Tartiflette Delight

I'm just writing a quick compliment to Gillian & Chris for their wonderful Tartiflette last night that was as good as nay I've tasted in the Alps - thanks for that.

A Good Result

Well one game has been won and I've managed to sort out some domestic issues at my Dad's so so far this trip has been a success. Off to stay with Wendy for a couple of days now before going to another game on Saturday.

Back to the UK for a week

Well not quite a week but until Sunday evening as I may make the most of the fact their are two Arsenal games in a week. Not that I'm actually expecting much after a succession of 0-0 draws but you can but hope and the visit to numerous friends plus seeing my dad will make the trip worthwhile. Must dash to the airport now...

Another Tough Day

..on the South of France coast. Monica & Peter had a perfect view (if with a rather noisy road) looking out to see and over the town of Nice. Last night we went out to a very well known restaurant (more a brasserie perhaps), Cafe de Turin, for Oysters and other shell fish. Well worth a visit when you pop down here. Unfortunately the visit was all too short and we had to dash off to the airport mid-afternoon so we'll have to come back at some stage.

A Nice Parade

Well we saw two parades today, the first being the main Carnival parade that takes place during the afternoon and that was followed by the more exciting and interactive evening one. The first parade is an organised event that you can only watch by paying an entrance fee and the audience was generally much older. The more manic evening parade has more contemporary and vivid floats that are all lit up for the night sky. It is also free and so attracts the youngsters with alcohol too!

Arriving in Sunny Nice

We're just spending a quick weekend with Monica & Peter down on the Cote D'Azur. Life can be incredibly tough at times, can't it? Flying over the Alps at a relatively low altitude in perfect weather meant that we could see the ski lifts and even the skiers in some cases. I only took the photo on my mobile but it still shows the beautiful snow covering the whole of the mountain region. It's actually a very short distance between the Alpes Maritimes and Nice so the town of Nice is a surprising candidate for the 2018 Winter Olympics!

Annoying Pistes in Grindelwald...

Just to say it was a great weekend but there were two annoying pistes, one in First and one on the Mannlichen side of the resort. This is just to help anyone who happens to be in the ski resort. So in First the run to be aware of is a red run (23) from the top of the Honwald chair down to the Wetterhorn Bar, the last portion is superb but you need to know that the first part can involve some serious uphill pushing unless it's icy and hard (no good when we had powder snow!). Meanwhile over on Mannlichen beware the red run (21) from Kleine Scheidegg to the Tschuggen chair (the photo is Claire at the top of the piste), it's not as bad as the other one mentioned but is a bit of a drag though you get to the quieter part of the mountain. Hope this helps...

Sun Comes Out as do all the Half Term Kids!

It was a beautiful morning as we checked out and went to catch the ski bus (see panoramic view from our room) but by the time we got to the train (Grindelwald has a cog railway up to the Jungfrau) it was obvious the half term crowd were in town. So we had a busier day than yesterday but the sunny conditions made up for this. We also found the world's worst on piste restaurant where we waited to be served, waited for our drinks and finally discovered the food we ordered wasn't there anyway!

Valentine's Day in the Snow

We've had a good day in snowy and occasionally sunny conditions here in Grindelwald as the exceptional winter snow continues here in Switzerland. I managed to go about a yard off piste and disappeared in 1m of powder! I will post next week with the first in a series of pistes that are not quite the same or as good as expected (i.e. they go up when you think they should be going down!) as one piste we did today involved a hell of a lot of psuhing and climbing. Thankfully it did at least have a wonderful final section in the trees. We also saw a new attraction in the First region of Grindelwald, The First Flier or as captured by these guys - looks fun for the next time we're here.

Off skiing this weekend..

I love this country as we have another ski weekend to cope with. This time we're off to Grindelwald for a Valentine's Weekend, shame all the kids are off school this week too...

Swiss say "YES" to EU workers

My faith in the Swiss public is high after they voted to keep the doors open to EU workers and, even extend the rights to those Eastern European countries that the right wing SVP has been most adamantly against. However, the wonderful BBC had the vote on their website but not the result for some strange reason...

Swiss Vote on EU Worker Rights

Okay not the most interesting of posts but as it could have massive implications on our staying in Switzerland I thought I'd mention it. Today saw the voters of this country going to the polls on whether EU citizens could work in the country as certain right wing parties are worried that Swiss workers are losing their jobs to "cheaper" employees (mainly) from the East of Europe - sound a familiar argument?

Whenever I hear these arguments it strikes me that many people don't realise that this is the the very thin end of the wedge that they are pushing into the gap marked "Facism". Even though people feel they need to protect their fellow citizens it's very hard to imagine any country in Europe that hasn't got a heritage bristling with immigrants and exiles that have entered over the centuries. Switzerland, partly because of its location, is one country that is such a melange of differing cultures and people that it always strikes me as odd that the right wing parties get such air time, but they do.

Claire Stays at Home

It's been a couple of days since Claire came back from England with a cold and she has, for once, taken time off work to be at home and recover. Unfortunately it hasn't meant time to relax but she has been logging on to work emails and taking phone calls despite my protestations!

Snow in England, None in Basel but plenty in the mountains

Seems odd that here we are living in a country renowned for its snow coverage during the winter and we have none here in Basel whilst, in England, the country has had its worst (or best?) snow for years. Of course, the snow has caused problems in a country where such events are once in a generation and not every year so why all the moaning. Even in Switzerland there can be times when the sheer volume of snow can cause difficulties as Zurich will testify this year when it had to suspend bus services.

The good news is the amount of snow falling in the mountains and we've booke a weekend in Grindelwald for the week after next as well as a week in Zinal in March with its renowned powder and off piste skiing.