It has now been snowing heavily for the past 48 hours and here in the village we have a metre of fresh snow. Getting around is becoming increasingly difficult as the council send out armies of snow ploughs to clear the roads, followed by the little trucks that whoosh salt everywhere. Every 100 metres there is an enormous mountain of snow on the road left by the snow plough which is then disposed of by yet another machine that sucks up the snow and spits it into a huge truck following it - you will have to excuse my vagueness regarding the names of all these machines - I should ask the child but he is still asleep trying to recover from being unpaid ski-instructor to our visitors! Yesterday morning I spent an hour and a half freeing the car from its woolly white coat and clearing the drive - the rather unpleasant next-door neighbour (Swiss German) stood and watched me with a smirk on his face as the private contractor he uses came and cleared his drive in 3 seconds, but I felt very righteous afterwards thinking of all the exercise I'd had, working off the Christmas excess and giving my poor old lungs a hefty dose of fresh air!
My poor little chalet is bursting at the seams with visitors and all that this entails living in a ski resort - getting to the front door is now a major obstacle course with seven pairs of skis and poles trying to remain upright, the boiler room is full of ski boots and I can no longer get to the washing machine and tumble dryer and the hall is full of hats, bonnets, enormous anoraks (everyone seems to have brought 2 with them), various boots, shoes, slippers etc.
My ex arrived on the 28th, full of cold and feeling awful - so was dosed up with homeopathic medicine and sent off to bed to recover (I'm sure his wife makes sure he gets a cold before sending him to me...miaouw!), but he was excused as he arrived laden with wine and loads of homemade terrines. Also he was very valiant and came food shopping with me for New Year, so I forgive him. My other visitors arrived very, very late at night on the 30th - M + E, their daughter A who is the same age as Pierre and is her 'adopted' brother, a great friend M-C and the family dog, a King Charles who has a snore greater than that of my ex (and that is saying something!).
We had a lovely New Year's Eve feast here with far too much 'fruits de mer' and loads and loads and loads of champagne. Just before midnight the four under 25's went off to the town centre to see in the New Year and meet up with their friends, whilst we 'oldies' stayed here. And boy! was it worth it - from 11pm there were fireworks going off everywhere and once the excitement had died down after midnight the town put on their display which lasted for an hour and a half! I'm not really a great fan of fireworks but this was definitely something else. The weather was very mild, as the snow hadn't yet started to fall, so we were all in the street outside the chalet getting stiff necks; the kids were shoulder to shoulder in the town centre and didn't see the display - for one thing they couldn't move and also were busy avoiding the champagne-swilling Eurotrash who were busy throwing empty champagne bottles around - by 1am you are ankle-deep in broken glass in the town centre. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? The municipality even cut down the Christmas tree on the main square during the afternoon of the 31st to stop people climbing up it - although it is securely fixed, it is not strong enough to support those who decide they MUST climb up it.
The New Year celebrations have been very special to us this year as M has terminal cancer and in my heart of hearts I feel that this might well be his last New Year, so it was marvellous that we had a front row view for the fireworks and that the village is now covered in snow and looking its best. However there is no sadness or embarassement or whatever - we go on as normal, although M seems to have an okay day and then the following day is tired and retires to the sofa. His wife is a doctor so organises all his pills and injections, so apart from a trip to the surgery yesterday to get a blood test done, things are pretty 'normal'. M had a negative day yesterday, so we hope that today will see him 'en forme' and ready to do a bit of skiing with the others - we shall see...
To finish on a lighter note, my little friend Angus, who is a St. Bernard at heart, has had to curtail his outdoor activities until the snow hardens up a bit as he now totally disappears in the fresh snow and is stuck to the path I have cleared to the car and the logs for the fire. Cat number 2 has decided he is not going out at all and apart from the essentials, has now taken up residence on my bed!
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Louise.This is incredibly chatty stuff. Your life seems to be one continuous 'cup of tea and a chat' I'm not sure that this is acceptable for continental Europe. And what exactly are the euro trash? Are they people who spend euros rather than pounds?
Yes, jolly chatty isn't it, Roo! I was feeling in a 'chat' mood this morning and as I have too much to do at the moment I thought you would all like to know what I've been doing the last few days as I don't have the time to write about such interesting things as taps and seedy airports around Orleans...
'Eurotrash' are apparently the 18-30 group, are generally from European countries, who either have very rich parents or earn enormous Christmas bonuses who come here skiing over Christmas and spray people with over-priced Champagne on NYE in the town centre. They then go to the nightclubs and behave outrageously, throw up over each other and the dance floor and just generally have too much cash to throw around.
Louise, be careful not to drop your 'h's when referring to chatty.
Miaouwwwww
Another place to make note of,Louise: Ristorante Mario, via Della Vite, 55; close to the Spanish Steps but absolutely not a tourist joint.
I see from the Herald-Trib that there's a row brewing over Johnny Hallyday's tax exile in Switzerland. Is he anywhere near you? Did you see him in the very fine movie "Man on a Train?" Worth seeking out.
Have started a 'Rome' list in my address book!
No, fortunately, Johnny is nowhere near me (well all is relative in a little country in Switzerland) - he is in Gstaad which is very 'People' and rather bling; here is geared to skiing rather than shopping - and Gstaad is in the German speaking part of Switzerland, so a very different mentality.
No, absolutely don't seek out M. Hallyday; all those gold chains might blind you. But the movie is well worth seeing. He's very good indeed in it and doesn't sing a
note!
Today's our last day in Rome. Our train for Paris leaves around 6:30 and then it's straight from Bercy to Gare du Nord for the Eurostar and London. With a mixture of curiosity and trepidation. Four whole days...
Well Bill I hope you have a good time. Though it's going to be a downer versus Rome. Be careful of the water, I got food poisoning. Best to drink bottled water. Miss the salads and fresh fruit. Also the fish is suspect. Be careful of the meat it's usually adulterated. Don't forget to skip the ice cubes. Keep your mouth closed in the shower.Yes the chicken and eggs have salmonella.
Enjoy yourself and don't eat too much.
I shall be interested to hear about your trip from Rome to London on the train, Bill...I have decided I hate airports, 'planes, queues and nasty airport sandwiches and think that I might take the train next time I go to the UK.
Happy New Year, Louise. It sounds like you had a busy but fun time with your full house.
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