Boxing Day

After a hectic Christmas day and way too much Champagne ( how many empty glasses does Deborah have next to her !!??!!! (Bet they're all Richards!!!)), we were all thankful today was a Wednesday. What do Wednesdays mean....Day off (kind of)! Well, definitely a day off for all our Chalet Hosts, the rest of us had a few jobs to do but lucky for me I could do mine from the comfort of home. I have to confess, I didn't leave the house all day due to murky conditions and very flat light outside, plus our house was nice and warm, unlike the outside world.
After the indulgence of Christmas day, we decided to continue the gluttony by purchasing breakfast from the 'Maison Chevallot', the local scrummier than scrummy bakery, a trip to Val isn't complete without a visit to one of these wonderful shops, of which there are two, one on the high street and the other in the little pedestrian zone, opposite the Post office. Their cakes are exquisite and made even better by the fact they do them in single portion sizes so lots can be bought in order to sample them all. I usually opt for a 'pate d'ours', otherwise known as a 'bears foot', no animal in it at all though, just a very light fluffy pastry filled with a thick gooey, custard/ chocolate chip combo, they are HUGE too, big enough to share, unless of course you're a piggy and want it all for yourself (like me). Also very scrummy are the bread rolls baked with the local beaufort cheese planted inside....actually, everything they sell there is yummy.
At the shop on the high street they also have a small cafe which, amongst other things, serves hot chocolate which would put up a challenge to any chocoholic, it's so thick and rich a spoon can be stood in it, no joke! Shall have to make it a mission of mine for one day in the future to go and purchase one for the sole purpose of being able to photograph it with spoon upright......it will be done, it will be posted!!!