TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

Dutchman and I on the ski lift, apart - nope, we are not fighting ;-) we just want to balance our weights While waiting for the bus in the junction between Saint Jean D’Arves and Saint Sorlin D’Arves we chatted up with this bubbly Dutch girl who scaled the 4 corners of Les Sybelles in just 3 days. Of course, we took note of her tips. She said the summits between L’Ouillon and Les Perrons in Saint Sorlin D’Arves have the most magnificent views in Les Sybelles. The pistes there are said to be unique too. Her testimony made us so excited, we decided to take the long journey to the 2 summits the next day. Well, we did not regret it - it was superb!   This dog is the king of the Saint Sorlin D’Arves piste. He may not look so huge on the foto but this dog is gigantic and could easily weigh more than 60 kilos! He could have me on the snow floor in a whisk.  Next foto are old wooden skis hanged on the wall of the La Ferme Petit cafe restaurant. The picture frame i...

This bottle of Glogi traveled from the north of Europe to the south of Europe and to the center of Europe cashing in a total of 5,600 kilometers in her passport before she was opened and consumed. Glogi is the Finnish (or Scandinavian) version of Mulled wine or boiled wine. It is a spiced and hot red wine mostly drank during the cold winter season in northern Europe. This sweet alcoholic drink is very popular in this part of the world that each northern European country has its own distinct local adaptation. My very good client from Finland gave this to me when we met in Barcelona, Spain last November. He said the bottle should warm me up during the holiday season. I told him -- If I don’t get to open his bottle during the holidays, I will for sure bring it with me in January to the Alps for my winter sport holiday. Glogi’s miles: To Helsinki Airport, Finland – 21 KM Helsinki, Finland to Barcelona, Spain - 2,929 KM Barcelona, Spain to Amsterdam, Netherlands – 1,553 KM Amste...

Wednesday – halfway to our skiing holiday, Dutchman and I were enjoying an afternoon of skiing and snowboarding in nearby Le Corbier. It was also the day, the only day in fact that week that the weather was miserable. It was snowing and the skies were a murky grey. Visibility was not great, and with the snow goggles fastened to my face, everything looked bleaker than the Dutch weather I was used to. Click on the ski map here: Les Sybelles Ski Map . From Saint Jean D’Arves, we went to the summit of Le Corbier, called Pte Du Corbier (2,265m), then continued our journey to L’Ouillon (2,431m), summit of La Toussuire, then climbed all the way up to the summit of Saint Sorlin D’Arves and of the whole Les Sybelles ski area, Les Perrons (2,620m) – my experiences in the summits I will post in my next entry. For a backgrounder of this massive skiing area, Les Sybelles is considered part of the top 10 largest skiing areas in the world boasting of 310-kilometers skiing terrain. The Europ...

Dutchman and I had dinner a few times outside the door. There are not much choices though in little village Saint Jean D’Arves. Eating out in Saint Jean D’Arves We went to Les Melezes Restaurant, a fine dining restaurant serving Francophile food where I had my first taste of genepi, a liquor from the Alpine region. Then there is La Grenouillere, a bar and pizzeria restaurant serving of course Italian food. I must say, hands down, they have one of the best pizzas in town. Thin-crusted, extraordinary and yummylicious pizzas. We also went to a barbecue evening party. Then we decided to eat indoors as well and ordered the fondue set including a bottle of wine, French bread, deli meats and pickles delivered to our little chalet. Here is a little debate: Where does fondue come from? Some may claim that it originates in Switzerland. While the French living in the Alps would say otherwise, as they have been concocting fondue recipes as long as they can remember. Ah, we’ll leave th...

Having a glass of gluhwein after a 2 hour skiing binge. Next foto is a restaurant in the mountains. “Are you two looking forward to the winter sport holiday?” Dutch sister asked looking very enthusiastic during Dutchman’s family birthday party (which was a week before we left). “Ja, ja, ja.” Says the Dutchman nodding his head. Grinning and pointing at me he added, “But she has a different reason to look forward to. She’s excited because our chalet is located in a small village in the heart of the Alps and she found out too that there is a market there once a week.” Well, I just love those markets! The Wednesdays open-air market in St. Jean D’Arves - La Chal takes place in front of the Tourism Office beside the piste. The open-air market in St. Jean D’Arves is not really that impressive, but for a tiny village in the Alps, this every Wednesday market is better than nothing at all. It was rather small, with only 7 vendors. I was delighted though, well consoled is the word to find ...

This foto was taken yesterday morning somewhere in the beautiful Rhone Alps region on our way back to the Netherlands. What a great relief - the grueling 12+ hours drive from the French Alps back to the lowlands is over. We arrived back in the Netherlands last night (Saturday) around 10PM+. Long distance driving is killing and I am so glad both of us can drive and take turns on the wheel non-stop for at least 3+ hours. As fatigue, stress, and lack of concentration can easily take its toll, guidelines for safety driving highly recommend drivers to stop, rest, and stretch out their muscles after driving for a straight 2 hours. We managed to extend our limit to 3+ hours as making frequent stops would only delay the already long journey. Both ways, we stopped twice, in Luxemburg and between Dijon and Lyon, to refuel, change the wheel command, and grab something warm for the belly (coffee or soup).  This is the road that splits Saint Jean D’Arves – La Chal and Saint Sorlin D...