Val d'Isere 6th annual Golf Open Championship!!

Nothing to do with skiing or boarding I know, but today was the Annual 6th Val d'Isere Golf open, an event which is highly looked forward to, mainly by the male population of Val d'Isere.

This event takes place in Giez which is about a 90 minute drive away, just after Albertville.

The majority of players all boarded a coach for a nice, bright 6.45am departure, the Finlays team though opted to take the mini bus as Richard wanted to get there first for first picks on the golf clubs! We were horrified when we passed the bus stop and the bus had already left, lucky for us though we managed to over take it and got there

well in advance.

Clubs were picked and teams established (the boys were fortunate to be the first group off 'Hole one').

After the cheapest coffees and hot chocolate we've experienced in months (8 euros 10cents for six drinks, wow!!!), it was off outside for a group photo, then to the course.

Much faffing was done as to how the score cards were filled in, but eventually all was sorted and we were ready for the off.

Not being much of a golfer, I watched them 'Tee off' down the first green, then made a hasty escape due to rain fall and flying balls.

46 golfers played in total (including three women) and some 8hours later, the last of them returned to the club house for rose wine galore.
After all had been fed and watered, the presentation began. Awards seemed to be given out for every category possible, apart from best dressed team, which I am sure we would have won!Mike who has worked up in Chalet Marsa all season and is pictured here showing his first swing of the day, did us proud by coming in third!Peter Long, a long time guest of ours who was an honorary Finlays member yesterday came in 5th.Richard Finlay has slipped since coming second place a few years back, this year he stumbled into 16th place, followed by Mike from Grand Pares in 17th place. Tim came in a pathetic 43rd! Sure he could have got the prize for worst player if he'd not tried so hard. Tim also managed to loose an impressive 5 balls in the same area on the same green!I was team mini-bus driver for the day, all fun and games, lucky the boys took me along though as they all were well sozzled by the days end, a great day was had though!!

Apres ski at the Folie Douce!!

After an exhausting day on the slopes (Richard ran us around every piste in the Espace Killy), we were all ready to drop due to our legs failing to work anymore. A perfect excuse to stop off at the Folie Douce for the famous 'Apres skiing'.
It wasn't as busy as it normally is but it was still pumping in a big way, a loud way too, we were all having to yell each other to be heard!
With DJ's on the balconies and a saxophone player, guitarist, keyboard player and bongo drum player on the roof, it really is the place to stop off on the way back down to La Daille, oooohh, I forgot to mention the singer too who just loves to 'Oohhh and 'Aaarrrrrr'.
These shots were taken just as we got there, but later on it was going off with people up and dancing around. At one point the singer told everyone to dance on the tables, to the dismay of onlookers though, as soon as others got up on the table tops, the security guard came around and told them to get down again!
All in all a very entertaining hour or so was spent people watching, despite the abuse on the ear drums!!
If you are totally knackered (as we were), or just too drunk to ski back down, you can always catch the bubble lift which conveniently departs from the Folie Douce and drops you safely at the bottom at La Daille.

Are you lost yet??

Anyone who has worked for Finlays in years gone by in Val d'Isere may be familiar with the wonderful maps which Richard produces on a regular basis. If the slightest hint is given that you're not a 100 percent certain as to your destination, then the scrap paper will come out and the drawing of maps will commence! They are always great and each one a masterpiece to be treasured, not convinced everyone actually gets to the final destination by means of the map, but still !!
Tonight saw Bob, who has been staying in Chalet Bivouac for the week, come around to say his goodbyes and drop into conversation his uncertainty about tomorrows drive! Richard was to the rescue in a flash. They looked like a pair of naughty school boys hunched over the paper while Richard frantically drew and explained as he went along. The finished product is shown in the first photo, then the next is Bob proudly presenting his map! Being a taxi driver he will have hopefully made it to his destination with no hiccups whatsoever! Keep on drawing those maps Richard, we all think they are the greatest!

Catherines Birthday!

Richards niece, Catherine, just loves skiing holidays so much that she is now here for her 5th holiday of the season (not all have been in Val though I hasten to add!)
She arrived yesterday with her partner Andrew, ready for her birthday today! Much planning was done in advance, we even got the sun to shine, it was a stunning day indeed.
We celebrated with Cake and Champagne just BEFORE going out for dinner! All very yummy too.
Happy Birthday Catherine!!! I'll be kind and won't post how old you are, I've heard not everyone likes their age broadcasting!

Val d'Isere, Seaside resort!!

I heard on Radio Val d'Isere that Donkey rides would be available here in Val for a few days, I relayed these facts to quite a few people and got scoffed at and told not to be so silly!!! Knowing what I heard, I set out on a mission to locate the donkeys I'd heard about, lo and behold, I found them too. Admittedly they don't look the happiest of Donkeys, I guess donkeys aren't used to standing around in snow all day, they did actually look well miffed and weren't interested in head rubs at all.
What these creatures are doing at the bottom of the 'Solaise' chair lift isn't quite clear. On the radio they claimed they were here to take kids for rides (not unlike the British seaside resorts!), no kids were in view though, and the donkeys didn't look like they had moved much all day, or had any intentions of moving anywhere. Poor little critters. I left them in peace to venture up the mountain and saw more signs of the British
holiday-maker........
Men galore at the top of the Solaise chair lift at the 'Tete de Solaise' restaurant, all outside in deckchairs with very little clothes on (it really isn't that hot today!!). After my board, (conditions up there are still great!!), I came back down the mountain, still not quite fathoming how people can strip off in these temperatures, only to find Tim nearly naked outside Persval!!!! EEeeeeekkkk, what a sight!!

Still more Snow!!

I don't think the snow is ever going to stop this season, which is fantastic for guests. This was the view approaching our car park and 'Persval' at 8 am this morning. It had snowed through the night, and was still snowing. This of course came with cold temperatures, not like Spring at all!
The Piste Bashers were out in force on the nursery slopes, not that they could really be seen through the snow, clouds and fog, we could hear them long before we saw them. They did do a fantastic job though of bashing the slopes, they stayed out for quite a while this morning too, long after 9am so the skiers were dodging them! (Not that there were too many skiers out this morning, just the hardcore ones!)
Rumour has it tomorrow will be sunny, the sun will remain for a couple of days, slowly being joined by clouds and then.......... MORE SNOW!!!!!

We're open in Val d'Isere till May 5th if anyone wants to take advantage of all the white stuff!

Geneva via Annecy

Today I set off to Geneva airport with the 'Toffee Vodka Mob', pictured left, (they've voted the best toffee vodka in Val to be found in the 'Moris Pub', by all accounts, I believe they tried a lot of it!!!).

They came out to stay with us on Thursday, taking advantage of the late season offers which are actually fantastic value for money and ideal if you do just want an end of season short break which isn't going to break the bank!

We left Val at 9am after deciding we would stop en-route to Geneva to visit the very pretty and historic town of Annecy. A little under two hours and we reached our overcast destination, quite a shame as it is such a stunning town when the sun shines with the huge lake, mountain backdrop, canals, quaint streets and castles! Annecy really does have it all, it also has a modern shopping centre if the old historic quarter with its quirky souvenirs all gets too much!

Despite being in France for 8 years, I still managed to fail to register that today is Monday, alas, all shops shut on Monday mornings! A frequently forgotten fact! Regardless, we ambled the cobbled streets, filled up on coffees and hot chocolates in a small canal side cafe, then ventured on for wood fired pizzas in a highly popular restaurant. Despite being totally stuffed full of food, we still got tempted into a very plush ice-cream parlour with flavours galore, just to finish ourselves off altogether!
A stop-off well worth making and a good time was had by all!
Another hour in the mini-bus and we'd arrived at the airport!

Les Brevieres

Today was a glorious sunny day, a great day to venture over to 'Les Brevieres' for a play around.
Situated the other side of Tignes, lots of people are put off going to 'Brev' as they imagine the distance to be a lot further than it actually is. In reality you can get from Val to Breviere in just one cable car ride and two chair lifts. Easy. The joys of going to 'Brev' too are the nice long runs you can float down, no stopping every few minutes to dump on another chairlift! The views too are spectacular, the water which runs in the river is always a stunning shade of blue, it really is a pleasure to board or ski down to Breviere.
This season especially the piste down to Brevieres centre is in fabulous condition, more often than not at this time of season it is looking a bit shabby with the odd brown patch or two coming through, not this year though, it still has a very healthy layer of snow covering the piste.
The ride in the cable car back up to link in with Tignes is also well worth going on, again for the views. As well as seeing that lovely coloured water from up high, you also get great views of the dam and all the water being held back by the dam wall. It's all well worth the effort!!!

Hmmmm, Stylish!!!

The 'Persval' girls went rummaging down in the basement and came out with these classic Finlays uniforms. The Stylish one which Charlotte, in the middle, is wearing can also be seen frequently on Craig down at 'Drinks Evening'. The girls have been keen to get this sweatshirt off him all season, even offering to buy it from him but he will not let it go, therefore Charlotte was delighted when she found one all for herself.
The design sported by Miranda and Sarah is also very lovely.
Hmmmm, I wonder if these will be making a comeback anytime soon......

Laundry Day

As happens on every Tuesday, we had the joyous job this morning of counting and bagging

up all the laundry from the week from all the Chalets, it's quite a job!

This picture doesn't quite show it, but this pile is huge! Each bag is incredibly heavy too and it takes some lugging to get them all from our basement up and outside ready for the laundry man to come take them all away!

It all gets taken down to Bourg and laundered for us before coming back in clean, neat stacks on the Friday, ready once again for the Saturday changeover day.

Today is still quite a grey and murky day, not quite so awful as yesterday, but not the sunny day the weather man forecast. Maybe tomorrow!!

Roll on Spring!!

After the stunning day of yesterday we are faced with rubbish again. Snow is coming down horizontally and at an amazing speed. This is the view just from our front door as venturing out any further means getting covered from head to foot, up the nose and in the ears with snow! This new snow is joined by high winds so needless to say I shall not be venturing up the mountain today!

The weatherman is claiming tomorrow will be sunny so lets hope he's telling the truth!

Funival

Today was a stunning day, much needed after the rubbish conditions we've been getting served up recently. The sun shone all day, despite this mornings weather forecast claiming it would cloud over this afternoon.
It seems as if I ran into everyone I knew up the mountain today, I'd barely get from one run to the next before seeing someone else I knew, all great fun!
I ventured on up the Bellevarde and sifted around there a bit before going down a very deserted OK/Orange run to La Daille. From there I caught the 'Funival' back up for the first time this season! The 'Funi' is a great invention, it gets us from La Daille at c.1850 metres, up to the top of the Bellevarde at 2850m in 4 minutes! Up to 3,000 skiers and boarders can be transported up the mountain in a hour.
Contrary to what some may believe, two trains actually run on the track, not one. They have a passing point in the tunnel, if you watch and try not to blink, you will see the other train pass by in a blur. Despite the 'Funi' eternally having a vague, non-offensive, hint of a farm yard aroma, (it always has had, no idea why), the 'Funi' is a great way to get up the mountain! You can also come down on it too if your legs are failing or if you overdid the lunchtime beverages!
Tignes also has a 'Funi' known as the 'Funicular', also as great and as speedy as ours, that one whisks you on up to the base of the Grande Motte cable car, very handy if you're in a rush as otherwise you'd have to take the two chairlifts!

Tartiflette!!!

We're not quite sure if there's a hidden meaning in these car stickers but they seem to be everywhere at the moment!!!
Tartiflette is a local Savoyard dish found on every menu (more or less) in Val d'Isere. It's a potato dish, not unlike 'Dauphinoise' potatoes, but with reblochan cheese which has been soaked over-night in white wine, and the bit that ruins it for the herbivores, lardons (little squares of bacon).
It generally gets served up in very hearty portions with a mountain of green salad to go with it! Of course this all has to be washed down by the good old Vin rouge!! Very yummy it is too!

Marmots!!

It's the time of year now when Marmots are coming out of hibernation to play. Sure they must all be very confused though with the present, erratic, weather patterns. I first saw them out on Saturday when it was glorious and sunny, then today they were looking most baffled looking at the white sky and snowflakes floating down.

Marmots are usually heard before they are spotted as they give out a high pitched squeaking/whistling noise. During Spring they are often quite tricky to spot as they blend in nicely with the grass and surrounds, as there is currently so much snow around though, once you've located the whistle they are easy to spot with the white background.

These two were snapped at lunchtime lurking around outside Chalet Branges, they seem to love hanging out there and anyone on a walk up to or down from Le Fornet should definitely look out for the little critters!

Maria joins the band!!

Another Monday, another drinks evening!
The band members were joined tonight by Maria from our office in Kelso. She jumped up on stage (stone cold sober too) to perform the Scottish National Anthem 'Flower of Scotland'.
The Finlays staff who attend drinks evening on a weekly basis were delighted to have a different song thrown in to the line-up of the regular songs!
Videos of Marias performance do exist, watch this space as they will be downloaded soon!!!

Light Nights!!

Since the clocks have changed it's been staying lighter for longer each night (obviously!!) Tonight it was still light ( well, dusky), when I was walking back home at 8.15pm.
It had been a stunning day all day long, if a bit chilly. The sky had remained cloud-free and lots of sun-burnt faces were out in force.

Down at La Daile this week there are mini buses galore which have come from 29 various nations transporting boys and girls aged between 12 and 15 to compete in the 'La Scara' races.
These started today and will last for 4 days in total. They are racing for the ' Young World Champion' title and over 1250 youths are competing for it!
If you want to see them in action they are racing on the 'OK' slope down in La Daille each morning from 9.30am till midday.

Oh Sunny Day!!

Another stunning day follows the grotty day we had yesterday in the Espace Killy.
The sunshine got me motivated enough to make plans with Richard ( aka. 'Dangerous Dickie Deathwish', so called after an off piste venture in Megeve!!), a regular guest of ours who is staying up in Chalet Grand Pares for the week.
We met before 11am which is a first for me this season, and headed over to Tignes.
Admittedly, 'Piste H' leading down to Tignes was an absolute shocker, I have never seen it so busy in my life before, people everywhere weaving in and out, we managed to loose the crowds in Tignes though and a few runs were almost deserted.
It was such a lovely day and the snow is in fantastic condition, I don't think I've ever seen so much at this time of year before.
Temperatures today were warmer than they have been the last few days, down at 'La Daille' the thermostat was reading +7 degrees, most springlike. More days like today please!!