C'est bon!!!!

So. I am in France right now. Meribel ski resort, to be precise, about two hours outside Lyon. In the Alps. I am so beyond ecstatic to be here...words can't describe. The scenery is so beautiful it hurts. Every morning I am torn between going snowboarding and just sitting on the balcony of the chalet in order to stare at the scenery (and work on my tan). The weather is perfectly sunny and just cold enough to require a ski jacket.

Meribel is part of the Trois Valees ski area. I've only ever been out skiing in Mt. Charleston in Nevada and Big Bear in California. It's such an ordeal here to get from place to place, I'm a bit overwhelmed. There are bucket ski lifts and chair lifts and button lifts and everything else, so to get from place to place you sort of have to figure out where you're at and figure out what lift will get you closest and then ski from there. It's confusing but well worth it as all the restaurants are nestled along the different runs (though here they're known as "pistes").

Right now I'm chilling out with a glass of good white wine with Jack Johnson rolling on the stereo in the living room (everyone else has gone to bed). We have a "chalet girl" who also happens to be a trained chef, so dinners and breakfasts have been amazing and wonderful and make me want to buckle down and go to culinary school. Anna, our chalet girl, has given me a few recipes and I can't wait to try them out.

I love "Banana Pancakes". I so very much want to close the curtains and pretend like there's no world outside. But that's an entirely separate blog....

Anyway, the ski runs are absolutely lovely. Some spots are icy and really hard-packed, but on the whole, it's been decent powder to go tooling around on. I am so sore from my exertions, but the exhilaration of skimming down the mountain has thus far outweighed most of the muscle pain I've suffered through since Monday morning. Tomorrow is our last day for skiing, and I plan on staying on the mountain all day.

Again, the views are so amazingly breathtaking I find myself wanting to just sit down wherever I'm at and just take it all in. I love mountains and snow and watching the sun sink behind the neighboring mountainsides.

The chalet is amazing as well. As I've mentioned, chalet girl Anna cooks incredible meals that manage to be both filling and good for you. I may have an advantage when it comes to baked goods, but that girl definitely has me beat on dinner courses. Everything she's prepared has been superb.

Lordy. I should probably go to sleep. More about France (and more pictures on Facebook) later. ....For now, il est temps de dormir. Et je dois certainement apprendre plus français. Bonne nuit et rêves doux !