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After returning from the lovely warmth of The Grenadines last month and back to the depths of Winter in England, it didn't take much persuading before we were off on our travels again this month, in search of the sun. Thoughts turned to sunny Spain, and our home of 14 years; the Costa Blanca, where we were renowned for our very British daily attire, namely shorts and T-shirts whatever the weather. Well, Winter never really existed over there, and we have lots of great memories of boating in the 'calmas de Enero', when the sea was like a millpond under the deep blue January skies. So, when we rang some old friends to warn them of our impending visit, it was with a little surprise when they told us 'Bring plenty of warm clothes! It's freezing here!' 'Were not having this!' we thought, but packed a couple of jumpers anyway, and got on the internet to sort flights and accommodation.
The day turned out to be rather pleasant and it's not often that the Levante beach is that deserted. The two interior photos show us with a couple of old friends from Spain, Wolfgang and MariaElena, taken at the bar of the Club Nautico in Moraira the following lunchtime, whilst it poured with rain outside after a freezing cold walk around the Friday market. However, it turned out to be an eventful morning, as we bumped in to many old friends from the village, plus Dennis got a decent haircut at 'Juan y Finas' for the first time in ages (guess who has been formerly cutting his hair? Well, I am rather good with the electric hedge trimmer!) Dennis also managed to buy some favourite comfortable Spanish shoes, and we also stocked up on some 'Mirto' short sleeve shirts that we used to always buy from 'Merino' menswear shop by the seafront. We had invited Wolfie to join us the previous evening for dinner at our favourite restaurant in Calpe, Madelaine's 'Casita Suiza' and it was a nice surprise when the following lunchtime Wolfie suggested that his former partner MariaElena joined us too, to catch up on all the news. So whilst the rain fell outside, we sat by a log fire sampling the very good food and wine served by the newly appointed proprietors at the Club Nautico, and later called in on many friends of old just to say a quick 'hello'.
The building down the Costa Blanca coast continues unrelenting, and we always said when living there 'It'll be nice when it's finished!' and 20 years on there's no sign of that for a long time. The photos above were taken 200 metres up on the roof terrace of Europe's tallest hotel, 'The Bali' in Benidorm; their answer to Dubai's 'Burj Al Arab'! As you can see the weather was back to normal as we woke up the following day to brilliant blue crystal clear skies. We toured the coast from Altea to Alicante, enjoying the sudden arrival of Spring. The famous almond blossom, usually in full bloom by February, was only just evident, and after their very cold Winter it was a shame to see the damaged orange trees and bouganvilea (I'm sure I've not spelt it right!).
That's all a bit of a contrast, with the snow on the distant hills, the fruit trees flowering, and empty beaches in the sun. Later that evening we caught the flight back to a very cold England and were only at home for a brief time before our next trip away, this time in search of snow as we headed for the French Alps and our favourite hotel 'Les Airelles' in famous skiing resort of Courchevel 1850. The strange extremes in the weather continued as we landed to hot sun and temperatures in the 70's at Geneva! An anticyclone had just settled over central France which sent temperatures soaring from minus 20 oC to plus 20oC in a few days on the ski slopes of 'Les Trois Vallees' 2,500 metres up in the picture perfect setting with Mont Blanc as a backdrop. So, as luck would have it, we couldn't have chosen a better time to come to Courchevel, with thick snow on the hundreds of kilometres of piste, bathed in intense sun, and absent of the tourists prior to the Easter rush. The hotel had arranged a driver to meet us at the airport for the two hour drive that took us past Lake Annecy and up through Moutiers as we started the ascent up The Alps. Arriving mid afternoon I was in time to sort out rental of boots and skis for the next morning, and we then worked up an appetite enjoying the hotels' après ski facilities in the swimming pool and hamman. We had decided to book 'full board' at 'Les Airelles', simply because the food is so good. The buffet spread for breakfast and lunch has to be seen and experienced to fully appreciate the quality and the service from the staff is second to none. In choosing both the hotel and destination for a spot of skiing, it's all about 'The best of the best' as the three valleys of Courchevel, Meribel and Val Thorens offer arguably the best skiing in the World, whilst Madame Fenetraz's 'Les Airelles' ensures the most comfortable of stays, with such attentive staff and gourmet food. So, all that sorted, to add that the weather was just fantastic, you can guess that we had just a perfect four days there.
We woke the next morning to the sun breaking above 'Saulire' mountain, and looked forward to an early breakfast before the ski lifts started operating at 9.am. The buffet of freshly baked bread, croissant, cakes, with assortment of fresh fruit, preservatives, cold meats and fish, plus traditional eggs, bacon and sausages were all too tempting though we tried to show a little reserve with the imminent lunchtime spread on the terrace! My ski suit must have shrunk slightly around the waist in the four years since our last skiing holiday but I'm sure the extra kilos body weight would propel me all the more quickly down the slopes! The skis were ready and waiting outside the hotel which is located directly on 'Alpen Jardin' piste, so I skied down to Les Croisette to meet up with Dennis where we caught a cable car up to Chenus.
In the calm of the morning, the hot air balloons were already lingering over the ski slopes whilst hang gliders launched themselves from the mountain tops. Dennis settled back in a deck chair 2,600 metres up for a spot of sunbathing whilst I took to the piste for the first time since 2001. It all came back as if I had been skiing yesterday, though the instructor I booked the following day tried to get through to me that I wasn't mono skiing on Lake Windermere, and should concentrate on turning in a more conventional way! So, practicing the appropriate transfer of body weight to improve the rhythm of the turn, I was soon happy to progress to the more ambitious runs further up the mountains and on to 'Vizelle'. It was exhilarating to be slaloming down a deserted mountain run on perfect powdery snow in the morning sun. Skiing just doesn't get any better than this! After an intensive couple of hours it was time to return to the hotel for lunch where the plates of food laid out on the improvised ledges carved from the snow stretched the full length of the terrace. There were platters of cold meats, salads, seafood, hot soup, pizzas, cheeses, and probably 50 different deserts! Just enough to keep us going before dinner!
Well after that lot there was only one thing for it,…get back on the slopes again and burn those calories off! The daily routine was quickly established; eat, ski, eat, ski, swim, eat, drink and sleep! Multiply that by four and by the end of the holiday we were feeling a mixture of things, namely refreshed, full, aching, sunburnt, but decidedly happy and relaxed. I made use of all the drag lifts and chair lifts to ski the multitude of runs, finishing each afternoon sometime after 4 p.m. when we retired to the indoor swimming pool, also for a Jacuzzi and Turkish bath. We even managed a couple of trips down to the village before dinner to browse the shops of this expensive resort, where chalets are priced to the nearest million, a simple beer can be at least £10 and a meal anything up to £5,000! Yes it can be that much as we noticed as we perused our menu each evening at 'Les Airelles'. Well , neither of us are too partial to caviar which is just as well as it appears on the 'a la carte' menu at 3,500 euros! As for the wine, having been used to buying a good Spanish red for less than a tenner a bottle, the Petrus at several numbers and noughts on the wine list just didn't seem that desirable! However, we still managed a hangover after the first night and so decided from there on to take it easy and enjoy the Evian and consequently the following day!
The glorious weather just continued unabated, so by 10.a.m. it was already in the high 70'oF on top of Saulire! You'd think the snow would be running to slush within minutes but the cold nights and piste basher machines which prepared the runs for the next day ensured great conditions. Lower down the valley grass was emerging through the covering of snow, and mountain streams were running again to mark the advent of Spring. As we sat on the terrace enjoying our last lunch before the drive back to Geneva, a hazy covering of cloud glazed over the deep blue sky, marking the end of the heatwave. And to think they don't even charge extra for the sun at the hotel! We arrived at Geneva airport at 3 p.m. to be told that we could take an earlier BA flight back to Heathrow within 10 minutes, and so just an hour and a half later we were on our way back to The Cotswolds. With the plants all budding in the garden and the grass well and truly growing, I think a serious spot of weeding is well overdue and so we'll stay put for the next month and finally get a bit of work done around here! At least the moles haven't been burrowing by the field as much, and as I look out now there's a family of rabbits happily munching away on the back lawn. Also, perhaps over Easter I'll try out a new polish Dennis bought me for the cars. It's called 'Swissol', and the special wax (made from ingredients from the Brazilian rain forest no less!) leaves a watery shiny porcelain finish to the paint's surface, also covering up all blemishes and scratches. The product comes in a special cool box complete with cotton polishing cloths. I'm surprised we didn't see the stuff for sale in Courchevel. Put it this way, the top of the range tub of wax called 'Divine' markets at £1280.00 , but as the brochure states, 'gives a glaze of most exceptional quality, containing ultra pure Brazilian white carnauba, which gives a glow that goes beyond the normal perceptions of 'shiny''. Rumour has it that the supermodels of the catwalk world swear by it too for body waxing!! Anyway, as it has to be applied on a sunny dry day, hopefully Easter should see me carefully administering the wax to the Rolls and Aston, and so the 'Mer' car wax is to be sidelined should Swissol's brochure-speak ring true. So that's all the news to date. It's now time to get the knee pads out and start that weeding though a better alternative would be to cut the grass on the relative comfort of the sit on mower! Best wishes to everyone, and Happy Easter. Colin & Dennis. |
