Well I just didn’t bump into one, it happened to be my waiter. I guess we kind of made a mistake by getting a bit too friendly with this dude and by the end of the night we knew what he does, where exactly he is from, why he is here, his ambitions and his future plans for the next 12 months. If we stayed any longer, we could have got his bank account details, what size shoes he wears, whether he wipes his ass with his left hand or right. Mate, we just want our food and drinks, not your life story.

Engineer by profession, talking bullshit, serving food and drinks by day at the local gastro pub in Totteridge. Lives in the most boringest city in Australia, I think you already know what that place is so I don’t even need to mention it. Actually, I’ll give you a clue, it starts with Canberra.

I don’t know about you but at the point where you call your waiter by their first name instead of getting their attention by other means it becomes socially awkward. I mean if you were a waiter, would you like it if someone called you out loud by your first name? “Wilson, fetch me some scallops and bacon will ya, and hurry up? Make the bacon extra crispy, I don’t want that soft shit, cheers mate” or “John mate, wtf is this dish? its rubbish! it’s missing the bacon, read the menu properly mate!”

I think a menu should have the following items of things you can order at a restaurant apart from the usual:

Entree – Introduction to your waiter £2.99

Main – Life story so far £9.99

Dessert – Future plans with a topping of what my next job will be £4.99

Customers may order any of the above but only limit to 1 per table, do you really want to hear the same story repeated to everyone? Yes, I didn’t thinkso. If the waiter is lucky and our ears don’t bleed by the end of the night then we might just cast a vote for him to win a bottle of Moet. Forget tips, the waiter insisted on the votes.

Our bus back to Montiers was in the afternoon so for most of the day we did absolutely nothing. I could have died of boredom, it was that boring.

When we did arrive to Montiers we were about an hour early for our connecting bus to Lyon airport. Instead of waiting outside at the bus terminal, we waited indoors as it was warmer. When it was about 20 mins to go until the bus was due to depart we started walking to where the bus was due to pick up passengers.

Little did we know that the bus left 15 minutes earlier then the scheduled departure time so we stood out there waiting for no particular reason. If any transportation is scheduled to depart at a certain time, it should depart at that time or later. It should not depart 15 minutes earlier or 1 min earlier for that matter.

When we spoke to the bus company in charge, they said the bus left on time but we were standing there in front of the bus stop so how could this be. They were lying through their teeth by saying it left on time, and one of them even said they were on the bus at the departure time. It was utter nonsense and a load of shit what they were saying.

The argument went on for about 20 minutes and our voices got even louder screaming at each other. It got to a stage where the lady started pushing me. I could have thrown her back to the top of the 3 valleys, I was that angry.

Since our flight was due to take off in 3 hours and we were about 160km from the airport, standing around arguing was not the best thing to do. We could not get a refund or alternative transportation from these disgusting pigs so we had to find a taxi driver willing to drive us to Lyon airport which was about 1.5 hours away.

We did find a friendly taxi driver and got a quote for €250. This is the most expensive cab that I’ve ever been in but its no surprise if the trip is 160 km! As we were short on time, we did ask the taxi driver to drive like “Schumacher”. That’s the only way we could describe how to drive fast and speed as he didn’t speak english and we didn’t know french. He laughed when we mentioned Schumacher and he responded by putting his pedals to the metal when the opportunities arose to do so.

We went through numerous toll booths and at each toll booth he would comment on the lady collecting his money by saying oh magnifeco! The old geezer was a pervert after all. We made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare thanks to this old man. There were no more drama’s to follow as our plane took off on time and landed earlier than expected.

It was an awesome ski trip in the 3 Valleys albeit the cancellations and dramas that ensued. Would I go there again? Probably not as there are other resorts to explore. If you haven’t been the I highly recommend the 3 Valleys!

One final thing I would like to say is I will never do business with that stupid bus company again. Good riddance!

smiles

I did spend most of my time in Courchevelle winding down the red runs and taking some final snaps of the trip. The red runs weren’t that difficult but you still had to be a little bit careful as majority of it were steep. The snow was rather fluffy and like some of the old geezers on the mountain said “best snow they’ve skied on for a while”.

I did spend some time in the family park watching the others do their tricks and cameos on the obstacles laid out on the course. I was also taking photos of them doing their tricks but the tricks were quite novice so the end result was not very good photos! I wanted them to fly off the beams or somersault over the jumps but I got nothing, just measly little jumps that I could have done myself. I better to some improvements next time.

smiles

Again visibility was very poor but I was hoping that if I ventured to Meribel the visibility would be abit better as many blue/red runs were at an altitude where it was okay to see. I can’t figure out if its lower or higher but it also might depend on conditions like the wind, temperature and so on. Ok getting too technical.

The Meribel side was adequate for skiing, I could actually see the runs and the weather even began to get a bit better with sunny spells. We even went back to Val Thorens to do some of the runs we didn’t do first time around. The only memorable run was going up the fenicular and once we got there, the winds were howling and I felt sorry for those who didn’t have helmets or goggles. That ice really hurt!

We were literally skiing down blind, you couldn’t see anything at all. The wind was so strong up there that it moves you in the direction its blowing. The ice was screaming out to hurt you and it was relentless for the entire run. Only when we made it to a lower altitude the conditions became powerless to hurt us. Despite the obstacles it was definitely a challenge run to fly down without hurting yourself or dislodging your ski’s across the mountain face.

We left Val Thorens a tiny bit earlier this time so that we don’t repeat what we did the other day by missing the lift for tomorrow is the last day of skiing in the 3 valleys.

smiles

As blind as I am already, I could probably see about 2 meters in front of me. What made it worse was that the everything was white. You could not see any contours, patches of snow or even the nearest skier. Everything looked flat so you were skiing under the false impression that the run had no bumps whatsoever. If you hit a bump, you wouldn’t know of it until you smack into the ground.

I spent half the day in Courchevel trying to ski down fluffy blue runs. It did feel like the blue runs had suddenly changed to red so I was extra careful not to slam into a tree or someone else.

It was a difficult day of skiing but it was good in a way to learn how to ski in those kind of conditions.

Instead of eating in that night, we headed to the Courchevel resort which was a much bigger town with many more restaurants (expensive) and bars.

First we checked out a ski shop with ridiculous price ski’s. They were going at about 5000 euro’s a pop. You wouldn’t even want to put them on your feet to ski with them! One scratch and its depreciation value will be dropping down to nought. Despite the price tag, the ski’s did look pretty cool and some of them were as light as a pillow, that’s carbon fiber technology for you.

There was even a snow board covered in gold, okay not real gold but you get the idea. You couldn’t possibly go down a piste or off piste with a board covered in gold, it’ll just be too heavy to turn. You’d sink in an inch of snow and buried in a meter of snow. There would be no bouancy or balance whatsoever. Everyone would be chasing you to get a slice of that gold.

It took us a while to find an adequate restaurant, some places were too extravagant, other places didn’t serve food and we just happen to choose a restaurant where the theme for the night was … pirates. We had an annoying male waiter who acted like a Pirate for the whole night, he just couldn’t get out his Pirate cosplay role. The female pirate waiters although dressed in pirate gear were however normal and didn’t say ARGH every sentence.

Some of us were craving some iron so a burger was on the cards. I ordered a mixed make your own fajita (chicken beef). Damn that was tasty with my capirinha drink.

smiles

With our packed lunches in my rucksack, we were going to have a full day on the mountain. At VT, we went up to the highest point in the 3 Valleys that the ski lift or gondola could take us. Actually I lied, I reached Cimo Caren which was at 3200m, while the others went to the glacier which was 20m higher but the runs going back down to terra firma were mostly black runs, which I couldn’t brave just yet.

After taking photos at the highest point of the trip, I had to venture down what was the hardest run that I’ve had to do so far (actually ever). It was a red run and from the gondola I did see a precarious drop and my eyes were not deceiving me as I approached the cliff face. You couldn’t go around it, the only way was down and down I went.

I started off slow by going far wide as possible then turning sharply and repeating the process until I got more comfortable and skied till the half way point. It wasn’t terribly hard as I would have imagined, it was like a blue run but only a tad steeper and a bit more ice. Other than it was a perfectly fine run and after doing that, any red run could be done!

I started making my way back to La Tania and it was going to take me at least 2 hours from Val Thorens and I had to make the last lift at 430 in Meribel otherwise I would be stranded with no easy way to get back apart from a bus or a taxi if it was operating or did that route.

I thought I would easily make it back but after taking 2 incorrect chair lifts, I was in strife and it was going to be somewhat of a miracle if I were to make the last chair lift from Meribel. I thought the only way I was going to have a chance was if I were to do as many red runs as possible, so I did.

Just by chance, the others were running late to and we somehow managed to bump into each other on the final red run before the lift. I was absolutely knackered at that point and I still had another run to go. By this time it was about 430 and our chances of getting on to the last chair lift were far fetched. So just as I thought, the lift was closed when we got there, perfect!

My contingency plan was to ski to the bottom of the village and get a bus. The others had different ideas and thought going through the woods through unknown terrain and duration was the way to go.

You would think that my plan is a far better alternative then venturing through the woods but my plan is not superior when you miss a couple of signs and get terribly lost on a cross country track (well that’s what I had thought at the time).

It was getting quite dark when I got lost and I had no idea where I was going. Some signs say to go this way, other signs that way. I was skiing on what looked like a cross country track but it was more like a walking trail covered in snow. There were benches here and there so I knew I was close to civilization. I stopped skiing once the tracks got too narrow and just started walking in the boots.

When the trail stopped there were abandoned houses and houses in mid construction. Once I saw people, I knew I had made it, made it to Meribel Village which is not the main resort, an off cut almost. I found the bus stop and waited for about 30 minutes without any luck.
Meanwhile back in the woods, the others were still trekking through the snow with their gear in hand. It was pitch black now and they’d almost made it to La Tania by following the signs, Eventually they got out of the woods and made it onto the main blue run of La Tania.

Back in Meribel Village I was still waiting for the bus, the timetable was nonsense and I really had no idea what its route was or even if it went to La Tania at all. However I did manage to spot a sticked on the bus timetable of a taxi company. I called and asked if they spoke english and whether or not they could take me back to La Tania.

The taxi driver said yes and he arrived within 5 minutes. The taxi drive to La Tania was at most 5km and it cost me €26. Ouch! But at least I made it back to the apartment.

The others had already arrived back and taken my order for pizza’s. As I walked up to the apartment, we met again only this time they got back with some effort while I was €26 poorer. What an eventful day!!!!

I skied the blue runs mainly in the Meribel area and this by far is my favorite resort. My favorite run is the Pelozet from the top of Tougnette 2 all the way down to St Martin de Belleville. This run went on for about 20-30 minutes going at a moderate pace. I had to stop every 5 minutes just so my legs could rest especially the quads as the turns do really put immense pressure on it.

Meribel has many long Blue runs and there are plenty of lifts that operate this area connecting many runs together. My aim was to do every blue run before tackling any reds. But this wasn’t going to take more than 1 day so I did as much as I could before lunch.

It’s always a bit of a trek going from 1 resort to the other but thankfully the 3 valleys ski lifts are well connected to get you to whereever it is you need to go. From Meribel back to apartment in La Tania, it takes at least an hour depending on where you are.

Its good to come back to the apartment for lunch if your are in the vicinity or if the travel time back is about an hour. However if its more than an hour then its not worth traveling back. Pack a decent lunch and spend more time on the mountain, after all ski lifts are only opened between about 900-1630!

Food is definitely expensive on the mountain even in the local supermarket, so a healthy budget is required if you want some decent food.

Once lunch was devoured, I was back on the mountain trying to clear all the Blue runs on the Courchevel side. All runs are sign posted quite well with the name of the run and also a number. The lower you go down the mountain and down a particular run, the number decreases. This is a good system as its easy if you need to meet someone at a particular point or in case you have an accident and if you are still conscious, you can roughly give your location to emergency services (provided you can speak french or if they understand English).

The best part about skiing these runs is the peace and tranquility. I hardly saw anyone on the runs and some runs there weren’t anyone on it. I guess one of the reasons why no one is on the piste or mountain is because their planes have probably been cancelled just like us!

There isn’t much of things to do at night in La Tania. The only thing opened are the pubs and restaurants. Most shops close before 8pm and there isn’t really much that’s going on. I’m surprised there’s a Michelin star restaurant in the town and there’s only about 5 restaurants in total. You’re going to have to pay through the roof to eat at a restaurant and even more if its a Michelin star one. The best option for dinner that night was an adequate size pizza, with a bottle of wine (good wine and cheap) and watching the African’s Cup on tele.

Meanwhile the others arrived back later than usual and the reason being was that they missed the last ski lift back to La Tania. They waited around for the bus but it never came so they managed to hitch a ride back to the apartment!

The weather was perfect today, nice and sunny and such a different contrast to the last couple of days in London where its been miserable but there should be no surprises there.

A 3 valleys 6 day lift pass will set you back about €223. It will let you ski Courchevelle, Meribel, and Val Thorens which are the main resorts. The lift pass will also allow you to ski other resorts inbetween those 3 resorts including La Tania, St Martin, Les Menuires and La Masse.

I spent most of the day around La Tania and Courchevelle 1550 skiing the green and blue runs. I have never skied on ski runs (piste) that are longer than a few minutes. These runs lasted 10-15 minutes and I would have to take a break every 5 minutes to catch my breathe and loosen my legs as they were sore and strained due to the pressures of turning constantly.

The scenery in the 3 Valleys are stunning and it was difficult to stop the temptation of taking photos every 5 minutes. Around every turn or down a new piste is a photo oppurtunity.

By the end of the day I was quite sore and I’m sure most people will feel the same after the first day of a skiing trip. Stretching and warming down defitenely helps ease the pain. Also a nice pizza and beer tops off the first day of skiing.

Before leaving to go to the airport, we checked the EasyJet flight to Lyon, France departing 630am and it was still scheduled to fly and all looked well. We arrived at Gatwick Airport at about 5am and checked all our baggage in and headed to waiting lounge.

You would think that if you are waiting to board a flight it is scheduled to fly and everything is ready to go. Shortly after buying some breakfast, we glanced at the departure flight screen to find our flight had been cancelled!

We spoke to the airline staff whom weren’t very helpful. The reason due to cancellation is due to the shortage of crew members. They said because of the snow, the staff couldn’t make it to work. Surely they would know this before checking passengers on a flight.

So we left the waiting lounge, walked through a few doors and ended up at baggage carousel. We got our luggage then proceeded to walk to EasyJet helpdesk to claim a refund or change flights.

The airline staff said the flight was going to be rescheduled to 1630 and we knew straight away that flight was going to be cancelled with further snow expected.

While waiting in the long line to speak to EasyJet staff about a new flight, the guy standing behind us ripped the smelliest fart ever! I turned around and bang, this smell just hit me in the face; it was ruthless!

We gave up lining up at the EasyJet line because we knew it was a waste of time and all flights today by EasyJet would be cancelled. Non budget airlines however had a far better chance of flying so we headed to the North Terminal and spoke to British Airways.

Our new plan was to fly to Geneva, Switzerland and somehow use our connecting bus ticket orginally issued for Lyon and use it in Geneva because they were the same bus company.

British Airways quoted us £150 one way flight to Geneva at 1030am which was quite expensive considering we paid £50 return to Lyon. There was also a BA flight at 2pm for £125 which was too late.

Instead we ran around the terminal and spoke to any travel company that flew to Geneva. By chance the first person we spoke to said there were available seats and the flight was leaving at 830am for £100, so we agreed. Since the flight was non budget, we knew we’d go to Geneva!

The flight was delayed by perhaps 1 hour so we managed to arrive in Geneva at about midday. We gained momentum in the luck stakes as we managed to get bus tickets to La Tania at no extra cost when it should have beem more.

We arrived at the apartment at approximately 4pm and this was only 1 hour late if we had caught the original Lyon flight, so its not a bad effort.

The bus from Shinjuku to Tokyo Narita airport takes about 1-1.5 hours on the bus. The train I believe takes just as long and I would guess be a bit more expensive. The bus costs 3000 yen one way and since there are two/three terminals at the airport, they categorize your bag with different colored tags so you know when to get off. I thought it was a great system.

It is a bit sad to leave Tokyo and even more depressing knowing that you’ll be back into London in 12 hours, eat dinner, sleep and be at your office desk the next day.

smiles