it. Below are a few pics taken of us all having a lot of laughs.                                                                                               I’ve put this picture on to show the view from our Chalet the other night. It was  amazing!!                                                         Jonny is currently doing his training to beome a Mountain Leader. He wants to become an International Mountain Leader so he can do guided walks here in France which unless you have that qualification is illegal. He is working very hard and having to know the names of all the Alpine flowers and trees throughout Europe. One of the main things is navigation which you need to practice constantly. Anyway he is enjoying the challenge and will let you know how he goes on in the future. I’m just uploading some skiing pictures from last seaon to the Off Piste page so have a look , hopefully it will get you thinking about your next skiing holiday, hopefully with us !!!! The girls have started Karate lessons , and are back to riding again. Ive been lucky enough to ride my neighbour’s horse Passion. Its kept here in the Village during the Summer but will go down the Valley in November for the Winter, its too harsh up here. Its only a youngster but good natured and keen. Anyway will write again soon. Give us a mail/call if you fancy booking to come and see us and don’t forget to look at our newly added Guestbook, and please add a message if you would like to. Thankyou.    

We have been back to the UK to see our families and friends. We had a hectic time as always and true to form we had rain most days, but it was good to catch up with everyone. The weather here has been good and we have been visiting the pool, lake etc. We went down to Le Gard area of France to meet our friends Jo and Boo. We stayed in a lovely villa with a pool. We visited the Pont de Gard, The Camargue to see the wild horses, and the highlight of the week for the girls, The Haribo Factory!!!   Last weekend we  went for a walk and a picnic up to the Refuge de Ruitor which is nearby to us. We took the Avalanche Transceivers and hid them so the girls could practice finding them. The scenery was beautiful, as you can see from the photos.                                                  It was the Villaroger Fete Yesterday and we made  a float again for the Village. i was on the Cake stand again, and all our friends helped out making some cakes for us. There was a really good band who were very lively and got everyone jigging. The Confetti fight has left its reminents all around our house!!! here are a few photos from the day!!!.                                                                                                          There is skiing on the Tignes Glacier all July and August (only a 25 min drive from us). They had 40cm of fresh powder Saturday Evening. Have a look at this link to see the conditions !!! Bookings are now been taken for the Winter Season so please get intouch if you want to come and visit !!!

We have had a busy few weeks. Jonny has been busy chopping down our allocation of trees and finishing off our terrace. Its now finished and looks good. Time for a few pizza parties. We camped as planned at Lake Annecy last weekend and the weather was superb. Infact its been glorious for the last couple of weeks. We cycled round the lake and also swam in it. the girls loved it.      Today Jonny and I mountain biked down to La Thuile in Italy. We took single track most of the way. We actually hit snow across one part so that was fun. There is still some snow at the top of the Col. The scenery and views were stunning. Here are a few pics from the day.       The lifts in Les Arcs open this weekend. My mum and GT, Aunty and Uncle and 2 friends are still here. they are hoping to take the Aiguille Rouge cable car this week to the top of Les Arcs to take in the view. We had them round for pizza last night , they all made their own , and we finished off with Chocolate pizza. We had a pilates class outside the other day too at Ste Foy. We go on a weekly basis and our teacher thought it would be good to take the class outside. It was a lovely feeling. The outdoor pool in Bourg St Maurice has opened this week, here is a picture of the girls taken on Wednesday.                                                       The girls finish school tomorrow for 9 weeks. They can go to Ski Club for the next 2 weeks and do kayaking, climbing, snorkelling, and biking. Its all funded by the Club too, so they are very lucky. Will close for now but keep you updated on what we are getting up to.    

The weeks are flying by now, and cannot believe the girls finish school in 2 weeks time for the Summer holidays. Villaroger is full of flowers. We had a week down in Port Grimaud in May , had mixed weather but was nice to get away for a break. We stayed on a campsite in a Mobile Home. The Harley Davidson Rally was on at the first weekend we arrived, there were live bands, parades and lots going on. We hired bikes one day as it was quicker to get to nearby Ste Maxime than driving. We have been busy at home building the much talked about Pizza/Bread Oven. Jonny has built it himself from scratch and it is now up and running. It makes great Pizzas, as well as Gambas Pil Pil. We are experimenting with other things too.    P   Our garden is really taking shape this year and my neighbours Iris’s that she gave me have come up and look lovley. We have planted to some Wysteria down the side of the house to grow up the walls. The girls went away on a school trip to St Raphael for the week. They had fabulous weather and did things like kayaking, sailing and lots of sightseeing. Its the longest we’ve ever been apart but it was fine. Jonny and I had 3 days in Barolo, Italy, in the Piedmonte region, just over the border from us, whilst we they were away. The wine was very nice, quite expensive, especially the red , but a beautiful area. We ate great food and did lots of wine tasting. My favourite was the Moscato D’Asti. We brought back a few bottle too.     Jonny is currently plastering a chalet out , and we are hoping to camp next week at Lake Annecy. My mum and Tony  are  due out at the end of June. We didn’t get back to the UK at the end of April due to the Ash Cloud cancelling our flight. The chalet is still free 17th – 24th July for anyone wanting a Summer holiday. Les Arcs is due to open 11th Dec 2010 so for those wanting an early ski here in les Arcs /Val D’isere and Tignes we are offering a nightly rate of £50 pp fully catered inc all drinks up until Sat 19th Dec. Have a look at this video taken by the guests out that week last year to see the type of conditions you can expect due to our Valley  been famous for early snow. Definitely Millionaires skiing that week, with no-one on the pistes. Book early to be sure of a room.    

Jonny had 3 days ski touring in Italy with some friends  2 weeks ago. He set off on 19th April after our last guests had left that day, due to their flight being cancelled due to Volcanic Ash. they stayed an extra 2 nights with us instead of getting involved in all the panic chaos. He started out from Le Fornet Val D’Isere and dropped over the back into Italy staying at mountain refuges for 2 nights. Here a few photos from the trip. t       

Last day of our Season , and the snow is still amazing!!! We have skied down to Villaroger all week, although we did download on the bottom lift from around Tuesday, but could have skied down on a little path of snow if we had wanted too. Another great last week with a bit of fresh snow high up, and temperatures not too warm. We had a day out in Tignes and skied all the way down to Les Brevieres , although snow was heavy at the bottom. The sun was shining and there were no queues. Ste Foy too had great conditions right until the end of the season, so once again the Tarenataise Valley came up trumps for late skiing!!!!! This is obviously great news for next season when Easter is quite late, and people will remember how good the snow was right up until mid April. We had a lovely lunch at Le Bellieu Fume  ( our favourite mountain restaurant )in les Arcs 1950 with Reah, she loved the food and ambience. Non of us made it into the Hot Tub though. We had Jonny Bramwell , David Livingstone and Family and the Richards Family in for the last week. The Richards boys all had a dip in the Basin in the Village but unfortunately I didn’t get any pictures, hopefully they will send me one. Val D’isere shuts 2nd May with the Glacier at tignes open for another week. Here are a selection of photos taken in the last 2 weeks of the Season!