I took a great ski trip to the Alps pour faire du snowboard and it was great. I hadn't boarded for two years and I hadn't yet done the French Alps - Alps, yes, France, no. It was beautiful weather (the entire 2013-14 winter has been great) and there was sufficient snow. I "went" with Celine ... "went" because she missed the train. One of the stops was about ten minutes and it was so nice I had to step outside. I'm glad I did as the Gare de Lyon Saint-Exupéry (formerly Gare de Satolas) was fantastic. I love it when great architecture is used regardless of the location. And I'm always impressed with concrete. How cool is concrete? It's made with water but stays concrete in water, such as a river or dam. Cool.
Here are a couple of shots of track area. Had I known where I was,
I would have run outside for another pic. Check this out (below)...
We stayed in Les Peupliers in Courchevel-Le Praz. Courchevel is in the 3 Valleys ski area, and there are five Courchevels; Chourchevel 1850m, Courchevel 1650m, Courchevel-Le Praz, etc. I like how they use the mountain height for come of the villes. The Courchevel area is on the east side of the Trois Vallées. Les Peupliers was a very nice hotel (it was pricey but it's the skiing in the French Alps so expectations were set) and the staff and food were great. Also, for the price, there is a rental store about 10m away and there are two gondolas about 150-200m away. I love when lifts are that close. One of them was straight from the 60s and it was funny to find out the carriages are for sale - for about 4000€!
View from the room's balcony (looking south) which was great - not a cloud in the sky.
Even though we arrived after 12h, we still hit the slopes - a half day was a perfect warmup. Getting suited up (above left) and hydrating with some snow (actually the second day). Below, just a shot showing the incredible sky and mountains. Yes, I board with a helmet nowadays. And yes, I've been happy to have it a couple of times (not on this trip, but the point remains). If nothing else, they keep your head warm and hold your goggles.
Here are some more shots of God's glorious nature. Can't say much more...
On day two, we stopped for lunch at Le Denali which was terrific! As you can see at their site, they have lots of seating in the sun (if available) and even some cool sofas. The pic below is from their webpage.
That first drink of water after boarding is so good! It and the beer looked great against the sky so I snapped this shot (upper left) which i think turned out great. On the right is apparently the inbound MIRV. On that note, it was cool to see all the jets streaking across the sky while boarding. They bring me back to one time in Colorado (several years ago) when C-5 flew right over that slopes. He didn't leave contrails because he was so low, but that's what made it cool. Below, a shot having our lunch, and voila, another jet!
The second night we ate at LE CAVE DES LYS which turned out to be great. I say turned out because it was a complete walk-by choice. The interior was cool and they made some fantastic fondu. Also, the staff was terrific and the wines were top notch.
Of course we had to try the Grand Savoie (upper left) since we were in the Savoie department of France. It's hard to read the label on the right, but it was delicious. And again, the fondu was great!
On the topic of food, here are a couple shots of the hotel's food. I love clementines and this one might have been the smallest I've had. The butter knife is there for a size reference. On the right is the burger I had for our final lunch. It was so great looking I had to take two pics. Was it good? It was as good as it looks (looked).
So, if you're going to ski/board the French Alps, I would certainly recommend the Three Valleys. There were plenty of runs, a great atmosphere, they make snow (if needed), and you can get there by train! Love traveling with the train. It's just too easy.
-mm-
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