I've got a new daily office. The Christiana Albergo Restaurant and Pizzeria at Plan Checrouit on the Italian side of Mont Blanc has a terrace that overlooks Courmayeur at the back. Sat here at my desk with a cappucino and a morning's reading while Soph is in ski school in sunshine, blue skies and millions of children all whizzing past is simply divine. Hard not to feel peaceful, happy and lucky. I've already decided to spend every morning of the next six days right here 'working'. It will do me through the next few months of Yorkshire winter. We had lunch here together and giggled through all the people watching. Soph has a good eye as a mimic and you have to laugh at her commentary.
We didn't find our new friends group so decided to pack up and go back down to Courmayeur. Found ourselves writing postcards at a lovely little bar on the main roundabout and then expertly navigated to a supermarket so Soph could buy all the rubbish food that she 'needs' to propel Lady Long Legs around the pistes. She has been allocated to a group way below her competency which she isn't loving much at all - bossy, show off, leading a tribe....
At this stage, I realised we couldn't manage all the shopping and my laptop bag and reading bag and handbag, Soph's bag, camera, helmet and general guff so I make an executive decision to 'borrow' the wheelie basket for the mile walk back to the hotel. We must have looked a slightly extraordinary sight as we pootled back but I didn't care. Until I suddenly thought that perhaps Italy doesn't use the same definition for theft as we do in Blighty. Oops. Could do without being arrested for stealing. On the other hand my back is so painful, it wouldn't take a lot for me to bring out the hysterics in my defence.
Apres ski at the hotel is a rather unspectacular affair. The lovely manager/owner clearly isn't used to the english propensity to down beers swiftly with a lot of laughter. I always forget how noisy I am compared to the rest of the world but next to Soph I'm a picture of quiet. You get the idea. We soon livened the place up.
Sal, Billy, Dave, Tom, Nessa and Neil all arrived back a little later to get the party truly started and digest the day's skiing. Obviously, I couldn't add much but I could add a suggestion that on Sunday, the party skiis the Valley Blanche with a guide. I'd go up on the Cable Car and see them in Chamonix. Not bad for New Year's Day I reckon. I have a feeling we will ski with these guys for years to come. Such a lovely, lovely group of individual characters. Fate takes you to some great places and people sometimes.
Dinner was fabulous but I didn't get as far as the main course. Food is still a struggle. Luckily the house red wine seems fizzy but goes down a treat. Unfortunately, I cannot drink as in my youth and when the Jaegermeisters came out, I should have known things would get a bit tricky. Luckily Soph sent me to bed as it was long past my pumpkin hour (8pm) and managed to persuade me in to a fantastic night's sleep.
I woke this morning feeling more like myself than in ages. A slight sore throat feels a whole load better than how I've been feeling with the hyperthermia. Waking at 5am is 6am here so that's a nice calm start to lovely long days. The sunrise turned the mountains behind Entreves pink this morning. It got Soph out of bed to take a picture which has come out looking orange but was definitely pink. You couldn't have made me smile more. My Baby Girl is a wonder and set against the Italian mountains, I can only pray that she isn't discovered too young. I want her to be 13 for ever.
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