Family Ski Holiday in the gorgeous Portes du Soleil

We packed up the grandchildren and winter woollies and headed to beautiful Ardent.  Ardent is a charming little hamlet and the gateway, by a "bubble lift" just across the road from our lovely chalet, to the Portes du Soleil's wintery wonderland.  It was the perfect family winter getaway.

There was an excellent ski school - Powder Hounds - for Emmie and Chloe in the mornings with a very gentle slope to build their confidence.

For the first couple of days Emmie and Chloe spent much of their time walking up a carpet slope on skis and getting  comfortable sliding down.  They used snowploughs (aka pizza slices) to control their speed and then started to tentatively turn.  Later in the week, as they became more proficient, the instructors taught them how to use the drag lift.  We couldn't help but spy on them from time to time.

While Emmie and Chloe were busily engaged learning to ski, Jamie was thoroughly occupied by Powder Pups, a nursery programme where he really enjoyed playing with cars, etc.

At lunchtime the Family Ski Company reps brought the children back down to a Chalet in Ardent for lunch and then further   organised activities in the afternoon which they loved.

The childcare team were 1st class and so enthusiastic.  This meant we could ski unhindered every day of our  week-long holiday, so long as we were back for the children at 4.30 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 What a gorgeous sense of freedom for the parents - whizzing down sun-drenched slopes,

surrounded by jagged peaks.  We gained maximum value from our lift passes and had some super lunch breaks on the mountains.

 

Chez Denis, Plaine Dranse, Chatel.  Conveniently located at the top of the Pierre Longue chair, is this rustic old farm building.  The menu is small and simple but everything is delicious with local specialities.  We hung our gloves and helmets by the log burner and then checked out all the names of

Denis' cows that are etched on the wooden chairs.

 

Fantaski - Chatel.  Again located at the top of the Pierre Longue lift.  Great value food, especially burgers.

 

La Cremaillere, Les Linderets (Goats Village) - Ski a long morning and then settle into this fantastic restaurant in the quaint little hamlet below the Linderets bowl.  Excellent food and wine.

 

Changabang - Avoriaz.  Opposite the top of the Avoriaz cable car.  Definitely the coolest burger joint in the Portes du Soleil, with its trendy décor, cool music and funky buzzer to let you know your order is ready.  A favourite with seasonaires and cool snowboarders, but everyone welcome including Nanna.

 

And, of course, The Igloo Bar in Avoriaz is amazing.  The ice sculptures are wonderful and it is a fantastic experience to drink ice cold champagne here.  Just off the Stade d'Arare blue run from the TSD Grandes Combes lift.

 

 

 

 

 

 

But  the most enriching and lasting memory is the final day when the girls received their ski-ing medals.  The improvement in one week  was amazing.

 

Alun and Gemma wanted Emmie to experience a Chairlift and enjoy the long and twisting blue run down.

 

   

She used snowploughs to slow down and turn and had improved hugely during the week and on her return to the Chalet and Hot Tub said:-

 

"I love skiing" - RESULT

 

 

Family ski holidays are the stuff memories are made of.

 

Very soon I know the grandchildren will be whizzing past me on the slopes!!!!!

JAMES'S FIRST BIRTHDAY

It's incredible that a year has passed since you first graced us with your adorable smile.  I still remember that day as though it was yesterday.

You were the most perfect little boy!  So handsome with that dark head of hair, that is now blonde, and those beautiful eyes.  Love just poured out of me and it hasn't stopped.  Since that night a year ago you have brought so much joy and love into our lives.  I loved rocking and singing to you.  (Go to sleep my little baby).  What a little man you have grown into.  From our arms.....to the highchair....to walking.

I am looking forward to the next year, as you learn to talk and sing, play on the beach, and discover new things.  I look forward to reading to you, baking cakes and playing cars and trains.

                                             HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY DARLING JAMES.

                                                                             XXXXXXXX  

Christmas 2014

There is no other evening quite as magical as Christmas Eve.  It's a lovely time for family traditions.



Chloe left a mince pie, a glass of whiskey for Santa and a carrot for  Rudolph.  She also sprinkled "reindeer food" outside her bedroom window for the other reindeer waiting outside (oatmeal and glitter).

"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful"
Norman Vincent Peale.

On Christmas Day in the morning:-

Caroline cooked the perfect Christmas lunch. Producing a cracking Christmas lunch is really about good organisation and a lot of hard work.   It was excellent.  Thank you.

Then we all got together for a fun day at The Beach House on the Sunday.

The celebrations continued at Tina's on the Tuesday.  Frozen is a pretty hot theme for Emmeline and Chloe this year and Stuart and Tina's decorations really made them smile.

Thank you Stuart and Tina.  The food was, as usual, superb.

As the prophet says in Ecclesiastes, life is all vanity, tomorrow we may turn to dust, therefore
we should eat and drink and be merry.  Cheers.

Escaping the pre-Christmas chaos in Antigua

Phil and I became swallows, flying south to the sun in Antigua to escape the pre-Christmas chaos. 
We stayed at the St. James's Club.  A resort located in a beautiful setting with the Atlantic Ocean on the one side and the calm Marmora Bay on the other.  As the chorus of tree frogs pipes up and the sun slides down through the horizon a rum punch on the balcony is near perfection.

We stayed on the top floor of the Royal Suite Villas (Room 230) with a spectacular view over Marmora.  Our room was superb, very upscale furnishings, roomy and comfortable.  One thing I will mention that impressed me (apart from the Champagne in our mini fridge and Rum on arrival)
was the shower in our room.  It had a normal height shower head at one end and at the other a lower one if you wanted to shower without getting your hair wet.

 

 

We were also very close to the two main restaurants, the Rainbow and the Dockside, which is useful because it can rain quite hard in the Caribbean at times.  Christmas tree at the Dockside.

And to remind you Christmas will soon be here.  A lovely nativity scene outside reception:-

One evening Phil treated me to meal at The Piccolo Mondo Restaurant which cost $35 extra but we did eat a delicious lobster with a wonderful view from the hillside setting and there was a lovely romantic ambience.

The beaches were not crowded, although it is a large resort, and there are plenty of sunbeds.  No need to get up early to put your towel on a bed, which I hate.

Phil enjoyed the beverage buggy on the beach.  Alfred the buggy driver was always smiling.

Memora Bay Grill Bar is the best for lunch.  Thanks Natasha - great fish sandwich.

 

The staff working at the resort are extremely friendly and I had a lot of fun doing Aqua Aerobics and the Stretch Class each day.  Phil loved sailing the Hobie Cats in Mamora Bay, when there was enough wind.

 

 

He even won the weekly Hobie Cat Race.  Well done.

 

 

He also enjoyed the Diving which was so convenient to our room.  I could watch him leave at 8.30 a.m.

 

 

 

 

 

The resort has two beaches, one at the Atlantic side and one at a bay with calm waters, ideal for families with small children.  It was quite windy on the Atlantic beach, which I enjoy, but unfortunately the wind also brought tons of seaweed.  The staff made every effort to remove it, but it constantly came back.

 

 

 

This visitor has also decided to make a trip to see Antigua's beautiful beaches and indeed much of the Caribbean, even Richard's private island!  Sargassum seaweed has been creeping up on to the St. James's beaches.  So what exactly is Sargassum seaweed and why is it visiting?  The seaweed originates in the Sargasso Sea which is actually a body of water within a body of water.  The Sargasso Sea is the only body of water without land bordering it, and is found in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.  The seaweed can be found as a floating mat in the Sargasso Sea and is the ecological home to many organisms.  The seaweed is usually held in place by strong currents with a few bits slipping through occasionally ending up on the shores of Caribbean beaches during summer.  This year, due to unusual storm patterns, a large mass of seaweed has found it's way on to the shores of many Caribbean islands.  Hopefully, as the storms lessen so will the weeds.  On the positive side the seaweed can be used as an excellent fertilizer, after washing out the salt, if you can stand the smell!!

 

Another unwelcome pest are mosquitoes carrying the Chikungunya virus but the St. James's Club does a good job of fogging at 5.30 a.m.!!  Apparently the mosquitoes carrying chikungunya commonly bite during the day, so it is advisable to take precautions with a Deet insect repellent at all times.  We did this and were OK.  The common symptons of chikungunya virus infection are fever and joint pain.

 

We managed to avoid chikungunya but one day we did go down with the Noro Virus!!!

 

Would you go back I hear you say - You Bet.