So.....it's a New Year and with that comes renewed intentions. For me, this includes getting back to posting on our blog.
I have a list of things I'm looking forward to sharing with you but for now I think I should just bring everyone up to speed on what we've been up to; or at least the fun stuff.
Some highlights from the end of 2017 included a birthday outing to an old castle, the first snowy days, and of course the holidays.
The end of November brought my birthday and a lovely day spent with Marc. We enjoyed a hike up and around a local castle, Castle Allinges. It's less than 10 minutes from us and we had yet to explore it.
The view from the castle was spectacular! The lake in one direction.
And the Alps in the other.
That said though, I think next year I may actually attempt "doing" a Thanksgiving here with Marc's family. Give them a little taste of American traditions. Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday and I don't think I can just give it up forever.
Shortly into December the snow arrived. It's always very exciting to see the first snow flakes fall. Having never lived with snowy winters, it's still super exciting to me, and the girls love it too!
The Sunday after my birthday, we joined Marc, very early in the morning, to head up to Megeve, a fancy ski station about an hour away from us, close to the Mont Blanc. He had a swim meet and I took the opportunity to see the town. It was also our first day in the snow this winter.
We walked through town in the morning; nobody was up yet so we had the streets all to ourselves.
We headed back to the pool for a bit, to warm up, and to meet up with Marc for lunch. When he had to go back to the meet then we headed back out again, making our way to the famous (well at least around here) 5-star hotel and restaurant, Les Fermes de Marie. On our way we passed an old cemetery and decided to explore it a bit. It was quite beautiful; especially with the snow.
You really must check out their website; it's pretty incredible.
We decided to stop in and warm up in their bar with some hot chocolate.
The prices were a bit........how do I say; extravagant!! Here's our 16 Euro pitcher of hot chocolate (which of course was amazing but still) and I enjoyed a 5 Euro espresso!!
And the first snow in our own backyard.
Of course the girls couldn't wait to go play in it.
Last year, much of my blog posts included food pictures. I'm still in awe how food is truly celebrated here; if not totally overdone at times. My apologies in advance that I don't have nearly as many food pics to share. I guess the newness is fading and I don't always remember to take a picture. When something becomes "normal".....well I guess you forget to document it.
Christmas Eve was spent "upstairs" with Marc's parents and his brother and family. Unfortunately poor Teah was sick and on the couch throughout most of the day and evening. She did not partake in the feast with us but rather dozed in and out of consciousness on the couch.
Our festive table!
My beautiful sister-in-law, brother-in-law, and nieces!
During the food break, we opened presents, and did hair.....you know; a bunch of girl cousins.....that's just what you do!
Even Ton Ton Marc got in on the action!
Showing off one of her new presents.
Cuddling with cousin Margaux.
We started the evening with champagne, foie gras, and oysters. Then eventually made our way to the table for smoked salmon, followed by escargot (snails for those of you not in the know) ;-).
We took a break after the escargot to open presents. Then back to the table for cornish game hen, gratin (2 different ones), and my one-contribution, a holiday inspired salad.
Bread and cheese of course followed for anyone that wasn't ready to explode and finally dessert; 2 different Christmas Cakes (Buche de Noel), coffee and dark chocolate.
As always, several hours later you finally waddle away from the table, literally feeling like you're going to be sick.
The next morning we enjoyed Santa surprises.
The week that followed we enjoyed mostly lazy days at home. One of the days Marc and Lola went skiing; first outing for the season. Lola couldn't wait and Marc was excited too to try out his new skis and boots.
Before dinner we headed up to Avoriaz to meet up with one of Marc's oldest friends, Thierry and his wife Sandrine. Thierry and Marc literally grew up 2 houses away from each other and went all the way through school together. Sandrine and I do yoga together on Wednesdays. A really lovely family. It was nice to be able to celebrate New Year's with them.
I love my sister-in-law so much. So happy to have spent the holidays with them. We do pretty well with our mix of French and English but I cant wait until we can "really" talk; another motivator to get my French up to par.
After drinks, we headed back down to Morzine where the hours of eating began. First with oysters and sushi (that Marc had made). Then smoked salmon. Followed by quail stuffed with foie gras (really!) and salad. After that, we were all so full and it was already after midnight. At that point, only Marc rallied for bread and cheese and then rather than the planned dessert we stuck with oranges. Ugh! Amazing food but yet another night where we made our way to bed beyond stuffed and feeling a bit "sick". Yeah, intermittent fasting, to help us balance out all those decadent meals!!
All in all, a lovely way to wrap up 2017. Although I think I can speak for all 4 of us when I say we've truly settled into our new life here there are certainly still moments when I can't believe we're actually living in France. That we made this enormous decision to leave our "home" and start over in a whole new (well at least for me and the girls) country.
Last year at this time I had no clue that all of this would transpire. It's actually a wonderful reminder that we never know where life will take us. If you're open to the adventure, anything is possible. I can't wait to see what 2018 has in store.
Wishing everyone a wonderful year filled with some new adventures of your own.
