Ep 38 Diaries and dogs. Mountains and camels.

Good Morning Val d’Isere

Another sunny day.

I am off to Geneva, and back

The monotony

Alleviated by

Benoits for lunch in Annecy.

I have heard that they managed to

Replace the bridge near Chambery.

VERY IMPRESSIVE.

Two hundred people working hard

For sixty hours.

Shame they can’t come here and

Get the work finished

A bit more quickly……

I will be driving past that new bridge

So

will be GUTTED if

 finished is fake news…….

While we are having a beautiful

Autumn

With the mountain gradually chilling

and snow

gently snuggling in for the winter

other countries

are having harsh weather.

Everest is very much in our thoughts.

Nearer to home

I was very sad to hear that

Three climbers were killed in an

Avalanche in Slovenia.

The mountains can be mean.

However much we blame

The mountain

Or freak weather….

We still have to take

Personal responsibility

A thirty one year old man

Died on the Nama Peak in China.

More than five thousand metres up.

Great views apparently…

So great that

He took off his crampons

And un clipped his rope

Just to Take

PHOTOS….

Slipped……..

What a waste………

I am a bit of a diary freak….

If I see something I might fancy doing

Even if I am not sure…

And haven’t booked..

I still put it in

I know I am not alone

So have added the

calendar page to the website

My aim is to include anything that is happening nearby

 Val, Tignes, Seez, St Foy, Bourg

And have even added

This weekends

Gourmet  event in Beaufort

You can of course find this same information scattered around various websites or posters pinned to the wall

I call it efficient rather than lazy to have it all on one page.

So frustrating if you hear of something

Too late to book

Or happened yesterday…

This calendar should also help visitors

A week goes so quickly

So nice to peek in advance

pick from the page

Better to plan your stay

Why I know I am not the only diary lover

Pre-Covid, Patrick Chevallot,

France’s master pâtissier,
used to give demonstrations ……
They were amazing………I went as often as I could………
One evening an English lady, Rosie, was next to me.

Whispering furiously ………where was the ‘time table’………
I explained……..there wasn’t a timetable…….
I would email on Monday,
by Wednesday they MAY agreed it was happening,
as a bonus
I MAY have heard the theme
before I arrived on Thursday……….

Rosie couldn’t understand ANY OF THIS…….
THEY MUST HAVE A TIMETABLE………
eventually I gave up…..
suggested she ask him……..
Very politely in perfect French
she asked if she could have the    timetable……….
instant response,
from our very charming host………
’Non’………
Rosie explained how helpful she would find it ….
 Plan her trips around patisserie……..
so he expanded……..
’some weeks I am very busy. 
Other weeks I am tired…
some days I just don’t feel like doing it…..

We did laugh on the way home

I had tried to tell her there wasn’t a timetable…

Good for Patrick !

good for us….. much better to be taught by someone who WANTS to be there

It was a privilege

To be taught by someone of his calibre

More GB Glory

This time

The showjumping team

Went to Barcelona

And came home with  GOLD

In the Longines League of Nations Final

I mentioned the Patous….

They are not the only protection dogs

To avoid

a twenty year old man was attacked by

four Anatolian shepherd dogs

guarding a herd

near Gap

Severely injured….

An investigation is underway

Various stories are circulating

The dogs had escaped

The mans phone had no signal…

So it was an hour before

High mountain gendarmes

Arrived

And even they were afraid..

The Dogs were not impressed

Or calmed

By the helicopter…

If you see sheep…Keep well away….

Do you need to brush up on your French

Push past the franglais……

A good use of the interseason…

An intensive course from

3^rd to nineteenth of November….

I have put the email address in the episode description….

contact@alpesinter-langues.com

They are also offering English lessons….

A couple of days after I started working on the radio

Lovely Manali who was the Director of Culture for the Mairie

Said, with genuine surprise…

“Your English is REALLY GOOD”.

Merci Manali !!

I was on such a steep learning curve

I was grateful for any compliment !

The HUGE new resort I told you about in Kazakhstan ISNT ready

But if you fancy going to the same mountain range in January ….

There is a trip with spots left…

Mixture of culture

Skiing

Cat skiing

Hot springs

And hiking.

I have put a link on the episode description.

There is a picture of a rather

Hairy

But friendly looking camel….

Do you remember the

GRUMPY

camel

That lived on our nursery slope ?

Sort of old news….

Though officially new news………

Val d’Isère has been voted

As the

Best European Ski Resort

By

Condé Nast

Traveller

Reader’s

Slightly confused…

Which other resort could POSSIBLY compete ?

Or am I biased??

Oooh

I forgot to share todays celebrations…..

There is a choice of ELEVEN…..

The two  that made me laugh the most…

USA Bring your teddy bear to school or WORK DAY !!

And

Again in the US of A…..

National FlufferNutter day……………

I ASSUMED it meant the politicians….

But I would never like to mislead you …

It is ACTUALLY

A white bread sandwich

Filled with

Peanut butter

And marshmallow…………..

Hope Benoit isn’t serving THAT today.

Enjoy the sunshine

Will be back tomorrow