Blizzard in Val D'Isere
Pretty much ever since we set foot in Val D'Isere on Tuesday, it has been snowing hard nonstop. Thankfully it was much less windy this morning. As a result, more lifts at the ski resort were open. We got an earlier start to our skiing, and eventually we caught a gondola up to the top. The higher we went, the flatter the light became and thus the poorer the visibility was. We ended up at a part of the resort called "Le Laisinant". Brock was more adventurous and did some off-piste skiing, but it was challenging enough for me to stay on piste. After a few hours, we'd had enough. We were able to ski from the top of the mountain very close to our hotel, without having to catch the bus!
By the time we changed clothes and started walking to lunch, the wind had kicked up and it was dumping and blowing snow. There is no doubt that we have found winter. We walked 15 minutes to our lunch spot, and that was quite an adventure. By the time we arrived, we were covered in snow! Returning to our hotel was similarly blustery.
Our hotel has a marmot theme which carries through to the signage.
There is a relief map of France in the lobby which shows where Val D'Isere is.
When we had our delicious dinner at the hotel last night, we were seated next to three extremely personable young ladies from Turkey who are on a ski trip together. They spoke excellent English, and we enjoyed conversing with them.
For dinner this evening, we walked to the same restaurant where we had lunch, "La Source". The restaurant was quiet when we first arrived, and they gave us the corner seat that we requested!
We were admiring the decor in the restaurant, including these fiber optic lights:
More people began arriving for dinner. All of the sudden,
coincidentally, the three young ladies from Turkey showed up and were seated next to us again! We were meant to be friends!
They are, l-r: Naz, Miray, and Gizem. All three have connections to the U.S. Naz went to the University of Virginia. She was an investment banker in Istanbul, but now she works in her family's marble and stone business.
Miray went to law school at University of California Berkeley and worked at a law firm in San Francisco for a time. She's still working in law in Turkey.
Gizem works in her family's jewelry business. She trained and lived in New York City while developing expertise in evaluating diamonds. She and Miray had been roommates in college in Turkey, and they have all been friends since high school. Brock and his friends love their boys trips, but it's neat for us to see that girls do ski trips together, too!
All three of our new friends now live in Izmir, on the Aegean coast of Turkey. We are having a blast getting to know them!
We have met so many interesting people from all over the world on our trip! What a blessing!
Skiing has been a big part of our lives, and it has a beautiful way of bringing people together.
