La Fête des Rois

La Fête des Rois, Epiphany, is celebrated on January 6 .  All the bake shops are bursting with the famous cake, called la Gallette des Rois, eaten on that day.  A tiny porcelaine figure is hidden in the cake and the person who finds it in their piece becomes the king or queen for the day.

Christmas Vacation (part 2) Beaujolais and Cote de Rhone Regions

After 3 days of skiing in Chamonix, we all drove to the Beaujolais and Cote de Rhone regions for an overnight and wine tasting.  We loved Condrieu; a lovely little town looking over the Rhone River.  The vines have all been pruned and seem to be waiting for the mantle of winter to lift and to burst forth with life!  The next day we drove to Grazac for an overnight to see the area and spend the last day in Lyon.

It was a quick 6 day trip but we all enjoyed it immensely!

Chamonix Mont Blanc-Christmas

Paula, Allison and Chris (Allison's fiancé) arrived Christmas Eve in Lyon, rented an SUV and drove through snow to meet us at our hotel in Les Houches, a village located about a mile from Chamonix.  We all enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the hotel and made preparations for skiing early the next morning.    We met with our guide, Sébastien, to discuss all the details concerning where we would ski, etc.

Christmas morning it snowed and was a complete white-out at many points during the day.  There were very few skiers out , very poor visibility, 2 feet of fresh powder,  and difficult terrain.  It was great that we had Sébastien along to lead the way!  The next two days on our own were great as there was some sun and more packed conditions by then.  We enjoyed the spectacular views of the Alps, delicious lunches on the mountain and great dinners in the town of Chamonix.