Ski Royale

So in between our glamourous life of skiing and snowboarding, hot chocolates and vin chaud (mulled wine), unfortunately we have to do a bit of work. We work for a company called Ski Royale which manages three chalets in Megève. The largest (and one we work for) is a 2 star hotel called ‘Les Cimes’ which has nine rooms and sleeps about 25 max. We work with an English chef called Matt and another guy called Edward. Lauren and Simon (Brisbane) work at the Ryokan which is a 4 star private chalet that sleeps about 8. Charlie (English) works at the other chalet called La Frutiere) which is smaller again. It’s Michelle’s (English) business and she runs it with the help of an old school friend Adam (English). Here are some pics of Les Cimes:



I (Amelia) am what is deceptively called a ‘chalet host’. It’s really a misnomer for an underpaid and overworked maid/waitress/kitchen hand! I do about 65-70 hours a week and get paid just over 100 euro…that’s one euro per hour people… It’s pretty hard work, starting with breakfast, then cleaning rooms, then afternoon tea a few days a week, followed by dinner. The job is pretty bad, but I’m learning to snowboard out of it so that’s the magic point that must be remembered! (Whilst obviously being completely jealous of Adrian’s job and all his tips).

I (Adrian) pretty much have a sweet job. The hardest part being that I must constantly explain to my co-workers that it is work, and that I am a highly trained professional. My week starts on a Sunday when I pick guests up from airport (about an hour’s drive). I might have to do this up to three times in a day, plus wait times. The next day I take guests up the mountain and make sure they know their way around, avoid the lift lines, and get the best runs. I do this four times a week. I then sit down with the guests at dinner and make polite conversation, fill up the wine, water and bread. I then also help with breakfast, afternoon tea and cleaning occasionally. (Cleaning?! When did I ever see you clean a toilet last Adrian??)

We get Tuesdays off and if we’re lucky another night a week so we can head out for dinner. We also occasionally get some tips, but to be honest, it’s not exactly as if we’re rolling in it… Click here for some more photos of Les Cimes or here for the Ski Royale website.

Le Calvaire de Megève

Le Calvaire is a pilgrim route in Megève from the 14th Century that has the 14 Stations of the Cross represented in little chapels. The doors are locked, but you can peek through and look at the different styles and types of paintings and statues. It’s set in a 10 hectare park just down from the Mt d’Arbois ski lift. The ‘Calvaire’ translates to ‘martyrdom’ or ‘calvary’ which apparently means ‘living death’.




So on a sunny afternoon (nearly every day is sunny here, it’s a hard life I tell you) we headed off for a walk to see the sights. I (Amelia) had done a long walk the week previously and chanced across them, so thought it would be cool to show them to Adrian.

Most of the buildings are pretty small with just one picture or statue in them, but there are a few that are on a much grander scale and have a whole series of events. The stations are represented in quite different styles which made it interesting to compare between them.

There are heaps more photos here of us and all the different little chapels and the interiors.

We ended the walk with a visit to the local church in Megève. It’s called Eglise (Church) St Jean Baptiste in the parish of Sainte Anne d’Arly Montjoie and our apartment is just behind it. The church fronts onto the main town square which also holds the Mairie (Mayor’s offices), a Hermes store and a few cafés etc. While looking pretty plain from the outside, it’s a completely different story inside. Again, the 14 Stations of the Cross are represented inside, as well as having an amazing painted ceiling and some altars.

 

Learning to snowboard

So, despite what I told Adrian when we first met, I am not actually the world’s most amazing snowboarder… Jeff L and Bas witnessed my efforts last year which saw my knees swell up to football size as a result of coming into far too much contact with the sheet ice at Turoa! So I got me a snowboard here in Megève and took it out after about a week here to see how much work I needed to do before I could learn how to turn etc. Actually putting on the bloody thing was the first mission because it had completely different bindings (what holds the board to your feet) than what I was used to back in NZ! But once that small milestone had been achieved I was raring to go. And go I did…right towards the ground! I won’t go into the (embarrassing and painful) detail, but after several days of “I hate this, I’m never going to like it!” and other minor tantrums directed at the ever patient Adrian, I finally managed to learn how to turn. It was a big day! In the interim I was forced to wear a helmet because I was coming close to concussion with the amount of times I was falling over…


But once that had passed and I was (more or less) whizzing down the green runs (I was allowed to say that I was a snowboarder once I completed a run without falling), I became a bit more adventurous. Bring on the blue runs! (In France they go from green, to blue, to red, to black). We had a big day out on the mountain (Adrian, Lauren and I) and I was heading down Les Mandarines run which is a big green run (green number 30 on this map where it says Mt d'Arbois) and I had nearly got to the end when I took a big tumble and banged up my knee. The gory results are below…

Needless to say that now I wear kneepads as well! But after about a week’s rest I was back up there full of enthusiasm (and only succumbing to very seldom tantrums – like when Adrian takes me down the world’s steepest red run…but that’s another story!)

Our apartment in Megeve

Measuring at just over a whisker by a snippet, our apartment in Megève is the picture of spacious grandeur. With a handy basement location, it means that the lack of windows avoids pesky natural light and the need to be constantly opening and closing curtains (The saved time allowing for one more push of the snooze button). The Lockwood pine finish on not one but two feature walls (plus a feature wall insert, and the bathroom) really gives the room it’s own ‘natural glow’, as does the lack of smoke alarms…

The opulent kitchen has not one but two electric hobs, although the fact that turning the front hob on trips the electrics for the entire apartment means our cooking has taken a spartan, one pot turn. (Not that we cook here much, I think two dinners over a month have been eaten here – it’s hard to turn down three cooked meals a day at the chalet – even though you do have to do more dishes!)

The storage facilities are also excellent, just check out this purpose made snowboard space in between the shower and the toilet...

However, the piece de resistance is clearly the fold out double sofa bed in a stunning shade of faded red. It is available to all and sundry to come and visit (thanks to Dom and Nicky for being our inaugural guests) and we will ply you with chalet leftovers until you’re too fat to even zip up those snow pants or do up that jacket (a state that Amelia is not far from reaching, hence the new rule of croissants only once a week…).

So, roll up, roll up to casa Megève and pay us a visit. Available weeknights, weekdays, weekends and every conceivable time in between until 16 April 2008!

Bienvenue!

Hey everyone, kia ora, bonjour, ciao and welcome to our brand spanking new travel blog. Instead of being slavishly tied to the laptop (or dodgy internet café) writing indivdualised and highly personal emails with lots of love and attention in them to each and every single one of you, we thought we’d take the lazy route and just create a blog. So here you can read about the exciting (and mundane) things that we’re getting up to on our big Europe OE and leave comments to your hearts’ desire.

At the moment we’re in Megève, France, doing a ski season. Adrian’s a ski guide/driver and is dominating the mountain with his daredevil off-piste skills, and Amelia’s a chalet host (i.e. maid) getting to grips with snowboarding and modeling the latest in bruises to show for it.

Here are a few photos of Megève to whet your appetite – for more click here. There will always be more photos on Amelia’s Facebook page – if we don’t put in a link to them and you want to know if there are more photos just ask in the comments section or send an email :-) PS I’m a nerd (Thanks for that input Adrian).

Powder! The Church of Jean Baptiste in the centre of town.

The Aallard store and the town square Christmas tree (in Megève it's Christmas all winter long...)