Leap Day Shopping (Dog Day Afternoon)

We were weary from 3 days of skiing, so we elected to take Saturday off and check out the village of Val d'Isere a little more closely.

The snow removal people have been hard at work, and this morning they got the road plowed down to the black top. That's very good news for our rental car, "Slippy", who is hoping that the road conditions look like this on Monday when we leave.

We observed lots of people leaving today, via both cars and buses. We saw cars leaving town, crammed full of luggage, children, dogs, and ski equipment. At the outdoor "bus station", many people and their luggage were waiting to board buses. Those not leaving were either on the slopes or shopping like us. The town bustled with activity.

One thing striking about this European trip as opposed to other recent trips is the lack of Chinese tourists. Due to the coronavirus, either they are being made to stay home, or they are not welcome in the countries they're trying to visit, or both. We were told by a Swiss jeweler that Chinese tourists make up 25% of their business, and that has gone down to zero recently. As a result, good buys can be found on a lot of merchandise; 50% off sales are common. We got some good deals on hotel rooms that would otherwise have been filled by Chinese tourists. Overall, most hoteliers and salespeople are begging for our business.

I didn't buy it, but this gets the award for best ladies ski outfit that I found:

This ski wear pretty much sums up the skiing mentality in Europe. It doesn't matter how you ski or how functional your outfit is, it only matters how you look!

This colorful rack of leggings caught my attention:

We found a cute little diner ("Quiksilver") tucked away in the back of a ski shop and were able to buy a more American style lunch: hamburger and shake, and fish & chips with smoothie!

One phenomenon we have noticed in Europe that we don't have in the United States: people commonly bring their dogs into shops and restaurants with them. Indoors, not just outdoors. And I'm talking everything from Chihuahuas to Saint Bernards. That may sound cute. Most of the time the dogs are better behaved than their owners; you don't even know they're there until it comes time to leave. Sometimes, it's not so fun when you're sitting at a tight table and the people next to you have a big dog underneath, sitting on your shoes. Also it's not so wonderful when you observe begging dogs and owners feeding their dogs - in fine restaurants! It kind of takes away from your fine dining experience to say the least. Today, a young man brought a particularly spirited Border Collie to lunch with him on a leash. Several times the Border Collie made a break for it. The first time he was running all over the adjoining merchandise store wreaking havoc before he was retrieved. The second time, he jumped up on a stranger who was having her lunch at the counter and licked her all over her face! Europe!!! The things people put up with!

After lunch, we stopped in a ski store that had some very pretty ski sweaters for a reasonable price. I sprung for one.

Based on the advice of our friend, David Desforges, we have been using a ski tube on this trip to transport our ski's, poles, and other ski equipment. We have been putting stickers on it from most of the places we've visited. It's turning into quite a nice piece of art:

We're not done yet! There's plenty of room for more stickers!

So long, until tomorrow.