Heli - Day 1

I was feeling great when I woke up this morning. We arrived in Mazama, Washington late Wednesday, after a long drive from Seattle. We met most of the others partaking on this crazy adventure for dinner and drinks before heading to bed early in preparation for what I was certain was going to be a crazy day. After a bite to eat we made our way along Ithe icy driveway to the heli-barn. The road was so slick in parts I wondered if I was even going to get a chance to ride in the helicopter.

After a safety talk about what to do and what not to do around the helicopter - most important lesson is to be aware of the spinning blades. We had to practice using a transponder and search for a missing boarder in the snow packed field. I was paired up with Jim and we were thrilled that we were not looking for a real person. The guide told us if the numbers on the transponder were increasing we should do a 180 and walk in the other direction. As a result, we were walking in cirles for quite some time. It seemed like every direction we turned, the numbers kept going up. Finally, the guide switched us to a different buried transponder and we finally found the downed "man". Colleen and Ash had better luck on their practice search and rescue - but not that much better. Hopefully none of us was going to have to use our newly honed technique.

The larger group of 12 was broken down into 3 groups of 4 for the day. Each of us with our own guide. I was very happy to learn that I was assigned the most experienced guide for the day, Dale (a.k.a. Fuzzy). Unlike the bear, Fuzzy was a bit Fuzzy, was he?

Our pilot for all three days is Seamus. Close your eyes and imagine what a guy named Seamus would look like and I think you'll find he looks exactly how you imagined (I'll add a picture later). Seamus gave us another quick safety talk... which came down to watch for spinning blades and then the first group was off. At this point of the morning, I'm shaking a little but deep breathing is helping keep me relaxed.

We watched one more group take off before it was our turn. Seamus flew the copter in and then shut it down for refueling. Before I knew it, it was time to take off. Colleen hopped in the helicopter first, I came in next and Ash and Jim followed quickly behind. As the blades starting picking up speed so did my heart. I was still practicing my deep breathing techniques but nothing was keeping my heart from trying to break out of my chest. Finally, we were airbound. Almost skimming the trees below we made our way to our first landing zone.

Dale took us down a fairly easy run for the first one in an attempt to assess our skills. Even though the runs were not nearly as steep as I imagined it still took a few runs (and falls) before I got in the groove. My legs were shaking so much from the helicopter ride that I had a hard time figuring out how to turn. After a few more rides, my fear of both the helicopter and the slopes was gone and I really started enjoying the day. Hopefully I won't be too sore to enjoy tomorrow.

Geneva

We woke up Friday morning and after enjoying our last breakfast at the Park Hotel Suisse in Chamonix we boarded a bus for Geneva. We had our day all planned out. Check in to the hotel and then explore the city's top tourist spots... the Jed d'Eau (large fountain on the edge of Lake Geneva), the Horloge Fleurie (clock made of flowers), the Cathedral Saint-Pierre, and then explore Old Town. Things did not go as planned. We checked in to the hotel ok and headed out on foot stopping for lunch in Old Town.

While we were enjoying the warmth inside the weather outside, cold already, took a turn for the worse. The wind kicked up and started to snow with little snow flakes pelting our eyes. But we're only in Geneva for one day so we put our heads down and went in search of the Cathedral first because it was nearby. While we found the Cathedral, we never found the entrance. We walked the entire perimeter and never saw a door to enter.

Next we headed towards the fountain but as we neared we noticed it wasn't running. Apparently once the temperature drops below -2 degrees celcius, the fountain is turned off. At least we knew how cold it was...

We approached the flower clock only to find it covered with snow so you couldn't see any flowers. So we returned to old town to explore the shops and enjoy the city. However, most shops were closed but we were able to stop into a few to warm up occasionally.

The weather seems to be getting worse the longer we stay in Europe so I guess it is a good thing that it is time to return home to sunny-ish San Francisco.

Into the Whiteness

Have you ever heard those stories about pilots that are caught in cloud and lose all perspective? They can no longer tell which way is up and unless they learn to trust their instruments they fly into the side of a mountain or into the ocean or something? I never really understood this phenomenon until today. We got off the gondola at the Flegere resort and all we saw was white. We were standing in the middle of a cloud and could barely see a few feet in front of us. But since we paid for the day and had not skied this part of the mountain we decided to give it a try. Although we couldn't see it at the time, there was a chair about 50 feet in front of us and we took it further up the mountain and we thrilled when we exited the cloud and were surrounded by blue skies and white capped mountains. Unfortunately, our excitement didn't last long since the only way to go was back down into the cloud. There were moments when the only way I could tell which way was down was because I could just make out Colleen's bright orange helmet or Lisa's maroon jacket below me. It is the closest that I've ever come to being blind and I did not like it. After making our way back up to the top and into the sunlight once again we decided to return to the Brevant resort and see if the visibility was any better.

I will say that Brevant was better in terms of visibility since we were able to stay above the clouds, the spectacular conditions that we experienced the day before were a thing of the past. What were once open fields of light, fluffy powder had turned hard and chunky making and the groomed runs were hard packed and slick. Rather than waste a lot of energy trying not to hurt myself, I decided to end the day early and intact. The highlight of the day was that for the first time since we arrived at Chamonix-Mont Blanc we actually were able to see Mont Blanc. Forturnately it looked exactly as it was drawn on the ski map and we were able to get some great photos (coming soon once I get a better internet connection).

Thursday was our last day in Chamonix so we decided to take the day off from snowboarding and see what other activities were available to us. After considering eliminating many we decided to take the Montenvers railway up a mountain to Mer de Glace. From the top you have stunning views of the surrounding mountains and the Chamonix valley below. After taking some photos we boarded a cable car down to the glacier to see the Ice Grotto. This is a cave built into the glacier. They build a cave twice a year and you can see from the locations of the previous caves how far the glacier has moved in the last six months (apparently it moves 1 cm per hour). After returning to the city we spent the rest of the afternoon peaking in various shops and admiring all of the wares. Ever since we arrived in Chamonix we had talked about having fondue for dinner and since this was our last night we decided to give it a go. Colleen found a great spot for dinner on TripAdvisor so we thought we'd give it a go. It was a cute little restaurant run by an older couple that spoke very little to no english which proved difficult when they tried to explain that they serve house fondue not savoyarde fondue. She attempted to demonstrate the difference with a spoon but even after all her warnings I decided to give it a try. Turns out, I really like house fondue. It is not nearly as heavy as what we saw others eating elsewhere so if you are ever hanging out in the Alps, I suggest giving it a whirl.

Next stop, Geneva.

Chamonix

We woke up early on Sunday and headed to the Lyon train station in Paris to start our real vacation. Not that Paris wasn't great, just that the whole reason we came to Europe was to go snowboarding (skiing for Lisa) in the Alps. The train station was hopping at 7:30 AM unlike the rest of the city which was still asleep. The first leg of our voyage was to St. Gervais and from their we connected to a local train to Chamonix-Mont Blanc.

Getting to Chamonix was easier than I expected. I thought for sure there would be moments of great doubt all along the way but it was really quite easy to navigate the french train system. At the station in Chamonix, the information booth attendent provided us with a map and sent us on a ten minute walk to our hotel. I was particularly happy at this point that I was not lugging my snowboard as well as my suitcase over the icy roads. After checking in and unpacking we headed out in search of food and gear, food first. Our guide book suggested the burgers at Poco Loco and we gave it a try. Along with our food we tried out a local favorite, demi panache, half beer half 7-Up. While a little apprehensive, it turned out to be quite refreshing.

Upon arriving at the snowboard rental shop, Colleen and I quickly realized that Chamonix is a skiers area. Not that I was really surprised but you would think that they would at least have a few snowboards in each size. Instead, Colleen walked out with the only 151 and I with the only 155 in the shop and neither appears to be in that good of condition.

On Monday morning we woke a little later than planned. When I asked Colleen what happened to the alarm she informed me that it went off but is was too cold and too dark to get out of bed. When we did finally get up, we all agreed with Colleen's description and it stayed true all day. Not only were we boarding (skiing in Lisa's case) an unfamiliar mountain (Brevant) using unfamiliar equipment but the visibility was so poor that we could tell if there was a bump in front of us until we already gone over it. It snowed throughout the day and a large part of the mountain was closed due to avalanche control so we primarily did the same two runs over and over. Fun, but not the most exiting day of boarding.

Waking up Tuesday was a whole other story. First of all, we figured out how to set the automated wake up call system so Colleen couldn't decide on her own whether it was time to rise or not. Secondly, we looked out the window to see blue skies - only the second time in France that we've experienced this. Colleen and I had found an actual snowboard shop the night before and got new snowboards for the day and were excited to try them out on the slopes. We decided to try out Les Grand Montets for day 2 and spent the entire day playing in great fields of powder (with a few rock gardens sprinkled throughout). The new boards combined with the great visibility led to a great, but exhausting day of boarding. Additionally, we were able to see the amazing mountain ranges surrounding us for the first time. As I looked out I kept thinking that the alps should be called the Sierra Nevadas which translates to snow-covered saw tooths. The mountains were very jagged with tall, narrow peaks.

We still have two more days in Chamonix before heading to Geneva and if they are anything like today this will turn out to be a great trip.

Bonne Annee - Happy New Year

What better way to spend New Year's Eve than with sidewalk crepes and cheap champagne? We had eaten such a late lunch that a real dinner was out of the question. As we walked in search of a bottle of champagne to ring in the new year we happened upon one of Paris' many sidewalk creperies and decided that would be a perfect amount of food to keep us energized until midnight. Lisa and Colleen went the sweet route with nutella and chestnut butter but I decided on fromage (cheese). Our attempts at buying a nice bottle of French champagne for the occasion were foiled when the only bottle shop we new of was closed. Instead we purchase a four pack of mini bottles for about 7 Euros. Not exactly high class, but it was all we could find. Since we still had a few hours to go, we decided to stop at a nearby restaurant and share a bottle of wine before heading to the Champs Elysees for the countdown. The street was lit up thanks to GE and MasterCard but we were a bit disappointed by the lack of countdown. We figured it must be midnight when we saw bottles popping and home-style fireworks go off.

Next we decided to walk to the Eiffel Tower to see it all lit up at night. This seemed like a good idea but by the time we neared the tower the lights had gone off and we had to walk a long way back to our hotel through all the crowds in heals. And did I mention it was freezing?

Apparently France has yet to really embrace their capitalist side since the city is nearly shut down on January 1st. This really reduced the amount of things we could do. Our plan was to visit all of the outdoor places starting with the Arc d'Triumph. Figures that this was the coldest day that we have experienced so far. It was even snowing when we left our hotel although it didn't last, the sun never came out and it never warmed up. After visiting the Arc, we boarded the Metro to the Eiffel tour.

Did you know that radio saved the Eiffel Tower? Apparently they were about to tear it down when radio caught on and Paris discovered the need for a radio tower. Pretty amazing that one of the most recognizable and visited tourist destinations in the world is only around thanks to radio. But I digress... we arrived at the Eiffel Tower only to see that every tourist in all of Paris was already there. It is the only tourist attraction in the City open on New Years Day and therefore the crowds were ridiculous. We stood in line for about 25 minutes before deciding it was far too cold and far too crowded to wait any longer. I estimate that if we waited two more hours we could have made it to the ticket booth at which time our feet would be too cold to to climb the steps. Instead we moved to a nearby cafe for some hot wine (vin chaut) to warm up.

Just as we were leaving the cafe, the lights to the tower came on and glittered (apparently they do this on the hour). We were in the perfect spot for photos and when we got our fill and turned around we learned that about 50 other people found our same spot. I felt like a movie star being shot by the paparazzi. But then I walked by and realized that the Eiffel Tower was the real movie star.

On January 2nd Paris re-opened and we were able to spend our last day in Paris in full tourist mode. We ordered tickets for the Louvre online and had to head to a FNAC store to pick them up (I highly recommend this method to avoid the hours long lines at the Louvre). Since FNAC is just a few blocks from the Arc d'Triumph, we decided to return and climb to the top. It was the first day with clear skies and the view from the top is supposed to be (and is) one of the best in the city. After enjoying the view, snapping more pics of the Eiffel Tower, we hopped on the Metro, Louvre-bound.

Once in the museum we headed straight for the Mona Lisa via the Winged Victory. I was able to see the Winged Victory up close and personal but couldn't get closer than four rows back from the Mona Lisa. I tried to push up to the front but was neither big enough or aggressive enough and eventually just got too hot to try anymore. I was able to catch a glimpse of her from the back and from the view finders of many more aggressive patrons. After checking out a few more highlights my blood sugar had dropped too low to go on so we stopped at the food court for some grub before heading to our next, and final, tourist destination.

Our last stop of the day was the Sainte-Chapelle Cathedral. If you haven't checked this out, I highly recommend it. It is a rather small cathedral but the walls are covered with stained glass depicting various books of the bible. It is really a site to see.

Next stop - Chamonix-Mont Blanc.

The Louvre... oops d'Orsay

We had really ambitious plans for the day. We were going to wake up early, eat breakfast and head to the Louvre as soon as it opened to avoid the massive line. Since the Louvre opens at 9:00 we decided that we needed to leave the hotel by 8:15 to pull this off. However, I woke in the morning to Colleen sitting up and straining to read the clock. "Does that say 10:00?" she asked. "Yes" I replied. Rather than immediately change plans we decided to grab breakfast, Colleen got a croissant, Lisa had toast and I decided to go for a true Parisian breakfast... Coco Crispies.

We headed to the Louvre and were pleasantly surprised not to see a line out on the street as we did yesterday. But our elatement was short lived once we entered the courtyard. We took a couple of pictures in front of the controversial pyramid before heading off to find the end of the line. We walked and walked and walked and when it seemed like we could go no further we saw the end. We determined that the Louvre was not in our cards for the day. We thought it would be much better in 2010 anyway.

Instead we headed across the river to the d'Orsay museum. The line was quite long there too (doesn't anyone work in this city) but we decided to bear it anyway. After 16 or so switchbacks we finally made it inside of the museum. After spending the last hour or more in line, we decided to skip the line for the Van Gogh exhibit which ran the length of the museum and was moving very slowly. Very quickly we discovered why thing were moving so slowly. Apparantly everyone here takes photos of all their favorite paintings. Colleen and I always thought that photos somehow was bad for the art but now I've concluded that allowing photos just takes away from the experience. I could barely glimpse some paintings behind a wall of amateur photographers. It didn't help that everyone in Paris that was not at the Louvre was here with us at the d'Orsay.

Once we got our fill of Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoire and Rodin, we returned to the west bank in search of the Fauchon market. My Fodors guide described it as a "hyper-upscale mega-delicatessen" that sells food from all over the world. I was a little thrown off by the color scheme, hot pink and black, which seemed more fitting for a cosmetics store than an upscale market but it was fun peeking at all the food.

Notre Dame

Going through customs and immigration at Charles de Gaulle airport is a breeze. The immigration officer opened my passport, glanced at the picture, flipped to the only page with stamps and stamped right next to my other stamps. This was just minutes after Colleen mentioned that I would need to fill two passport pages per year in order to fill up my passport before the expiration date. I'm really going to have to step up my efforts at this rate. Customs was even easier since apparently France doesn't care what I bring into the country. After picking up our bags we proceeded to the exit, no red/green lights, no x-rays, no drug sniffing dogs, no one.


We decided to save a few euros and take the train into Paris. We made it to the station easily enough but after a couple failed attempts to purchase tickets from the vending machine a friendly Brit took pity on me and helped me out (perhaps he was an English-speaking Frenchman, but he was awfully nice so I assumed he couldn't be French). Given that the vending machine had English instructions, I'm a little embarrassed that I needed help at all. Unfortunately he wasn't with us when we attempted to transfer to the Metro. After several unsuccessful attempts at the ticket machine, we grabbed a taxi from the train station to our hotel.


We were really looking forward to taking showers before starting off in the city but alas, our room was not available. Instead, we settled for washing our faces and brushing our teeth in the lobby bathroom. After checking our bags with the bellhops, we headed off to see the city. We crossed over the Seine to the left bank and glimpsed the Eiffel tower to the left but decided to save this for another day and made a right towards Notre Dame instead. Before we could make it all the way to the cathedral, we popped in to a cafe for a bite to eat. I decided on the French Onion Soup (the just call it onion soup) and we each had a glass of wine because that what they do in France.

We made it to Notre Dame and waited in the long, but fast moving line under the watchful eyes of the gargolyes high above. Moments later I was happy to hear that Quasimodo is still hard at work ringing the bells. We strolled through the cathedral taking in the candlelight and insense while admiring the stained glass windows and artwork. We planned next to planned to climb the steps to the towers and become more acquaited with the gargoyles but once we saw the line decided that we would sit for a coffee in the shop across the street instead. Turns out, the coffee shop had plenty of gargoyles above the tables for us to admire over cafe au laits. Despite the coffee, the jet lag was starting to catch up to us so we returned to the hotel for a mini nap and showers before dinner. This is starting off to be a very nice parisian vacation.