The first post of the new winter season, and an unseasonably early post at that! For me, this season has begun earlier than ever, with a ski in beautiful conditions in La Rosière – but more on that later!
We left Merryn in the capable hands of Umberto in his boatyard on the East coast of Sardinia towards the end of October, and flew straight back to our chalet in Ste Foy. For a couple of weeks we tried to keep busy, with assorted jobs to complete in the chalet. But it was difficult: the weather was awful, with rain on most days keeping us cooped up indoors. We did manage one glorious day when the sun came out and we went for a walk to the Sassière lake just above Val d’Isère, stopping for a picnic by the dam.
For the most part, however, we were stuck with the rain. It was enough to make us rethink our plans, and we decided on a “mini-break” in Lyon. It proved to be a top idea! Lyon is a lovely city, with far more to offer than we had anticipated, in spite of the poor weather. We went shopping, wandered round the old town and enjoyed cosmopolitan dining at a variety of restaurants, including a lovely and unusual Lebanese place.
We even climbed a ridiculous number of steps to reach the Basilica of Notre Dame of Fourvière above the West Bank of the Saône river – and were rewarded with impressive views of the city (as per the panoramic shot at the top of this page), and even more impressive views of the architecture and art inside the building.
Other cultural highs were a visit to the Musée des Confluences – so named as it sits at the confluence of the Saône and Rhône rivers – where we took in a special exhibition of Antarctica (I can’t seem to escape that legacy!), as well as many of the eclectic mix of exhibits in the museum. As for cultural lows: we went to a concert to hear an American singer-songwriter with a folk/indie style; only to find ourselves in a strange and tiny venue with just a handful of other people in the audience and a singer who seemed a bit overwhelmed by the whole experience of singing in a foreign country.
From Lyon we flew back to the UK, mainly to celebrate my Dad’s 90th birthday. The main event, a Golfing competition organised in his honour by the club where he has been a member for over 40 years, was sadly cancelled due to the continuing horrible weather. However, we all enjoyed an evening party (also at the golf club) attended by all his children and grand-children as well as Bob (his brother in law, with his wife Gillian) and Sue (his sister in law).
After Dad’s birthday celebrations I flew back to France. Cate has remained in London to try and sort through a mass of paperwork and old Crown Derby (collected by her Mum over many years). Cate has left me with a long list of jobs – from filling cracks in the plastering, to putting up a ski rack. But all is not work… the continuing poor weather has been good for the Tarentaise: snow has fallen, and keeps falling, bringing the tantalising promise of a bumper start to the ski season. The snowfall has been so good that I have already managed my first ski of the season – on the 8th of November, much earlier in the winter than I have ever skied before. I skinned up from the car park in Les Eucherts (in La Rosière) to the Fort at the top of the resort – a route we did a lot back in the lockdown era of Covid. In fact, with the resort not yet open and the area almost deserted, it felt a lot like the lockdown days! My reward was a ski back down in untracked powder. Hopefully it bodes well for the season ahead. I will soon be heading back to London to join Cate and to celebrate our friend Jeavon’s birthday with dancing to live music from Mullitt. We then return to France to start the winter season properly.
