Bonjour once again from Mouxy... 

Been a bit so I thought I would send you some photos from our part of the world. 

Sad news... the bakery is closed for the two week school break. What to do? Where to go? I tell ya, stressor! There are these lovely old dears who sit in the corner and drink espressos all morning. One day when I came in they struck a conversation - hilarious really. They knew a lot about us... "Coming in early for you today? Canadian? Yes we know. Going on a hike today... skiing most days I see"... and on and on. They are great. Even told me that it is not so bad Paul can't speak French (although he did order all the bread himself today - this is brave when there are 5 different types of baguettes alone not to mention all the other assorted types!) "just use lots of gestures dear...." she told me. 

We have been experiencing very un-winter weather... we have had up to 19 degrees on the hill a couple of days. Even the locals tell us it is not typical. Makes for fantastic spring skiing but the snow is melting... 

Aix-les-Bains by the water... Left on a cold January day and right, warm +18 day... Packed! I don't know what it will look like in July when the 'tourists' arrive.... 

Spring skiing also means that the chalet decks are finally warm... 

Le Revard - view from our backyard - where we travel to ski every day.... 

Our place... 

Sunset over the church in Mouxy.

We went to the old city of Chambèry; the streets look like they are time-warped right out of the middle ages.

Annecy enjoying the warmth of spring too. 

Got to take Kate to a race at Semnoz this past weekend. A mass start 5km classic - she worked hard. 

  

Yep, I am still going on some marathon walk-abouts. The villages are so close together I get caught by the .. 'just one more village' before I suddenly realize I have to turn around and walk all the way back... :)  

Gotta chateau? 

or two? 

Main drag through Méry.. 

Pugy-Chatenaud... 

Ah the old Citroen deux chevaux... 

Look up.. way up. Three paragliders - the crazy nutters!!!!! 

Stranger than Fiction (opinion piece)... So we have started carpooling a young guy up the mountain. He is staying with our landlords and we are heading up anyway so it is the least we can do. Turns out he is on the Malaysian X-country team (or the only member if we understand correctly). You can imagine that there is a bit that is lost in translation. Not sure how or why he is the only member of the Malaysian team but he is training here so he joins  Kate and Paul for their skis. LOL. 

Chains. Although the recent great weather has all but erased the memories of tire chains I have to say, putting on chains is now part of our skill sets. I can't wait to add it to my CV. They are a cruel invention. You can't drive on dry pavement with them so you have to drive up icy, snow roads until your vehicle can no longer maintain the forward momentum at which point you have to find a 'safe' spot to pull off a narrow mountain road to put on the chains. By this point, the undercarriage of the vehicle is covered in snud (snow and mud) and you have to put on the chains on both front tires. This guarantees you will have soaking wet mitts and knees not to mention frozen fingers. Delicate dance to get the chains on before you lose feeling in your hands. Alas.. first go - took 15 minutes, two pair of mitts and well some colourful language. Kate wisely stayed stock still in the backseat looking straight ahead and remained very quiet. By the last time, we were done in minutes and as a measure of our improvement, Kate said she didn't hear any  swearing through the closed windows of the car. So Ha.. who said an old dog can't learn a new trick. 

Have a good one. s