Our V-Day Ski Day

So this post is a little late, but better late than never....

Travers and I celebrated Valentine's Day this year in our typical way, at home, with a nice steak dinner and a chocolaty dessert. He surprised me with chocolates and flowers, which we don't typically like to have on Valentine's Day since its always overpriced. He is a big believer of giving flowers when they are least expected. Well, I guess he got me there, since I was not expecting flowers or candy on Valentine's Day at all.  All in all, it was a wonderful day, but we both wanted to do something more. So we decided that Saturday, we would go skiing, just the two of us!

We have always gone skiing with our friends, and the last time we went skiing just the two of us was 2 years ago in Tahoe, so it was definitely time to make a trip.  We did some research and asked some other friends where the best place to go for a day trip would be.  We got several recommendations, and finally decided to drive to an area called Le Grand Massif, which has several different ski resort areas we could go to. We figured we'd drive to the area and just see which looked best.

After only an hour's drive, we decided to go to Flaine, which was one of the furthest resorts, but well worth it. We finally made it there, found some free parking, and after a bit of a scare, found a ski boot rental place for me to rent boots. I've been trying to find a pair to buy, but after the last pair I bought not working well and giving excrutiating pain to my shins, I am hesitant to invest in another pair too quickly. So I've been renting. But it has become more of a pain as it takes up precious ski time, and as we found out in Flaine, there aren't always convenient rental shops nearby.

So once we got all our gear and ski passes on, we took the gondola up the mountain to ski. Here is a nice panoramic shot I put together of one of the views we got to see from the top.

It was a beautiful, sunny day, and the slopes were amazingly empty. We often felt we were the only two on the mountain!  And with only the two of us, we were able to go down the mountain as fast or slow as we wanted.  The snow was wonderful, and we just had an amazing time.









We stopped for lunch at one of the restaurants at the top and enjoyed the views. It was fun to see people setting up picnics in the snow, just off piste in the fluffy roped off area, taking in the views of the surrounding mountains.











After lunch we skied another hour or so, then decided to stop for some hot chocolate and coffees at a mid-slope cafe.  People were really enjoying the day, sitting in the sun, playing card games, lounging in the beach chairs that the cafe provided.  Skiing here was not all about going up and down the slopes, but really taking in the entire atmosphere, the surroundings, the sun, and just having a good time. It was one of the best Valentine's Day celebrations we've ever had.  And will have to be repeated again next year!

Looks like I'm standing in front a poster,
but, no, that is the real scenery of Flaine behind me.