Le Tania Day 2 - Serious Insomia

I was late to my class again and had to take the nearby red run. It was just a sprinkling of snow in some areas and icy but I made it to the class without too much hassle. Win!

This time it was more advanced as we went out to Courchevel. The early morning snow was marvelous and I glided down snow so powdery and fluffy like a feather down duvet. There were not many people at that time of day so we got a few great blue runs in. 

My friend Amy was in the class and we stuck by each other after lunch time as we skied to Meribel and back to Courchevel. The views were spectacular and the skiing conditions were nicer than La Tania. I didn't want to risk taking the last lifts or getting stranded in another resort so I called it a day just after 3pm. The sun disappears behind the mountains quickly and combined with fatigue, I was tempting fate by pushing too hard.

I took the goldola back down to Le Tania to avoid an ice trail to the resort. Then it was a laborious slog back up that red run near the chalet on foot. Towards the end, a group of people had taken a shortcut downwards to the chalets and one kind gentleman carried my skis while I caught my breath. That was having seen this panting girl, barely maintaining her balance carrying skis and poles up a steep hill.

It was another exhausted return to the chalet. Having skipped lunch again (snacking on fruit and nuts) I ate 2 slices of coffee cake which our host baked in the morning. 

That night I went to the pub, The Telemark with the others but for me, it was to use the free wifi. Sadly to was blocked with too many users and my chalet mates had too many pre dinner drinks. It was the loudest and most rambunctious dinner so far. 

We had raclette which didn't agree with my lactose intolerance. Every meal had dairy and I'm starting to think that my lactase tablets are no longer effective. 

I disappeared to my room to get an early night sleep but just laid in bed with my stomach turning all night. I couldn't sleep and had the sniffles :( Finally when the chalet was silent, I came out to the living room to blog in this moment's peace. All that can be heard is the stream running outside our chalet, and me blowing my nose every 5 minutes.

La Tania Day 1 - Skiing Solo In Courchevel

Its the first day of my week long ski trip in the French Alps. Because we arrived late the night before, I only got my ski gear after my lesson started.

I was put in another intermediate class with a French lady instructor, Fabienne. She had a gravelly voice and could have been mistaken for male chain smoker. She smoked on the tow bars during our lesson and said "ouis, allez and Bon" a lot. She had an endearing personality and was a very good teacher. 

It was my first time in skis for two years and I'll always remember Fabienne shouting in a heavy French accent: "Emma, don't look at your skis, look at me!" Which I did and then almost by the click of the fingers, my skiing stabilised immensely. 

I could'nt wait to hit the other slopes afterwards. Since I was split from our group already, I spent the entire day skiing alone and it was'nt a bad thing. I was skiing blue and red runs, mostly with ease and there was no fear factor. The conditions were good although a few of the red runs got a bit hairy at the end of the day. The worst were in the shade and are so steep, they looks like cliffs to the depths of the earth. (Lovely view of mountains in the background though!)

I almost got stranded because the lifts were closed and lucky I followed a group of people who were heading back to La Tania. They even stopped to wait for me as I was slower, much to the realisation that my abilities were not as good as I thought.

When I finally burst through the front door of the chalet, I was bathed in sweat and there was only one thing on my mind. A hot bath. When I crept into the almost burning water, there were some wall shaking groans of comfort which I sure the whole chalet could hear. In my usual fashion, I doused myself with ice cold water and felt renewed afterwards.

We put our Kris Kringle presents under the tree.

The big dinner table in our Christmas jumpers.

Our spacious yet cosy chalet.

Cologne and Dusseldorf Christmas Markets 2013

Grant and I had an easy weekend in Germany. We flew to Cologne for the Christmas markets and came back from Dusseldorf as the cities are only 20 mins away by train. 

It was my first early morning flight from Gatwick and I realised I should be flying from there more often. The airport is calm and going through security was a breeze. I even managed to get a whole row of seats to myself on the plane!

After we landed and took a train to the city of Cologne, we climbed up the cathedral near the station. The weather wasn't so great but at least it didn't rain. The climb, unlike the one I did in Florence's duomo cathedral was challenging because people were coming up and down the stairs and there was a slippery/scary bit near the top. 

After the climb we went straight into the adjoining christmas market. The first one was big and the food stalls are amazing. There was plenty of hot apple cider, apple liquor (which I nearly got drunk on one shot glass!) and mulled wine as well. It was lovely being in a real christmas market where the food was fresh and traditionally made. We discovered Kartoffelpuffer, fluffy deep friend potato pancakes. Like hash browns but way better! 

This was at the second Christmas market nearby. Not only was there plenty of wurst, there were also long grilled meat sticks. They were super tasty. Ours was pork but they also had beef.

The meat stick is deceptively short at times. 

We didn't get to Dusseldorf until nearly 9pm. For dinner, our hotel recommended a traditional German restaurant, which was also a brewhouse called Schumacher. On a late Saturday night, the place was packed. The atmosphere was buzzing. Once seated, a man shows up with a tray of beers. He simply asks: "Beers?" We say yes and he plonks two on our table and marks our coasters as a tally of how many we've had. Now this is real Germany! 

We ordered Schweinshaxe, roasted pork knuckle. Mine was served with mash and Grant's with red sauerkraut and dumpling. The meals were huge and comforting. It's the type of food to drink beer with. I could'nt even finish mine.

The next morning we explored Dusseldorf. The city is different to Cologne because it looks relatively new. There is still a lot of construction. I liked it because it's metropolitan and cultured. There were a lot of Japanese restaurants I wanted to try too. 

We hit up more Christmas markets and ate those delightful potato pancakes.

Yet another Christmas market. How quaint are these wooden toy soldiers?

We walked along the Rhine river and stopped by at Cafe Kasbah which was Moroccan. We sat in the upstairs mezzanine, on poufs sipping fresh mint tea. As I watched the sunshine streaming indoors, (something I rarely see nowadays),  I was thinking how much I liked this city. Not too busy and has all that one needs. I can imagine living here!

A Ferris Wheel For Us Big Kids

I met my friend for coffee in Hampstead and there was a Christmas Fair. There were food stalls, a petting zoo, birds of prey display, reindeers and an organ machine playing Christmas carols. 

On the upper end of the high street was a ferris wheel and other rides.

So my friend and I got on the ferris wheel. The enjoyment of high amusement rides is different for us big kids. The little kids were calm with their accompanying parent. But for us, if we weren't squealing, we were wailing in trepidation.

Terror...

Glee!

A Tale Of The Spinning Burrito And My First Shiner

It happened on my way into the office after I popped out for a burrito. We have auto revolving doors but sometimes you need to push them manually. I approached and it started to revolve so I walked through and it stopped in my face. My cheekbone hit the metal handrail and nearly smacked my glasses off.

I was shocked. Not only because of the impact, I also dropped my burrito. I was trapped in the door so I gave it a push and suddenly the doors spun twice as fast! So quickly I couldn't pick it up. I jumped out of the doors and watched helplessly as my burrito rolled anti-clockwise in some kind of ridiculous taunt.

I looked up to see the receptionists' stunned faces and caught the eye of one sympathetic gentleman who got up from his chair to make sure I was ok. I pretended everything was fine and rescued my burrito, still hot and foil wrapping intact. 

A few hours later, my upper cheek swelled and a shiner was coming through. I couldn't wait to get home, into my onesie and make cheese souffle. It's not a cure but as long as I'm not looking in the mirror, everything will be just fine. 

My shiner a few days later. 

This Is Autumn

 The sun shone so much today the sky was burnt blue. A walk through Hampstead Heath set the scene for autumn. Dogs, coats, gumboots and kites. By afternoon, the light was gone and people scurried home from the shops to prepare for the cosy indoors. 

Saturday Starting With Irish Soda Bread

It's not officially winter but its weather has kicked in. I slept in till 10am-a stretch since I hate wasting hours of sunshine. I felt lazy and was relieved in a way that it was raining outside. There was no incentive to leave the flat.

For breakfast I whipped up a loaf of Irish soda bread. I got hooked on the stuff in Dublin. It has a delicious smell and takes only half an hour to make. The ingredients are buttermilk, wholemeal flour, white flour and salt. All which I had in the kitchen. I thawed the buttermilk as I keep some in the freezer and picked out a heap of raisins out of the cereal box to add to the bread. I like soda bread with fruit so you gotta make do...

The bread turned out perfect and smelt a treat as it was coming out of the oven. 

Thanks to the buttermilk, the texture was soft and well aerated. The aroma intensified as I sliced it while it was still warm. Soda bread success!

The slices went into the toaster and was served with lashings of Anchor butter. (Grant's favourite from NZ.) Utterly scrumptious.

I did some chores and by the time I walked out of the flat to go shopping, it was night-dark and only 5pm. 

I went to Camden where I bought a sweater from a charity shop and pearl jasmine green tea, white peony tea and a glass tea infuser. Teas are really my "thing" at the moment. It's comforting, healthy and kind to the tummy. 

Grant and I went to Leicester Square for dinner. I had an uncontrollable craving for Five Guys burgers. It was manic out there and awful having to wait in a queue freezing. Poor Grant promised he would go with me to Five Guys and he took the wait on the chin. We were suckers for punishment. It was so busy, I reakon we waited for an hour from when we got in the queue to when we got our food. 

Grant asked for no onions but it seemed like he got double the serve of onions in his burger. I complained and they gave him the correct burger straight away. No point of paying nearly £9 for a burger if it's not to full satisfaction. Mine was tasty and very messy but it was a craving down and I'll never do Saturday night Five Guys again.

Then I started posting in my new blog, My Hair Growth Story. It's based on my quest to grow my hair to the bottom of my ribs, something which I've never done before. As a little girl I was never allowed to grow hair past my nape but now it's rebelling big time!