Week 2 at the Chalet

Some of the guests we skied with!

I have just finished my second week working in the chalet and time is flying by.

Unfortunately I have been pretty sick this past week and have been spending all my time off in bed trying to recuperate. Without too much success in recovering I went to the doctors yesterday and have been dosed up on drugs, so feeling better already which is nice.

Last week I moved over to another chalet - it's a bit fancier - but also more to clean. I work with a gorgeous South African couple and they have such a great taste in music, so despite doing lots of hard work it isn't so bad when we have good music to listen to.

There are quite a few niice (read hot) guests coming through the hotel at the moment which is always fun, but unfortunately seeing as I've been sick I am not going to the Underground (the pub beneath our hotel), so am having to make the most of lying in bed watching films on my computer.

Cannot believe it's only five days until Christmas. Time is traveling so fast! It's a little bit weird to think that i'll be away from the family, but it's nice knowing I have already bought my pressies for everyone. Just a Kris Kringle to go for one of the staff members in the chalet.

Sorry this isn't full of juicy goss, hopefully once I feel better it will be!

xx

First day on the slopes

I am pleased to announce that today I went out on the slopes for the first time in the season. I had such a great time and thoroughly enjoyed skiing with people that challenged me to go faster.

We skied from 11.30 am until about 4 pm before going to Vincent's for a quiet red wine before starting work. We also made a short visit to Loop Bar in Tignes where we all had drinks and refreshed ourselves before it was time to hit the slopes once again. So much fun!

This evening I went up to my chalet and our chefs cooked up the most delicious dinner party for us. We had sausages in a tomato sauce, a beautiful salad, vinaigrette potatoes and a melted camembert. Delish!

Sarah and I tried to  bake a cake for tomorrow's afternoon tea and I'm disappointed to say I kind of screwed it up. It looked good when it went into the oven, but it turns out that the 3 tablespoons of baking powder I put into the mixture were in fact only supposed to be 3 teaspoons. Oops. So the cakes were a massive flop (literally) and I will need to rebake them tomorrow.

I am finding that my days are getting more and more enjoyable the longer that I stay here on my season. Lots of fun and hopefully it only gets better!

Update on life in Tignes

So I have now been working at the hotel for a week and it has gone quite quickly really. I am still getting used to everything though and wish so much that I were skiing. We got our skis and boots today though, so hopefully the lift passes will come soon (perhaps tomorrow?!). Then we will be able to hit the slopes which, to be honest, is the reason I am here.

Work has been difficult. Some of the staff are absolutely hilarious and I am really lucky to share a room with two lovely girls. There have also been some tough times though which make living away from friends and family seem difficult and cause me to question whether I will be able to last five months here.

We have been going down to the bar below our hotel most nights and I really don't want to make too greater habit of drinking every night (as has been done the past two nights) because it is so bad for me and makes me feel awful the next day when I am up and working at 7.30am needing to look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Must practice self control.

Unfortunately no real man-talent yet... will just have to wait and see. Though some of the guests are pretty sweet and one couple left a bottle of red wine for us when they checked out.

My mum had a numerology reading the other day (which we have both had done before and which are always so spot on) and the reading said that I will soon meet a man and he'll be really perfect for me... certainly an encouraging/ nice thing to hear. So we shall see.

It's quite difficult always trying to be perky and smiley and happy around everyone, particularly when we all live and work and sleep in such close confines. And because I share a bedroom there isn't every really any time alone. Not that I am complaining - my room mates are brilliant - but it's just an adjustment to get used to.

Hopefully I will be able to stick to it and will enjoy myself and have loads of fun, particularly once we are able to begin skiing! Watch this space.

Flying to Geneva: Part 2

It's day two of the waiting game today. Having been put up in a hotel - The Holiday Inn- last night with all food and accommodation included, I was given a 13:20 flight for today.

Because my sleeping patterns are still quite dodgy, I woke at about 5:30 am and thought I would try my luck with a standby flight. Unfortunately all of the morning flights to Geneva are once again cancelled. Here's hoping there will be more luck with the afternoon flights. If not, it will be another night in hotel accommodation.

Later in the day

So in fact my flight for this afternoon has also been cancelled and I have been moved to another hotel with a guy I've become friends with. He is also doing a ski season in Tignes which is cool. We have decided to go into London to look at the Natural History Museum and to get out our laptops to see whether there are alternative ways for us to fly out to Geneva. The problem is that snow is falling both in Geneva and at Heathrow, so the planes just can't leave their airports. In the past two days alone 18 flights to Geneva have been cancelled.

This hotel is a bit more posh than The Holiday Inn. I have a king-size bed which is always nice and the food is delicious. I could definitely get used to this!

Above is one of the photos from my adventure to London!

Flying to Geneva: Part 1

After a week in England spent organising my national insurance number, a doctor's appointment, the opening of a British bank account - each of which containing ridiculous hassles - I am now stuck at Heathrow with my flight having been cancelled to Geneva.

I have been queueing for over an hour already and am only halfway thorugh the line. Quite coincidentally, in front of me in the line is a good school friend, Eliza Bowey, who has just flown in from Sydney and is attempting to get to Ireland.

In the queue are a unique collection of people. An orthodox Jew stands directly in front of me, and in front of him is a woman severely decked out in Prada, Gucci, Louis Vuitton... she is getting pretty worked up about the situation at hand. Several places in front of her stands a skinny buddhist monk wearing crocks and socks. Sexy. As the queue moves forward he insists on kicking his sole item of luggage, a cardboard box from the US Army, rather than picking it up like everyone else around him.

Businessmen stand about on their iPads with laptops open, insistent on making the most of the opportunity to get some work done despite the less-than-ideal conditions.

As the paging service interrupts the silence of the line, travellers change their expressions to ones of utmost concentration. Are they perhaps being called? Could there be a flight for them?

Right now, I pray the afternoon flights will open and a Heathrow sleepover won't be necessary. However, in the event that it is, it will just have to be something to add to my list of experiences.

So I'm not clucky, but...

Definitely don't want a baby anytime soon, especially not since I have been nannying these past few weeks, but this is just too cute. And it is even better because it is Florence + The Machine playing in the background!

My little car

Just a short blog post to let you know that I sold my little car yesterday. It's the end of an era.

My little VW Golf has seen me through my university years. The many drives from Sydney to Bathurst in my sturdy car make me so grateful I listened to my Dad and didn't buy a dodgy $500 car.

Unfortunately though, traveling overseas, I just had to sell it. And with only seven days until I leave, it was great timing too.

Also, tomorrow is my 21st birthday. Amazing. Can't quite believe that milestone is soon upon me.

I will be having a party on Saturday night. Having put the arrangements together with my Mum over the past few months, it will be brilliant to see everyone having fun and meeting each other. I have my uni friends and my school friends and, although they haven't really met each other before, I hope they'll get on well.

Ten days to go.

In ten days' time I will be at Sydney International Airport with my family, kissing them goodbye as I embark on what I hope to be the 'Trip of a Lifetime'.

It's been years in the planning and finally all those dreams are about to be put into motion.

Of course I am excited, but it's starting to sink in that I won't see my immediate family for a really long time - the longest yet for me. When I did my foreign exchange to France in 2005 (I was 15) I found that tough. I'll be away for a lot longer than that!

I will spend my first week staying with my grandparents in Oxfordshire, and visiting friends and relatives, before leaving for Geneva on the 1st December.

From there, a coach ride will take me to Tignes, where I will begin my ski season as a chalet girl working in a lovely hotel.

I really have no clue what to expect once I arrive in Tignes. What will the people I'm working for be like? I literally know nobody. Will we become instant best friends, or will there be conflicts? Will we go out drinking on our first night? ? And if we do, are they going to drink me under the table? If we play 'Never Ever', should I be honest? So many questions.

The unknown can be exciting. For me, it is. But it is also a scenario wherein I have little control. And I like to be in control. I like to know what to expect. I like to be mentally prepared for the situation.

I think that this year away will be good for me. I'll have to go with the flow, take everything as it comes, and lower my expectations so I don't get disappointed when things don't go as I've planned.

Do you have any tips about traveling and backpacking? How would you cope with living away (for me, it will be for five months as a chalet girl) not knowing anyone?

I'm making my final arrangements and beginning to pack. The moment I'm looking forward to is when I am sitting on that plane, with everything sorted, reflecting on my 21st birthday (which will be held two days prior) and looking into the future.

Note: The above photo is from http://startlinemtb.com/index.php?p=1_4_Tignes and is taken of Tignes, where I'll be living and working during my ski season.

Table for 20

Last night I went to my beautiful friend Rosie's 21st birthday party/ farewell.

The event was held in an incredibly gorgeous and sophisticated wine bar and restaurant in Surry Hills, called Tablefor20.

When we arrived, we came across a door that had a small sign on it, requesting we text a number with a secret code to be allowed into the venue. It was all very exclusive and secretive and was a good way to increase my curiosity about what the night had in store for us.

What makes the Table for 20 restaurant so special is that there are two very long benches where the guests are seated and, on a regular evening, the guests won't know each other - it is very similar to a dinner party scenario.

The food is served as a set three course menu, and arrives on large platters spread across the table. Everyone serves themselves and passes the plates around. Very homely, very Italian.

Last night's meal consisted of orecchiette (which means little ears in Italian) with truffles as the entree, for the main we enjoyed a rack of pork on a bed of spinach, with roast vegetables and the most incredible berlotti bean and sesame salad, and for dessert we had a baked lemon ricotta which was delicious. Bottles of rose were also spread along the table for us to enjoy... fitting given the name of the birthday girl is Rosie.

The atmosphere was so intimate and special, with dimmed lights, candles and a guy playing acoustic guitar and singing beautifully in the corner.

As 21sts go, this was definitely one of my favourites! The speeches were excellent, they played a very funny movie they had put together of Crazy In Love, where all the family/ extended family were singing to rosie from across the world.

A gorgeous evening and, what's even better is that Table for 20 gives most of its proceeds to a charity aimed at those living on the streets - the host mentioned that in the past year alone they have raised $300,000 for the charity.

Definitely recommend this restaurant and wine bar.

Image courtesy of: http://foodies-club.com/2009/05/review-table-for-20-may-2009/

I am loving this video clip

Just a quick post because I discovered a new video clip that I am obsessed with.

It's probably going to sound pathetic but I actually get goosebumps when I watch it.