After such a fantastic start to the season it would’ve been a shame not to continue in the same vein. But continue it has! It snowed about 20-30cm yesterday and today there was beautiful blue sky and sunshine – perfect for fair weather snowboarders like myself!! After a fantastic morning buzzing around with perfect snow everywhere, a lunch time stop for a few vin chauds was in order. It was gorgeous sitting in the warm sunshine at the Pomme de Pin in Linderet, a little suntrap bowl. It seemed to be getting a little busier over Avoriaz way by lunch time so after re-fueling I decided to head home via Super Morzine, and found that there was hardly a soul there, and there was just enough powder left for a play between the trees. If every Sunday was this good I would definitely be living for the weekends. The only bad thing about today was that I forgot to take my camera to get some snaps of the amazing views to post here to show you how truly beautiful this area is. Never mind, there’s always tomorrow.
Some other events to watch out for this week are the Retrospective Ski Show at 6pm today, Tuesday 8th, when the skilled ESF instructors demonstrate how skiing and snowboarding have evolved since 1900. Then there’s vin chaud (mulled wine) for everyone afterwards on the Pleney Stade, yummy! On Wed. 9th Jan. at 6pm you can win some tickets for the Ice Hockey match the same evening at the ice skating rink behind the Tourist Office. But you can of course also buy tickets to see the legendary Morzine Penguins playing at The Palais de Sport. As I have lived here for a year and haven’t managed to watch them yet I thought it was about time I went and showed my support!! On Thurs. 10th Jan. between 4-6pm giant Wooden Games are provided free of charge outside the tourist office, which sounds rather surreal but good for families and children. Also on Thursday get ready to be dazzled by the ESF’s delightful torchlight descent on the Pleney Stade at 6pm, a regular winter spectacle not to be missed.
The Grande Odyssée husky race is returning to the Portes du Soleil, and I am very excited!! There are big lorry loads of snow piled up ready to cover the roads in town, as the last two days of rain has washed a lot of the snow away. Tomorrow there will be about 300 dogs and 20 of the world’s best husky trainers arriving here, and they’ll spend five days racing across the Portes du Soleil, the first 2 days (Monday and Tuesday) starting in Morzine. It is quite a sight to see and hear all the beautiful husky dogs in the town so I’ll go and watch the start of the race at 9am tomorrow, with my camera. Fingers crossed the rain stops.
The New Year festivities are over but there is another reason the celebrate………finally there will be NO more smoking in French bars and restaurants. The ban on smoking in public places in France has been extended today, Wednesday 2nd January, and it now applies to all bars, cafes, restaurants and hotels….yippee! What a pleasure to come home without reeking of smoke after a night out. The French health ministry allowed smokers a 24-hour “grace” period for the New Year festivities, but now any smoker caught ignoring the restrictions can be fined up to 450 euros, and the owners of the premises who turn a blind eye to smokers can also be fined up to 750 euros. An exception is being made for establishments that have an airtight and ventilated area, designated as a smoking room. Patrons will be allowed to smoke outside such as on restaurant terraces and at pavement tables. (Shame). France has about 13.5 million smokers, and surprisingly, polls suggest that three quarters of the population approve of the ban. The French way of life may be changing? You never know Dogs might even be banned in restaurants soon…but I prefer dogs to smoke when I’m eating.
Happy New Year to everyone! 2008 has dawned beautifully over Morzine, with sunshine, clear blue sky and fantastic snow conditions – it couldn’t be more perfect really, so let’s hope this is a good omen for the season to come. There may be a few sore heads around this morning with a few wobbly legs on the pistes too, but nothing a tasty vin chaud on the mountain in the sunshine can’t cure! Morzine was rocking last night with parties all over going on till the wee, small hours and enough fireworks to blow up the houses of parliament! The atmosphere was a carnival one and well worth today’s hang over! I have a good feeling about this year, let’s hope it carries on as it started.
