I wrote "warp-up" first...Freudian slip, perhaps? Certainly, eating raclette for our first night's dinner at midnight in a room specifically delegated to the experience was pretty crazy!
I had a fantastic time in Chamonix, even if it wasn't exactly warping. I'd been to Chamonix once before when I was about 21, but it was only for six hours, most of which I spent trying to ski without taking any lessons and consequently falling on my behind. This time, however, B organised lessons for us both - two hours on Saturday afternoon and the same on Sunday morning - and the whole experience was so much better, particularly thanks to Sebastien, our excellent ski teacher (he's the one in front of B, here). Sure, there was some falling involved but only when I got cocky or when we'd just had lunch.
I have fallen in love with this sport - particularly when it's done in places like this, this and this. I mean, c'mon! We even had glaciers nearby (it's in the centre at the top of the photo).
And look, I realise I wasn't the most fashionable guy on les pistes, but I felt okay as I was having fun doing stuff I've always wanted to do. Although not, perhaps, as much fun as this little guy... :o)
A big thanks to Axa and Jes for letting us stay at their house in the middle of town. It was so nice to come back from a hard day's skiing (scoff!) to a palatial hideaway. And, of course, an enormous thank you to B for introducing me to a sport that has the ability of taking over my life like only dragonboating has before.
Feb 23, 2009
Feb 15, 2009
Chamonix
Just a quick post to say I'm having a fantastic time in Chamonix.
We've come to a place where the cold makes sense!!
On the way here we stopped in Burgundy for a small session of wine tasting (thanks Jes!), last night I had my first raclette in a purpose-built room (thanks Jes, again!) and today, after wandering around the markets in the snow, B and I had a two-hour skiing lesson...WHICH WAS AWESOME. My legs are tired, my kness ache, I have mild sunburn but, wow, what a great day.
Tomorrow we're taking another lesson en piste then (hopefully) spending the rest of the day skiing. No idea what's happening after that but I'm sure it'll inclue vin chaud (red or white - they're both perfect for the cold), more cheese and good times.
We've come to a place where the cold makes sense!!
On the way here we stopped in Burgundy for a small session of wine tasting (thanks Jes!), last night I had my first raclette in a purpose-built room (thanks Jes, again!) and today, after wandering around the markets in the snow, B and I had a two-hour skiing lesson...WHICH WAS AWESOME. My legs are tired, my kness ache, I have mild sunburn but, wow, what a great day.
Tomorrow we're taking another lesson en piste then (hopefully) spending the rest of the day skiing. No idea what's happening after that but I'm sure it'll inclue vin chaud (red or white - they're both perfect for the cold), more cheese and good times.
Feb 10, 2009
More snow
Not quite yet but hopefully on the weekend...when I'll be going skiing!
We're heading to B's sister's husband's family's place (phew) in Chamonix from Friday to Tuesday. Yes, it's a tough life...
I haven't been skiing since I was 21 and even then it was less "skiing" and more "6 hours of falling on my butt". I'm hoping to stay a little more vertical this time.
In other news, the weather continues to defy belief by becoming more disgusting. Last night we had winds up to 130km/h. Crikey!
And B and I are staying at her sister's place this week looking after B's nephew, Leonard. Who knew 2 1/2 years could grant such an ability to swing between being adorable and unbearable?
That's it, though. Work (and the search for more) continues as normal, and updating flickr is almost the same. I'll probably be posting a good number next week so stay tuned.
We're heading to B's sister's husband's family's place (phew) in Chamonix from Friday to Tuesday. Yes, it's a tough life...
I haven't been skiing since I was 21 and even then it was less "skiing" and more "6 hours of falling on my butt". I'm hoping to stay a little more vertical this time.
In other news, the weather continues to defy belief by becoming more disgusting. Last night we had winds up to 130km/h. Crikey!
And B and I are staying at her sister's place this week looking after B's nephew, Leonard. Who knew 2 1/2 years could grant such an ability to swing between being adorable and unbearable?
That's it, though. Work (and the search for more) continues as normal, and updating flickr is almost the same. I'll probably be posting a good number next week so stay tuned.
Feb 3, 2009
Snow
It snowed last night. Woo!
Crunching through the snow this morning on the way to the gym was delightful. As was listening to Bjork's album "Vespertine" - truly, a perfect match of music and feeling.
Sure, it turned to mush as the sun came up but for a brief moment this morning all was a Winter Wonderland. I even threw a snowball. At no-one in particular. Just because I could. :o)
Crunching through the snow this morning on the way to the gym was delightful. As was listening to Bjork's album "Vespertine" - truly, a perfect match of music and feeling.
Sure, it turned to mush as the sun came up but for a brief moment this morning all was a Winter Wonderland. I even threw a snowball. At no-one in particular. Just because I could. :o)
Feb 1, 2009
Italy: Day 6
We arrived late in the evening of Day 5 at a truly beautiful little B&B (the Podere Villuzza), with the most Tuscan driveway of the trip. I mean, really.
We ate like kings that night, sitting beside a warm fireplace, being served plate after plate of delicious local food by a woman from Melbourne, drinking Chianti and enjoying being alive.
The next morning, after saying our goodbyes and admiring their incredible Saharan Desert Rose (explanation here, which differ slightly from our host's version that included camel pee) we drove into San Gimignano proper, parked the car and began another day of walking around a beautiful town with its own old gates, views of swaying trees, and fantastic places to eat and drink. San Gimignano is also known for its towers, fourteen of which still stand.
As it was our last day in Italy and we had to be back in Pisa that night for the flight to Paris, we wanted to see a couple of other towns on the drive back. We managed only to have time to see Volterra, once under the control of the Medici family (their castle still stands). Yet another beautiful town set on a hill, and again with its own Etruscan Tomb and Roman ruins.
And so our trip to Italy ended as it began - a beautiful town, breathtaking views and a feeling of being somewhere normally only seen on postcards. If anyone wants to visit Tuscany, give me a call. I'll be on the next plane!
We ate like kings that night, sitting beside a warm fireplace, being served plate after plate of delicious local food by a woman from Melbourne, drinking Chianti and enjoying being alive.
The next morning, after saying our goodbyes and admiring their incredible Saharan Desert Rose (explanation here, which differ slightly from our host's version that included camel pee) we drove into San Gimignano proper, parked the car and began another day of walking around a beautiful town with its own old gates, views of swaying trees, and fantastic places to eat and drink. San Gimignano is also known for its towers, fourteen of which still stand.
As it was our last day in Italy and we had to be back in Pisa that night for the flight to Paris, we wanted to see a couple of other towns on the drive back. We managed only to have time to see Volterra, once under the control of the Medici family (their castle still stands). Yet another beautiful town set on a hill, and again with its own Etruscan Tomb and Roman ruins.
And so our trip to Italy ended as it began - a beautiful town, breathtaking views and a feeling of being somewhere normally only seen on postcards. If anyone wants to visit Tuscany, give me a call. I'll be on the next plane!
Italy: Day 5
The day was beautiful so we got an early start and retraced our steps to the Duomo, threading our way through the decorated streets past the Prefettura and it's neighbour, the beautiful Facciatone (where even the Wombat was impressed with the view), stopping to check out various cathedrals, crypts and museums, including the Museo dell'opera with the original statues from Il Duomo (which have elongated necks so they could be more easily seen from street level). I can't remember where we had lunch but I'm sure it was delicious...and blissfully cheap by West European standards. Pasta for 6€? Unheard of in Paris!
We then spent the afternoon having a looooong walk around town, taking in the interior of the Duomo (complete with mosaics of the Italian cities, represented by animals like a rabbit (Pisa), an elephant (Rome) and a panther (Lucca)), the Pizza del Campo (with its fountain and numerous places to stop for a drink in the sun) and then the rest of the town. One of the most enjoyable things for me was noticing the decoration on street corners and elsewhere letting you know which Contrada you were in. There are 17 Contrade of Siena, municipal districts, which have animal logos like a worm, a giraffe, a rhino and a dragon).
Siena is a great place to walk, even if some of the hills are a little steep. Walking along the walls and through the back streets presented us with things we didn't expect, great art work and views which seemed they belonged elsewhere, perhaps on a Mediterranean coastline.
Before long, though, the sun was starting to go down and it was time for us to drive to San Gimignano. But not without photographing the largest tub of Nutella I've ever seen! Whoa!
We then spent the afternoon having a looooong walk around town, taking in the interior of the Duomo (complete with mosaics of the Italian cities, represented by animals like a rabbit (Pisa), an elephant (Rome) and a panther (Lucca)), the Pizza del Campo (with its fountain and numerous places to stop for a drink in the sun) and then the rest of the town. One of the most enjoyable things for me was noticing the decoration on street corners and elsewhere letting you know which Contrada you were in. There are 17 Contrade of Siena, municipal districts, which have animal logos like a worm, a giraffe, a rhino and a dragon).
Siena is a great place to walk, even if some of the hills are a little steep. Walking along the walls and through the back streets presented us with things we didn't expect, great art work and views which seemed they belonged elsewhere, perhaps on a Mediterranean coastline.
Before long, though, the sun was starting to go down and it was time for us to drive to San Gimignano. But not without photographing the largest tub of Nutella I've ever seen! Whoa!
Italy: Day 4 (the end)
Well, the end of Day 4, actually. Arriving in Siena was something of a bun fight. The walled city is on a hill. The entrances are portas, scattered around the walls. However, to actually GET to those portas you need to navigate the melange of roads - normal, freeway, motorway. You name it, it's there. And lacking a highly-detailed map only made things near-impossible. However, with a bit of faith in our natural sense of direction (which, between us, is not bad) and judicious use of the moon, stars and landmarks, we eventually made it to our porta of choice - Porta San Marco.
The parking for tourists, certainly at this entrance but possibly across Siena, is, in a word, lacking. We toyed with the idea of parking miles away and hoofing it up the hill but it was dark, cold and we were only thinking of getting to our hotel ASAP and finding some food. There was parking just outside the porta but we figured why not try to park inside the walls - it can only get us closer to our hotel? So we agreed to drive through the porta and, in no time at all, found a parking spot...one which belonged to a local resident...a neighbour of whom turned up out of nowhere to explain, in speedy Italian, that no, we were not allowed to park there, yes, there were parking spots outside the walls for people like us, and - oh, you didn't know? - when you drive through each entrance your car's number plate is photographed by enormous cameras, the photos from which are sent to the local fining powers to ensure the parking inspectors the next day know exacly which cars to target. Of course, we didn't understand this last part very well, it being delivered in speedy Italian and all, so B tried her best to understand and then explain that we weren't evil people and that we'd only leave the car there overnight. In the end, the man shrugged, smiled like he knew something we didn't (which he did) and we legged it to the hotel.
There, the woman at the front desk explained in English all that our Italian friend had tried to explain, so we took our bags up to the room, I ran down to the car to try to find another park, and B had a chat with the concierge to get us out of paying the parking fine.
As it turned out, that search for a park was the most fraught 30 minutes of my life as I raced the Panda around Siena's streets looking for something legal (no luck) and then a way to get out of the walls near Porta San Marco to try the bus parking area just outside entrance. I remember having the window down despite the cold and swearing like a sailor each time I ended up somewhere that didn't align with my goal on the map.
Eventually - and yes, I'm aware this is turning into something of a saga - I parked the Panda in an area marked for tourist buses only and prayed that, being just out of high-season, we'd be okay.
After that, the rest of the night was a piece of cake! We took a stroll through the SW part of the town, past the Duomo, the Piazza del Campo (where they hold the Palio) before finding a place for dinner with some interesting dishes (see the last one on the menu).
Then it was back to our hotel, Il Chiostro del Carmine (a beautifully-renovated monastery, complete with decidedly un-monk'ish art) for a well-deserved rest.
And so it came to Day 5! Phew!
The parking for tourists, certainly at this entrance but possibly across Siena, is, in a word, lacking. We toyed with the idea of parking miles away and hoofing it up the hill but it was dark, cold and we were only thinking of getting to our hotel ASAP and finding some food. There was parking just outside the porta but we figured why not try to park inside the walls - it can only get us closer to our hotel? So we agreed to drive through the porta and, in no time at all, found a parking spot...one which belonged to a local resident...a neighbour of whom turned up out of nowhere to explain, in speedy Italian, that no, we were not allowed to park there, yes, there were parking spots outside the walls for people like us, and - oh, you didn't know? - when you drive through each entrance your car's number plate is photographed by enormous cameras, the photos from which are sent to the local fining powers to ensure the parking inspectors the next day know exacly which cars to target. Of course, we didn't understand this last part very well, it being delivered in speedy Italian and all, so B tried her best to understand and then explain that we weren't evil people and that we'd only leave the car there overnight. In the end, the man shrugged, smiled like he knew something we didn't (which he did) and we legged it to the hotel.
There, the woman at the front desk explained in English all that our Italian friend had tried to explain, so we took our bags up to the room, I ran down to the car to try to find another park, and B had a chat with the concierge to get us out of paying the parking fine.
As it turned out, that search for a park was the most fraught 30 minutes of my life as I raced the Panda around Siena's streets looking for something legal (no luck) and then a way to get out of the walls near Porta San Marco to try the bus parking area just outside entrance. I remember having the window down despite the cold and swearing like a sailor each time I ended up somewhere that didn't align with my goal on the map.
Eventually - and yes, I'm aware this is turning into something of a saga - I parked the Panda in an area marked for tourist buses only and prayed that, being just out of high-season, we'd be okay.
After that, the rest of the night was a piece of cake! We took a stroll through the SW part of the town, past the Duomo, the Piazza del Campo (where they hold the Palio) before finding a place for dinner with some interesting dishes (see the last one on the menu).
Then it was back to our hotel, Il Chiostro del Carmine (a beautifully-renovated monastery, complete with decidedly un-monk'ish art) for a well-deserved rest.
And so it came to Day 5! Phew!
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