This is a somewhat delayed update after an incredibly challenging and busy week or so. Here's what has been happening...
Firstly, I'll start more or less where I left off last time. After the absolutely fantastic news that I can return home for even longer than at Christmas, I had to mentally prepare myself for the coming weeks. I'm unsure as to whether they will fly by or perhaps drag on and feel like an eternity. Clearly I'm hoping that it will be the former!
As I mentioned last time, Kevin left for a five-day ski trip with his school on 5th February. It makes me laugh that his school chose such a famous ski resort to go skiing at, but I guess that's Swiss private schools for you! If I'm honest, he did come back a little different, almost more mature, but I'm sure it won't last. I've never known a ten-year-old boy have a meltdown at the thought of leaving his 'Doggy and Bunny' at home, rather than risk losing them in Verbier.
On the Thursday, Krisztina and I profited from our extended free time. We went on a bike ride around god-knows where, basically just riding along aimlessly and generally guessing what paths to take. There are actually some breathtaking areas around here, but you sometimes have to work hard to find them. It rained the day before, so any grass or mud was completely saturated. This provided us with a bit of a giggle when our bikes almost got stuck in the mud and we splattered half the field up our legs. About halfway through, my hands were blisteringly cold, to the point where they were cracking and bleeding. That'll teach me to ride my bike without gloves! I'm a tad worried that I've wrecked the bike, but I'm the only one who uses it so I should be okay...fingers crossed.
When it comes to our trip to Verbier, it's much easier to split the events up into their respective days. So here goes.
Saturday
On Saturday morning, I woke up, got dressed and packed the last minute bits and bobs into my bag. There was no real rush to get there because we couldn't get the keys until late, so we were all pretty chilled about getting ready. We ate breakfast and lunch at home, to use up the leftover food and then we bagged up the rest to take (cereals, biscuits, tea - the essentials.) Eventually (quite a bit later than expected) we set off, with the car all packed up and me crushed into a seat. I went well prepared, with a phone full of music, a portable charger in case my phone ran out of battery and Me After You by Jojo Moyes. I finish the first novel, Me Before You, on our last trip away to Provence. It didn't take too long to get there, thank god. The roads around Verbier were winding, steep and snowy. F.A.N.T.A.S.T.I.C. My absolute favourite conditions combined together!
When we arrived, the six of us got unpacked, had tea and a snack before heading out to dinner. The lovely guy who came to sort out our WiFi (which is a must in a house with kids apparently) recommended a restaurant not too far from our chalet, which was ideal. We later found out why he suggested it, he worked there! Nevertheless, the food was pretty decent but super expensive, that's Switzerland for you. Not that I was paying for any of it...
Only bad news (and by bad I mean absolutely bloody awful, could not have been worse) was that I had to share a room and bed with Melanie...again. And it was even worse than last time!
Sunday
Not phased by the amount of snow and subzero temperatures, we had a little wander around the village/town/whatever you call it. The girls and I took many a Boomerang, in the middle of the street, trying to avoid recording all of the strangers.
I also took the time in the afternoon to rent my ski equipment for three days from the local shop. The people there were utterly lovely and really helped encourage me and ease my nerves. Definitely go to Evasion in Verbier if you ever need anything while there!
In the evening, the bajillionaire invited us all out to dinner. We went to a restaurant called La Pergola, which offered a pasta dish they named 'spaghettata.' This was an unlimited pot of spaghetti with six varying sauces; gorgonzola, pesto, carbonara, bolognaise, tomato and a mixture of pesto and tomato sauces. You're supposed to share it between two adults, but I shared with Melanie and Marilie. My god I felt sick afterwards. The other eight people all had pudding too, I have no idea how they managed it. When half of the 'ladies' went to the bathroom, the bajillionaire paid for everything. NINE MEALS AND EIGHT PUDDINGS! She didn't even bat her perfectly preened eyelids, like it was pennies for her. Absolute madness!
That night we walked all of the way home. I swear, I've never been that close to chucking up in a snowy driveway in my life. For some reason, the free busses get much less frequent the later it gets, so it made more sense to walk than wait. Somehow I kept about a kilo of pasta in my stomach and didn't die when I got back, so I think the walk helped cure my very unsettled stomach. Success!
Monday
We couldn't manage to find any lessons for me to take, but somehow they managed to squeeze Marilie in for a five-day course in the afternoons. This meant that the oldest two needed to teach me how to ski in the morning. In actual fact, they were both quite eager about it. Originally, it was supposed to be Kev teaching me, but he soon gave up because he couldn't quite find the words to explain exactly what I needed to do. Therefore, the responsibility fell onto Mel's shoulders, who was much clearer in her instructions and before I knew it, I was away. I have to admit, I absolutely loved it. Even though I was surrounded by toddlers more experienced than me, the feeling of *almost* whizzing down a slope is completely invigorating and anyway, everyone has to start somewhere.
Tuesday
Tuesday marked my first day of solo skiing. I took myself off to the baby slope and spent the entire morning going up the 'carpet' and down the slope. The carpet is pretty cool for beginners like me. Basically, all you have to do is go to the bottom of this conveyor belt, align your skis so that they are parallel and hop on. After that, it just drags you up to the top where you disembark and slide down the hill. All I kept repeating was 'pizza, pizza, pizza' which is the move you do to slow down. Essentially all you have to do is put your skis into a 'v' shape (or pizza slice), then shift your weight between your legs. For example, if you want to go left, put more weight on your right leg and angle your skis a bit, and vice versa. Simple...in theory. I'm proud to say that not once did I fall over, which is somewhat of an achievement for me. I think it's because I know I won't get the chance to do it again, so I really did try hard and make the most of it.
That afternoon, the host mum and I made the most of the lovely weather and took a cable car up into the mountains. When we got halfway, we stopped for a very tepid 'hot' chocolate and a pancake. I cannot believe I paid 9CHF for a pancake with caramel sauce in it! Ridiculous. Although, I did enjoy the view across the slopes (the view inside the restaurant wasn't half bad either!)
In the day, my host dad and the two oldest kids met up with some family friends who had driven from Divonne to Verbier just for the day. We invited them around for pasta that evening, to fuel them for the drive back. They graciously accepted and we had a lovely, relaxed night.
Wednesday
Wednesday wasn't too eventful. It was my last ski day so I headed up the tiny slope one last time for a couple of descents. I met a really lovely English guy called Chris, who must've been able to tell I was British just by looking at me. He told me that he'd been visiting Verbier since he was 19 and had enrolled his son into private lessons (virtually everyone who goes to Verbier is minted.) When the bus came, we got a bit split up (the busses were usually packed) but I got the chance to wish him well for the rest of his holiday. During that bus ride, some woman crushed my right foot by stepping on my little Primark boots with her huge, heavy ski boots. OUCH!
Thursday
On Thursday, the weather wasn't so great. This was the perfect opportunity to explore the town a bit more and relax. We came across a little toy shop with a rather large bear outside, so naturally we took a few touristy snaps.
In the early evening, we went to a pub called Mont Fort, which is apparently kind of famous. There was a woman called Faye McAdamy playing the guitar and singing a few familiar songs. It was great to listen to live music again, it's been far too long now. After that, we ate dinner at a restaurant called Chez Martin, where I chose pizza as my poison, followed by a banana split that I shared with Melanie.
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| Coolest bar light ever! |
Friday
Four out of the six of us were skiing pretty much all day on Friday, so the host mum and I had another mooch around town in the afternoon. We found a little chocolaterie, where we indulged in a gorgeous cheesecake (I chose caramel sauce, she chose raspberry) and for me, an orange juice, for her a cappuccino.
When we reunited with the others, we all went to the Milk Bar to meet the aforementioned billionairess and her youngest son for a milkshake. My god that mikshake was heavenly. Kevin and I both chose the Oreo milkshake and we were by no means disappointed! It was a bit heavy though, and when it came to eating our dinner, I had to take it really slowly. We went back to La Pergola, but this time I opted for a scrumptiously cheesy lasagna. It was DELICIOUS!
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| I need this light |
Saturday
By Saturday, we were all a tad exhausted. We rather leisurely packed up our stuff, ready for our return. It was so leisurely in fact, that we were only just leaving by the time the cleaners came! Whoops. Anyway, because Melanie was in the back on the journey there, I got to sit there on the way 'home'. As you can see, I was more than a bit squished, but I got to read some more of my book in peace, without little hands trying to touch me, or not-so-little mouths trying to tell me some useless information.
All in all, I really did cherish my time in Verbier. I'm clearly going to be at the next Winter Olympics, my skills really did shine through this week.
It's always interesting to see how the other half live, even if it's unobtainable for the vast majority of us. Switzerland rarely fails to make me smile, but I still have a small heart attack every time I see those prices!
Hopefully next week is less eventful...I can't deal with all this excitement.
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