Le Mont Dore et Puy Sancy

Look Dad! A snowball!

Yesterday we decided to go on a Page family adventure in search of snow. Never minding the fact that it was 50 degrees in Clermont-Ferrand. We willed our way to Le Mont Dore, France - an adorable ski resort village in the Massif Central chain of mountains - located about 45 minutes southwest of Clermont-Ferrand and a short 10 minute drive from the Puy Sancy - a volcano and the peak of the Massif Central chain. Thirty minutes out of town and we were already winding our way through twisty mountain roads with no snow capped mountains in sight. We watched the car's thermometer drop from 10 degrees Celcius to 8 to 4 and it was around that time that we spied the Puy Sancy with visibly groomed snow in the distance. We found a delightful little traditional Auvergne, France restaurant in Le Mont Dore where we dined on truffade (a cheese and butter laden dish similar to scalloped potatoes), saucisson, confit de canard (which I think is essentially duck cooked for an inordinate amount of time in an inordinate amount of its own fat and my goodness is it good) and an Auvergnate salad of greens, smoked salmon and blue cheese. Oh, and followed with tarte de myrtilles (blueberry tart) and tarte au amande (almond tart). Thankfully, that was succeeded by copious hiking (in my dress boots with no grip, no less) up the mountain again and again and again (and again and again...) to keep up with my persistent and determined (and sometimes angry) future professional sledder, Joshua.

Sleepy Emily living it up being pulled while relaxing in the sled. She was such a trooper... an angel at lunch and hardly any tears on the mountain even though it was right in the middle of her naptime. Not to mention the fact that the poor gal could barely stand up without waddling over in her one piece snow suit (think "A Christmas Story").

Sophia and I are in the background and Josh is in the foreground doing his infamous "lean to the right move to go right" maneuver which ended in a tumble, flip and fist slam on the snow or sled every time.... followed by another hike up the mountain to give it another whirl. (Note to Josh - Don't listen to advice on physics given by Mom and two words - "anger management")

Disregard the look of fear on my face... I don't care how old you are ... sledding is beaucoup de fun! We are more excited than ever about our upcoming trip to Chamonix, France in the French Alps with our friends, the Cabes. I think it is going to be fabulous!!!!