Archive | travel

Skiing in France!

March 12, 2012 at 1:43 pm

While this blog was so quiet last week, we were very busy. My family met Elliott, Lena, and me in France for a week-long ski trip! All the credit goes to the guy in red fleece in the photo below, our dear friend Daniel Roe.

Daniel went to school in England and took up skiing in the French Alps each winter with groups of friends. Daniel’s been telling us for years that we need to take advantage of his sweet connections and please come skiing with him. Finally he convinced us… and now the only thing we can’t figure out is what took us so long to get there.

Daniel’s friend let us use his ski chalet, a cozy little cabin located just a stone’s throw from a ski lift in the Grand Massif ski area. We were about an hour from Geneva and completely surrounded by the magnificent French Alps.

Every morning we found our ski boots warming by the radiator in the kitchen. (Thank you, Daniel.)

We ate breakfast and sipped mugs of coffee and then all bundled up for a day of skiing. Lena also bundled up for various adventures such as playing in the snow, visiting a local boulagerie for pain au chocolat, or going on walks around town. More photos of those activities later this week.

After that we headed for the gondola near our house which took us to the top of one of the ski mountains. My mom and her favorite son-in-law enjoy the ride:

Once on top, we snapped into our skis and prepared to hit the slopes. L to R: Elliott, Julia, me.

Look how beautiful it is! Elliott and I love to ski; we’ve skiied together since we first met in Boston and have covered many slopes in New England; Colorado; and Tahoe, California (on our honeymoon). Nothing we’ve seen compared to the quality and natural beauty of these slopes. One day my family covered a nine-mile-long piste that started in Switzerland and ran all the way into France!

We all agreed about that! Pictured below L to R: Emily, my dad, me, Elliott, Daniel, Eric.

It snowed twice while we were there, leaving behind a thick layer of fresh snow. All of us loved skiing “off piste,” or off the trails onto the fresh snow, like Elliott is doing below. We found a great green-level run that wound slowly down through the woods; the gentle slope and abundance of trees and snow meant we were blazing trails in the woods almost as much as we were on the piste!

We spent plenty of time on the ski lifts and standing in line for ski lifts. And, in general, not holding up the ski lifts with our antics. In general.

L to R: Emily and then Emily, Elliott, Daniel, my dad

photo(22)

We also always looked forward to a long lunch break. Even our homemade sandwiches were fancier in France: fresh baguettes from the boulangerie, cured meats, and Camembert cheese. And chocolate. Lots of chocolate. For energy.

We pretty much always skiied together, accommodating everyone’s various ski levels. Along the way there was plenty of laughter, lots of skiing tips thrown back and forth, and exciting discoveries being made every minute as our skills improved with our knowledge of the mountains.

L to R below: Eric, my dad, me

Check back tomorrow for some photos of the boulangerie we visited religiously each morning!

5 :: in family, friends, holiday, Lena, travel

Skiing in France!

March 12, 2012 at 12:43 pm

Every morning we found our ski boots warming by the radiator in the kitchen. (Thank you, Daniel.)

After that we headed for the gondola near our house which took us to the top of one of the ski mountains. My mom and her favorite son-in-law enjoy the ride:

Once on top, we snapped into our skis and prepared to hit the slopes. L to R: Elliott, Julia, me.

We all agreed about that! Pictured below L to R: Emily, my dad, me, Elliott, Daniel, Eric.

We spent plenty of time on the ski lifts and standing in line for ski lifts. And, in general, not holding up the ski lifts with our antics. In general.

L to R: Emily and then Emily, Elliott, Daniel, my dad

photo(22)

L to R below: Eric, my dad, me

Check back tomorrow for some photos of the boulangerie we visited religiously each morning!

4 :: in family, friends, holiday, Lena, travel

Agrigento

February 29, 2012 at 5:18 pm

After our visit to the magnificent Scala dei Turchi, we drove along the southern coast of Sicily to the city of Agrigento. We had reservations at a lovely B&B called Villa San Marco. It’s a peaceful, lovely spot right on the grounds of the historical park of the famous Greek temples of Agrigento. We had a great view of them, in fact, right over the pool:

Our rooms were in the old barn, we think, of the original villa. Scattered around the grounds are tables and chairs for comfortable lounging and reading, and Elliott and I did a lot of that over the weekend as Lena napped. Roaming the grounds is a gigantic Italian mastiff (called a Cane Corso), a snuggly Dachshund puppy, gorgeous peacocks, white fantail doves, a cheerful cockatiel, and maybe a hamster. (Elliott thought he was hibernating. I thought he was… well, you know.)

Our first morning there we explored the grounds before breakfast. There were so many almond trees in blossom! When our group had assembled, we drank lattes over homemade jam (apricot, peach, and prickly pear), fresh rolls, and blood oranges.

We headed into the park to take a closer look at the beautiful remains of the Greek temples. The air was fresh and cool, filled with bees buzzing around almond trees and the laughter of all the children in our crew.

Mixed in between the ruins were these interested iron sculptures. Not sure what the point of them was. Fallen Greek gods?

We stopped for lunch at a little cafe on the park grounds. The kids went to work cracking open last season’s almonds with their dad, Josh. Caleb also helped out by holding Lena. They both need more practice, I think.

The kids offered Lena and me the tasty nuts they had cracked.

We wandered along the ridge to the final temple and stopped for photos of the vista.

Then Josh, Grant, and I took some jumping pictures…

Even little Lucas jumped off the ruins!

We waited until the sun was about to set before finally heading home.

The next morning we couldn’t decide whether to leave early or stick around for more sightseeing. While we pondered, we waited for peacocks to show their colors:

tasted pine needles (and flowers and leaves and rocks and other things), took rides on large dogs,

and checked out the ducks with our friends.

Finally we decided to head home after all. One of the peacocks turned up his feathers at the idea! Quite a farewell.

5 :: in family, friends, Italy, Lena, Sicily, travel

Agrigento

February 29, 2012 at 4:18 pm

Mixed in between the ruins were these interested iron sculptures. Not sure what the point of them was. Fallen Greek gods?

The kids offered Lena and me the tasty nuts they had cracked.

We wandered along the ridge to the final temple and stopped for photos of the vista.

Then Josh, Grant, and I took some jumping pictures…

Even little Lucas jumped off the ruins!

We waited until the sun was about to set before finally heading home.

The next morning we couldn’t decide whether to leave early or stick around for more sightseeing. While we pondered, we waited for peacocks to show their colors:

tasted pine needles (and flowers and leaves and rocks and other things), took rides on large dogs,

and checked out the ducks with our friends.

Finally we decided to head home after all. One of the peacocks turned up his feathers at the idea! Quite a farewell.

3 :: in family, friends, Italy, Lena, Sicily, travel

Scala dei Turchi

February 28, 2012 at 3:04 pm

About a week ago, our friends Josh and Becca invited us to join their family on a trip to historic Agrigento in southern Sicily. We stayed in a wonderful B&B filled with amazing animals (peacocks and mastiffs and cockatiels, oh my!) and spent hours exploring the beautiful Greek temple ruins. But before arriving we took a detour to the beautiful natural wonder called the Steps of Turkey, or the Scala dei Turchi.

The entrance to the scala is down a long flight of wooden stairs and across a secluded beach. The children (Elise, Caleb, Lucas, Becca’s brother Grant, and our little Lena) loved the lapping waves, tidal pools, hermit crabs, and cold wet sand.

After a long walk on the beach we reached the scala itself, which is a massive, sloping outcropping of soft golden-white limestone.

We made our way up and over the sloping “steps” of the scala and found a place to sit on the other side while the older kids explored up and down on the rocks. Lena wanted to climb up to her friend Lucas!

Later Lucas and Lena conferred about the taste of limestone. Lena had tried a lot of it. Lucas, at 16 months, is a little more savvy about the edibility of such things.