Winter Vacation 2010 - Chamonix, France - French Alps

A few weeks ago we, along with two other Greenville families, ventured out on a skiing adventure to the French Alps - specifically the Chamonix, France area. It is located on the France - Italy border and a mere 4.5 hours away from Clermont-Ferrand. It was the second time skiing for Freddie and me and the first time for our children. It suffices to say that it may as well have been the very first time for the adults, as well. We had a marvelous time! That sentence really doesn't adequately describe how truly magnificent this vacation was. My dear friend Kim found this awesome catered chalet in Les Houches. What does catered mean? You ask. It means a little slice of no cooking and cleaning heaven. The managers of the chalet and owners of Alpine Ski and Golf, Hannah and Richard, were delightful hosts who cooked breakfast (to order!) and a three course dinner every day except one - where the adults somehow managed to scrape together a breakfast and had a date night in the village of Chamonix at Munchies, a local Thai restaurant. The food at the chalet was simply divine. Rich and Hannah served up the french classics like coq au vin and raclette followed by scrumptious desserts of creme brulee, apple tarts and cheesecake. For myself, the highlight of the meal was that it was only for adults! The children ate at 5:30pm and the adults ate at 7:30pm. After almost six years of most of my meals consisting of swaying an infant into contentment or working on table manners - the seven consecutive days of adult dinners was a highlight, to say the least!


Our little darlings were in winter wonderland bliss with the three children of the Tucker clan - Chloé, Enya and Thaïs. They played, built a snowman, ice skated , ate and watched movies together all week.. and very well, I might add. All of the children were truly a pleasure to be around all week long.

When we rented the chalet in November there was another room that remained to be filled. In December, Hannah told us that they found a couple that would be staying with us during the week in that room. I had some anxiety that they would be of the un-child friendly variety but was pleasantly surprised when we met a delightful couple from the UK - Shereen and Stuart. Together, we chatted over the divine dinners, practiced losing gracefully (and winning humbly) in Apples to Apples and Taboo, debated hot topics, skied or snowboarded together (the very talented ones - self excluded) and developed friendships that made Facebook status (so it must be legit, right?). Stuart is from Edinburgh, Scotland and lives close to the famous Old Course golf course and Freddie is not so secretly hoping that next summer he can visit Stuart in Scotland for a round of golf on the famous course. One of the greatest pleasures I have enjoyed from our expatriation is the opportunity to meet people from all over the world.

And, yes, aside from eating we did, in fact, ski. I loved it! I am torn between preferring a ski vacation or the beach vacation. It is exhilarating to swoosh down the slopes in the below zero degree weather looking at God's marvelous creation all around you. The Alps are simply breathtaking. The location where we skied was actually right next door to Le Mont Blanc (The White Mountain) which climbs into the sky at 4810 meters and is the highest point in the Alps. Now, lets be clear, to say I loved it does not in any way imply that I was good at it. It was quite the humbling experience to ride on the ski lift up the green (bunny) slope while peering down at the 4 and 5 year olds whipping down a blue slope in perfect parallels. Aw shucks, if I was 3 feet tall I could do that too, right? I will proudly say that by the end of the week I was able to make it down the blue slopes with little fear but little perfect parallels, as well. The key phrase in that last sentence was "make it down"... my technique leaves much to be desired.

The greatest joy I received from the slopes was the one on one time I had with Freddie. It was the first time in almost six years that we had 5 consecutive days of quality alone time together. On Monday and Tuesday we took 2 hours each day of a private ski lesson together while the kids were in ski school from 9am until 2pm. After our second lesson we braved the slopes alone. We had an especially memorable bonding moment when we decided to try a blue slope for the first time when a pea soup fog descended on the mountain right around the time we went down the first hill (there is no going back up until you get all the way down). Visibility was literally around 3 feet in front of you. We had no idea when to curve to the right or the left, when there was a slope and when there was a slight incline (which you find out quickly are key to controlling your speed for the newbies) and where there were trees or a sharp cliff like drop off to your right. It was virtually impossible to see the signs that led you to the different blue, red and black slopes so any wrong turn could be disastrous (or even fatal, in our case.... seriously). After about 15 minutes of no one passing us at one particular strategic rest stop during our descent, I was beginning to worry they had closed the slope due to poor visibility and no one had told us and we were destined to perish on this frigid, yet serenely peaceful and beautiful, mountain. Dramatic? A little.. but only in retrospect. The good news? We made it and I am pretty sure our marriage is stronger because of it.

Our skiing pals - Bene and Scott Tucker (giggling WITH Freddie after his close encounter with the above snow drift). Scott is, like, a professional from my perspective. He and his two girls, Chloe and Enya (told ya, kids!) frequented the black slopes. Bene had not been skiing in ten years but you could hardly tell as she gracefully swished down every slope. Hopefully it really is like riding a bicycle and the next time won't be so painful and a little prettier for Freddie and me too.

As previously mentioned, Joshua and Sophia attended their first ski school that week. It was so precious to see them in their petite skis being pulled up the little ski lift by a moving rope and doing the snow plow down the little hill. I can't say they were the biggest fans though. Joshua toughed it out until the end but we allowed Sophia to stay home with the babysitter (who played with Emily at the chalet while we were on the slopes) on Thursday and Friday. I think the biggest part of their displeasure was the nippy -16 degree temperature that greeted them in the morning. There are closer ski stations to us in Clermont-Ferrand where the children can ski for the day and take lessons so I am hopeful that they will take interest to it. I feel confident that once Joshua learns well enough that he can fly down the slope like a super hero, he will be sold on skiing. I would love to be a family of skiers and to take regular ski vacations. It is a wonderful family friendly sport that everyone can take part in and do together.

Right after we arrived on Sunday evening at the ski shop getting fitted for our ski gear. It was such an exciting day!

Too cool for school in his ski outfit and ski boots.


Not so sure about this walking in skis thing.

The above picture is the routine in the morning when the children arrive at the ski school. They enter a gate and all "walk" in their skis through these arches. Every third child or so would fall and wallow in the snow for 3-5 minutes until one of the instructors would come and rescue them. Some simply enjoyed the opportunity to play in the snow and some found it not so fun.
Josh and Sophia going under the arches together.


Josh is waiting in line to go up the ski lift. He is on the end there peering at the camera and to the right of the guy in red.

Above is a great view of the "jardin de neige" (snow garden) where they practiced their skiing techniques. On each side they had a rope ski lift that pulled the kids up and then they skied down under the arches and through an obstacle-like course.

Josh going up the lift. On Wednesday morning Sophia was having a particularly rough day. Right from the start she didn't have her snow goggles, which, by the way, are completely unnecessary at the "jardin de neige" but it was utterly catastrophic for her and turned into a nightmare for the poor ski instructors. I had to wait for Freddie anyways so I hung out in the background watching my darling cry and cry and the sweet instructors love on her and try to encourage her to shake it off. I was torn between being "that Mom" and pulling her to the side and threatening to take away the privilege of ski school. But, at that point I knew for her that would be an actual reward. If I was in the States, I at least would have given her a Mom talk but summoning over the lady in the middle of doing her job to do hand motions and gesture to Sophia seemed overwhelming at the time. Or, do I sit there and let those busy instructors deal with my child who is also "THAT child" and deal with her personally later. I mean, if I wasn't there watching what would happen? Oh what to do? What to do? One of the instructors came walking towards me on her way to the cabin so I asked her what was wrong with Sophia and she asked me to get her goggles. The last thing I wanted to do was give her what she wanted after behaving like that! Sigh. For the sake of those teachers, I painfully caved and sure enough once she had her unnecessary goggles on she was happy as a clam. After she got over her bad attitude she grabbed onto the rope and was being catapulted up the rope lift when the second person about 20 feet ahead of her fell... and the person about 10 feet ahead of her fell... and, sure enough, Sophia plowed right into them. It was the cutest pileup I had ever seen. I am not sure it will be so fondly remembered by her though. :)

Building a snowman in the three feet of snow in our back yard. It was an insane amount of snow for this South Carolina girl!


Dads who build snowmen in below freezing weather rock.


Emily may not have enjoyed the slopes and ski school but she and Thais had a lovely nanny from South Africa who loved on them and played with them all week long while we were out. Here is my little snow angel.


We had a couple of "off piste" days where we went ice skating in Chamonix - another first for J and S! - and we took a train ride up the mountain to the Montenvers Mer de la Glace glacier. We were able to take a telecabine (think cable car) down into the glacier and walk into it through man made caves. It was super cool - both literally and figuratively.


At this point she wasn't so sure about this ice skating thing.

Now, practically ready for the Olympics.

View from the train while traveling up the mountain.

Josh, Chloé, Sophia and Enya hanging out in the back of the train.

Aunt Kim and Sophia leaning against the ice of the glacier wall.


The valley there is the actual "mer de la glace". It was beneath it that we walked through the glacier. There were people actually skiing down there on top of the glacier and even down those wicked scary looking slopes. We saw people getting on the train with their skis plus rock climbing belts and gear. Amazing!

Friendship

"Make new friends, both young and old, one in Silver, the other Gold."

My expatriation adventure has been filled with ups and downs.. smiles and tears.. some sunny days and pretty dark days... delicious croissants and some stinky cheese but one constant that has lasted through every day has been the friendships the Lord has blessed our family with. We are very blessed to have many fellow American expatriate families living in Clermont with us... many of them from Greenville, just like us. You immediately have a bond with them because you are all foreigners in a strange land. Their fellowship offers comfort when you have those moments outside of your apartment when you realize you aren't in Kansas anymore. But, contrary to a sometimes popular belief, the french families we have had the pleasure of meeting through school and work and while waiting for the elevator in our apartment building have been just as comforting. They have invited us into their homes, offered help with french, helped out with various administrative challenges that would have been impossible without their support and assistance, shared birthday and Christmas celebrations and christenings. They have simply welcomed us into their lives. There is no doubt in my mind that our lives are currently and will be forever deeply enriched by all of these relationships we have developed during our stay in France and I can only hope that the distance between here and there - wherever there may be for our fellow expatriates - will not prevent us from being forever friends.

Some friends of ours have two precious children - a daughter who just turned 3 and a son who is 1. Sophia had a play date with Lena over the Christmas holidays and here are the girls playing princesses. Despite the small age difference, Sophia and Lena play very well together. Sophia loves going out to their home in the country with a big yard, chickens and turtles. She had a great time playing with "Miss Hanane" and Lena.

Ladies Night Out - France

A group of us gets together each month to go out to dinner. We like to do something different each month trying different cuisines. So far we have tried Indian, Italian, French and Brazilian. The food is always tasty and the conversations lively and the memories created are priceless. I feel so thankful to have met each and every one of these ladies.

Look Who's Two!

We had a quiet family party at home this past New Year's Eve for our sweet Emily Claire. It is so hard to believe she is already two. She is turning into quite a person. She loves her brother and sister and she has started talking much more in the last month or so. She loves to sing and to be sung to with favorites such as Jesus Loves the Little Children, Somewhere Over the Rainbow and Favorite Things. She has an obsession with shoes -all shoes - her shoes, my shoes and your shoes. Her favorite movies are Coraline (or Horaline as she likes to call it) and Harry Potter 2 (Hawee Potta) but she lovingly refers to it as "Dobby" most of the time while banging her hand on her head - or her head on the wall - as he is her favorite character. She is following in her sister's girly footsteps and enjoys playing with the Disney princess characters and pushing her stroller and shopping cart around the house. She likes Dora (Dola) and even shoots spiderwebs while pretending to be spider girl. We think she is quite well-rounded. :) Unlike both of our other children it appears she is a lefty... hmm... maybe an artist in the making?

We are so thankful for our sweet blessing, Emily Claire Page. :)

Thank you all for her presents and thinking of her on her special day! We miss and love you all!

Leeks and Potatoes, Who Knew?

Ok, I admit in, in Greenville I was a sub-par cook, at best. I didn't enjoy cooking and found it to be a chore. Meal planning, what was that? At 5pm every evening I was starting to think about dinner which was usually served around 6pm. Will it be chicken nuggets (frozen)? Spaghetti - with jarred sauce? And, I can hardly bring myself to type it, Hamburger Helper? Honestly, I didn't know there was any other way to have spaghetti than with Prego and what else do you do with hamburger besides spaghetti and/or a little help from Betty Crocker. I loved having people over for dinner - and, for those of you that did join us for the breaking of bread I apologize and hope the company was better than the calories you consumed - and even enjoyed cooking those meals but I didn't exactly find the "Joy of Cooking" in feeding our family. Granted, at the time we had a 3 year old and 2 year old and mealtimes involved lots of work and cajoling and bribery so.. that's my excuse and I am stickin' to it. Hmm... now that I think about it... maybe there was a reason they didn't gobble up their grub.

So, fast forward to France. We arrive and find the need to go to the grocery store and you might as well had placed me in a nuclear power plant. I was so lost. As terrible of a cook as I was in the US, I was that times about 10 during our first couple of months here in France. I didn't know where anything was or what it was called. Everything in the US (besides Hamburger Helper Cheesy Noodles) calls for cream of chicken soup which is practically non-existent. Bagels are non-existent and trying to figure out the different cuts of meat while avoiding purchasing pigs brain or duck liver was enough to make us resort to eating McDonalds... a lot.

Then, I guess there is something in the air... or the non-fluoridated water of France. I became a cook! And, not just a cook that plans for and prepares nutritiously almost preservative free home cooked meals but I love it! As I was whipping out my potage parmentier (Potato and Leek Soup) in the kitchen tonight while listening (and, unfortunately for my family, singing) to Hillsong I felt like that is what it must feel like to be in heaven. All was right in my world as I chopped and diced and sprinkled a little bit of this and a little bit of that. It is like a science experiment that you can eat. And, thankfully, the subjects of my experiment have many more likes than dislikes these days.

Here is the website I used for my Potato Leek Soup. It is a great website for recipes and other tips on cooking. David Lebovitz: Living the Sweet Life in Paris

Step 1 of project Potato and Leek Soup - At the grocery store with Sophia and... drum roll... the leeks. You will have to excuse my obsession with this vegetable. I have found them fascinating ever since I stepped foot into a supermarket here. They are almost in every single shopping cart and basket. They are huge and I have had this incredible urge to cook with them ever since.

My name is Jennifer Page and I no longer have an irrational fear or dislike of french grocery stores or their clerks (even though they would not provide toilet paper for my dear Sophia in a moment of crisis during a potty emergency.. no grudge or anything, really).

Step 2: Preparing the Leeks.. a little bit of playing and a little bit of washing and a little bit of chopping and a little bit of crying - as leeks are essentially giant onions.

Wow, they are almost as tall as me!

Really Mom, enough pictures.

Can be used as weapons.

Enough is enough!

Take that Mom!

Our leek beards.


There is little more fun than playing in the sink and helping Mom with dinner.

Me and my petite chef.


My little man... he hung out with Dad while the girls cooked. I wish I could say he enjoyed the soup... Lets just say we had a good learning moment on how to compliment someone without hurting their feelings or lying.

And... the finished product. I promise it tastes more appetizing than it looks. It is a simple soup.. quite inexpensive and very easy to make but hearty and tasty. And the leeks just makes you feel all fancy cool french... well, maybe that is just me.