Summer Barbeque

As we approached mid August at least the summer rains seemed to have eased off. However, sat out in the garden of Andy and Ange’s beautiful thatched cottage, I couldn’t help feeling that it was still cold for the time of year. Which in some respects was appropriate, as we were here to talk about skiing of all things!

We have been friends with Andy and Ange since we first moved into the village and when they suggested back in March that we should do a skiing trip together, we jumped at the chance. However since then, Karen and I had floated the idea of the ‘Overland Adventure’, and in order for those plans to progress, we needed to firm up the details for our snowy excursion.

Fortunately, the decision making process for the skiing trip had been made considerably easier by a mutual friend who lives in the next village. A seasoned skier, she had lent us the brochure of a small company that she had used before, specialising in select chalets in Val d’Isere. After a little research, we discovered that Val d’Isere would meet our requirements perfectly; a vast and varied ski area providing a selection of exhilarating runs for our differing abilities, world-renowned, easily accessible off-piste skiing along with good food, vibrant bars, tons of atmosphere and a rather charming old village. On top of that, we had the lure of the chalet itself. We selected ‘La Croix’ a refurbished farmhouse dating from the 1620’s complete with wood panelling and an original stone fireplace for us to congregate around in the evening; sharing a bottle of wine or two and recounting our stories of the day.

Andy and Ange were quite flexible on travel dates, and so we opted to go quite early in the season. After all, Val d’Isere is pretty snow sure with its high altitude and glacial skiing and if we could return before the end of January then Karen and I could depart on our ‘Overland Adventure’ that same month.

So it was set: Andy, Ange, little Oscar of course, Karen and I would head for the French Alps, returning to Steeple Morden by the third week of January. That decided, we could now turn our attention to our wider travel plans.