Logis Hotel Le Lac Embrun

... day hikes, a 2-day climb, night in a refuge, hikes to pick up blueberries to bake pies and make jams... one can't get bored in the mountains (unless you don't like hiking or climbing). In between our hikes? Playing tarot cards with my uncle and my aunt (a passion shared by most family members on my Mom's side) and going to the movies once in a while...

I'll upload pictures, they will express more than words...

... hill (serfs in the valley....fortress on the hill). It is very quaint retaining a kind of Swiss feeling with French accents if that makes any sense. We stayed in a very old hotel that we found through Logis de France. On the whole they are pretty good but the next night... in St. Etienne, we stayed again at a Logis de France and were not at all impressed. Had to send a note to the management on that one. First bad experience here. The good news ...

... before we could even reach to "col du Lautaret" so I didn't even have to worry about the road condition. I woke up two hours later as we were getting close to Lyon and right before we got deviated. The deviation took us near Vienne which is pretty crazy. My father wasn't too happy about it although it was the opportunity for Kristen to discover the French countryside by night (hmmm... not that interesting to be honest). It was a long tiring happy day!

... was closed and we didn't know the town well enough to know where to go to be warm. We ended up watching a movie on someone's computer in a garage after putting on more layers of clothing than we had on for skiing. My toes were numb all day. We finally got on the bus and made the 3 hours trip home. I had a great time in the French Alps, and my favorite part was meeting all my new friends that I will see at school and practice my French with. Love you all and talk to you soon.

Leaving Cannes we picked up the Route Napoleon at Grasse, straight away we could see how good this was going to be. The further we went the steeper the terrain, we encountered a few slow moving coaches which provided a little entertainment (got a video somewhere ...

... se cred independenti si suverani :p). Asa cum ziceam e cel mai sus orasel din Europa la 1350 m altitudine si este unul din cele doua orasele din Franta care au "gargouille", asta e un canal ca un izvoras care curge prin mijlocul stradutei principale din centrul istoric. In partea de sus sunt fortaretele, apoi pana jos sunt stradutele orasului vechi (u kno what I mean!;)), inguste si foarte, foarte abrupte, captusite cu boutiques si magazine de ...

More information on this campsite can be found here. Beautifully located campsite with quite good facitlities at about 1500m altitude and one of the best views on the Lac Serre Poncon. Located very near the small Lac St.Apollinaire. Start of some great hikes right at the entrance of the campsite. The hikes are rather steep at the start.

... which you filled with cheeses, mushrooms and onions, then placed under the hot plate to melt into a gooey liquid, which was then poured over bread, potatoes, and cold cuts of your choice. Totally decedant, extremely Yummy, and absolutely disgraceful for the waistline! We spent the rest of the evening sipping on French wines, and then retired to bed in the visitors cottage - so cute and toasty warm! Bright and early back to the airport, back to face the rest of winter in London.....

... re sure he should be a school headmaster!) Mia for reminding us that taking a double doctors prescription of pills isn't a good thing Fiona for drinking lots of 'woit woine' with Kylie Simon for keeping things in perspective Ken for the fashion tips BUT, no thanks to Keir for his foul **************. and a big thanks to Kylie for giving it another go!!

... was skiing on some fairly icy patches of the slopes. But all together I was proud of accomplishing some pretty intense skiing and only have muscle aches to complain about. Of course after skiing the fun continued with two amazing dinner parties hosted at my groups' apartment. When you get some good cooks and amazing people together you get some of the most entertaining and intelligent nights you could ask for. However, after several ...