Just fabulous … if you ignore the news

We made it. And it’s fabulous.

just fab

But I can’t go on about how much of a good time we’re having without mentioning Ukraine. What a mess. What a disaster for the Ukrainians. The poor souls and, and I know a number of you will gulp at this, I also feel for the Russian military. Not all of them. Not the ones planning the operation, or those knowingly committing crimes. Just the poor lads and lasses who joined the army for a rouble and are now dying for the cause of a madman, invading a country where many have relatives, or where they and their loved ones go on holiday. I hope some good will come of all this. Maybe Putin is spent? Hopefully.

ooo, going abroad

It has distracted me and rightly taken the shine off a perfect first few days here. But we are doing our best. As General Melchett once said – ‘Goddam this Chateaux Lafitte’.

We left early doors on Monday. We normally stay at our pal’s house in Dover, but they had a houseful and the last thing they needed was an early start caused by a couple of very excited holiday makers. In the end we left Bristol at 3.30 am (I know, I know), made Dover by 6.30 and, because of Storm Franklin, caught an early ferry by catching a delayed one, if you get my drift. We used DFDS because they were the same price as P&O but were giving away free meal vouchers. We normally manage to catch a return ferry for just over £100, depending upon the time of day. DFDS did the deal for £160 (the cheapest unless we travelled in the middle of the night) and the breakfast was fab. 

breakfast was fab

We had booked a bog standard hotel in Dijon for Monday night. At £45, including a fabulous buffet breakfast, it was a treat. Sure we could have done with more room, a view, a terrace, a mini bar, a bath … but what do you expect for £45? It worked well. French tolls cost just over £65 and the motorways were, as they always are in France, smooth and unbusy. And, of course, the 17 year-old Focus behaved impeccably. We arrived in Chatel, having stopped off at Lidl, early afternoon. Oh, and for the record, unleaded prices are about the same as UK. Diesel is 10% cheaper.

The apartment is, in our opinion, the best placed in Chatel, high up on the sunny side of the valley and a short walk from the ski bus. It has pretty much been empty for two years, but it was like meeting an old friend. In fabulous weather (it’s set fair for the next 10 days) we walked on day one (all the way to Switzerland and back), followed by a day of, even if I say so myself, exemplary skiing, followed by another walk into town to our fave coffee shop, followed, yesterday, by another fab day’s skiing. We normally come skiing in January, which is considered low season, although Chatel (which is part of the massive Porte de Soleil ski area) doesn’t distinguish between seasons when it comes to passes. This year we can ski in Chatel on a 5-hour pass (our preference) for about £35 each, that’s up 15% on 2020. That may seem a lot but, in comparison to Meribel (£44) and Alpach (£40), it’s good value.

However, yesterday surprised us both. There’s a small ski area (Abondance) down the valley which we use on a Saturday because, in the low season – which does exist in Abondance – day passes are 10 euros to encourage people to come. If you think this is confusing … just wait.

Anyhow, we learnt yesterday that, both the French and Belgian half terms do not run out until the end of next week (we wondered why it was so busy on our first day’s skiing). As a result there were no 10 euro passes, which had actually gone up to 15 euros. Ordinarily, the cashier lady said, we’d need to buy a full day’s ticket for about £25 … but not just at this minute. See, there’s a race on the mountain and the main run was closed and, as a result, we can still get up the mountain for 15 euros, but can’t use the main drag until later. 

The problem, we thought, was that restricts our skiing to the peripheries – which have one pretty violent drag lift. But we bought our tickets and … had the time of our lives. Normally, in January, Abondance is an austere place. The single cafe doesn’t open and the wind blows. And the run(s) we usually use are interesting, but repetitive. Not yesterday. The place was buzzing. The violent drag wasn’t anywhere near as tough as we remembered and it opened three fab runs which neither of us remembered. The cafe was excellent and the food and drink cheap. And the music was loud and atmospheric. We had a lovely day and look forward to going back soon. 

And there we are. 

Wells comes everywhere

Today is a walking day. Tomorrow we ski … whilst Ukrainian women are taking up arms, making petrol bombs and being outstandingly brave. How lucky are we?

Stay safe.