Chamonix: part deux

Because the snow wasn't great, we decided that instead of a third day of so-so skiing (for me) and snowboarding (for Brian) that he would teach me how to snowboard.  He has wanted me to learn ever since we got married, but I was hesitant after growing up & learning how to ski.  When I'd pay 50 bucks or more to get on the slopes, I'd want to take full advantage of paying for that, and spending the day on my butt or with my face in the snow was a less than appealing option.  

This is the gondola that we took the second day to get us up to the top of one of the mountains.  It fit 60+ people, and was a bit scary for me, but very cool!

But, since we had the time, and the snow wasn't nice enough to really feel like I was missing out on a great day of skiing, I set to work to learn.  Thankfully, there aren't photos that exist of my more embarrassing moments... falling down right when I got off the lift, doing a crab crawl because I couldn't get to standing up, aerial 360's as I spectacularly fell down, and the time I did a huge face plant on my way to the lift that knocked all the wind out of me and made me feel like I had run into a brick wall.  

But, lucky for me, I had a great, and very patient teacher, who talked me through it all, and after about 3 hours, I pretty much had it down!  I was turning like a pro (ok, maybe not a pro, but I wasn't falling down) and making my way down the hill while using both edges, front and back.  There was this moment, all of a sudden, when I just 'got' it, which actually surprised me, but was really exciting!  I'm looking forward to trying it again, hopefully when there is better snow, and getting to enjoy it with Brian.

Notice how excited I am that I'm not doing a face plant?

That afternoon, we took some time to head up a different mountian for a bit of sightseeing.  We were close to Mont Blanc, the tallest mountain in the Alps, Western Europe & the entire European Union.  In this photo, it's the big one to the right.






Here's a little map about our trip to the top of Europe:

I could honestly tell that the air was thinner up there, and it was c-o-l-d.

Here's the view of the Chamonix Valley, with the building that we took that gondola to. 

 Liiiiiitle bridge.  See the mountaineers in the background?

I think this was taken right after I stopped myself from saying "I'm on top of the world!"  That would have been nerdy.  But almost true.  I do have a completely new respect for people who do mountaineering... I just took a couple of gondolas and an elevator to a really high point, though we saw people trekking below us.  That would take a lot of strength, fortitude and effort, and for this trip, I was happy with the easy way up :)

And, after spending an hour or so looking around, taking pictures, and having a snack, we headed back to town.  And ended the day in the best way possible :) Enjoying dinner with my love while listening to live music pouring out of the bar across the street, and soaking in everything around us.

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Chamonix, France & the Alps

The second weekend of February, Brian and I headed to Geneva for a long weekend.  I was able to find incredibly cheap flights (75 Euros, round trip TOTAL for both of us), so we took advantage of the flights as well as some vacation days that Brian had to use, and headed out.  Once we arrived in Geneva, we took an 90 minute car ride to Chamonix, right in the heart of the alps.  We spent the next few days skiing, snowboarding, or attempting to do one of those.

Unfortunately, it hadn't snowed for 5 weeks in the alps, so everything looked pretty bare.  But, the mountains were high enough that there was still some snow preserved, so we took advantage of early morning skiing before the snow turned to mush in the afternoon warmth.

I was excited that my rented boots matched my jacket.

Day one: Le Tour.  See ALLLL that snow behind Brian?  You can tell he's really excited for our first day of skiing on our first ride up in the gondola.

 You say "look!  There's snow!  He's standing on it!"  Yes, but it's not very good snow.  Sorry, we don't mean to be snow snobs, but Brian & his parents & my parents have now spoiled me for the rest of my life after getting to ski in Colorado in fresh powder.  Sigh.

See that little cluster of dark spots in the middle of the photo?  That's where we ate lunch on the first day.  I get such a kick out of eating out in the mountains.

End of first day:  need refreshment.  We found a little cafe at the middle point of one of the mountains and proceeded to get some hot wine to warm us up.

 yum.

Day two: Brevant.  Snow's not much better, but we really enjoy the scenery.  The Alps totally have Colorado beat when it comes to beauty.

Cue the wop-wop sound... rocks are showing everywhere due to the lack of snow.  I love this photo though... me & my skis, Brian & his board...

 What a stud I married.  {Who else thinks that the lift in the background looks like something out of Star Wars?}

 Honestly.  What a great looking guy :)  With a built-in face mask protector.

The town of Chamonix at the bottom of the photo, with the mountains reaching above.  Cool!

We did our best to look at the bright side, that there were no lines, bluebird skies, and the slopes more or less to ourselves!  Plus, it was just so nice to get out of the city, and into nature a bit more.  We really did have a lot of fun together, out among the mountains!

And, random photo of the day.  Who wants to be this guy?  Found him in Chamonix, entertaining a very matchy matchy child...

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Blog Catch Up......Paris....Yum....

So after we departed Nigeria we took a slight detour and had a 3 day layover in Paris. It was a great time to relax and catch our breath from the last 10 days (see previous blog entry). There are plenty of post card pictures taken and wonderful sites were seen but probably the most exciting part of the trip (aside from spending 3 days with the love of my life) was the ridiculously good food. And because I again find myself writing in our blog that I swore I wouldn't do (This is Brian) I will focus on what I feel is most important. Enjoy!

So Kate nearly faints in excitement when you mention chocolate croissants and I foam at the mouth at the mention of European coffee so you can imagine we were quite the site at this cafe.
This meal was on the corner of an unsuspecting street with one of our EMI teammates. I can't begin to explain how some of this tasted because my mind drifting off into a blissful state with each bite.
This was at a restaurant we ate at our first night with some of the EMI team. This restaurant had been around for over 150 years. The service was tremendous and entertaining as many waiters in Paris have made their whole careers our of serving and have learned the art of working a table full of Americans. I had the fish soup.
Kate developed quite the taste for crepes a la Nutella as have any tourist that ever visits Paris because they made them EVERYWHERE. This is one of countless crepe makers we visited.
For our last meal in Paris we hit the streets in search of a local restaurant that didn't look like it was full of tourists. We found a cool little bar on the corner and it was perfect. On the right is a HUGE bowl of muscles for me (please ignore the fries, I didn't order them, they came with the meal) and on the right was an AMAZING white fish in a white sauce with a few prawns.
We leave our food tour and shift to the "things Brian thought were cool" tour. This is how they tow a car in Paris. Yes, that is a Maserati. Yes, it is being lifted in the air by that truck. Yes, its owners soon yelled out the window and ran out in their bathrobe trying to get their car back. No, the tow truck driver did not care and promptly drove off with their car.
Welcome to the mayhem that is the Louve. This is the crowd that was all trying to get at the Mona Lisa but more interestingly is what is behind the crowd. The painting is "The Wedding at Cana" which is awesome because of the detail and because it is huge (22' x 32')! The Louve is full of cool stuff but my personal favorites are the super-sized paintings.
Kate still enjoying the Louve, Brian dreaming of expresso.
There is amazing architecture all over the city (and Kate insisted we see all of it) but I can't say there aren't a few unusual choices of decor. This man obviously did not want to be a part of the buildings decoration though his position may have had something to do with that.
Of course I must include the token Paris picture of me and my sweetie. Spending 3 days with a gorgeous woman in the "City of Light" does make it on the "Things Brian finds cool" list.
With that, I leave you to your thoughts and encourage you to cook like the French and then invite me over for a sampling. I'd love to share more but that will just have to wait. Cheers!

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