Pics From Chamonix

Jignesh's favorite type of ski! Unfortunately, this was not ours

What happened to the skiers?

Ouch!

A Sunday snow storm!

Enjoying the scenery

Smile!

On top of the world!

Chamonix, France

Wanting to experience a true winter, we headed to the French Alps this past weekend for some skiing and relaxation. Chamonix is a scenic little ski town near the Swiss border. It is even possible to take a cable car to the very top of Mont Blanc, the highest point in Europe.

Our trip began with a late night Thursday flight (gotta love Swiss Air and chocolate!) from London, through Zurich, and finally into Geneva. We were very relieved to quickly find our shuttle that transported us across the French border and directly to our hotel. We actually stayed at a Best Western! This was not the Best Western that I remeber staying at when I was a kid. This hotel was newly renovated in a modern, trendy style. It had a wonderful outdoor heated pool and hottub. Although our room was small, it was comfortable and nicely fitted.

After a good night's rest, we got a bit of late start on Friday but still managed to hit the slopes. After bundling up in all our ski gear (check out my new bright pink ski coat...I love it!) and waddling out the door, we hopped on the Cham bus and attacked one of the for main ski areas in Chamonix. Le Tour was the perfect place to get our ski legs back as it is full of easier (blue) runs. Although Jignesh spent quite a bit of time on the ground rather than on his skis, we still a wonderful time. The were very lucky to have a sunny skies, warm temperatures, and great skiing conditions. We were one of the last skiers to make it off the mountain.

Day two on the slopes was another beautiful day with great weater. Getting an early start we headed to Brevent and spent then entire day on the mountain. Despite a few stumbles along the way and an irritable ski, Jignesh started to find his rhythm and was soon flying down the mountain. I was loving the atmosphere, the scenery, and the conditions. Once again we were one of the last to leave leave the mountain.

We could not leave Chamonix without checking out the local nightlife. After a Saturday evening dinner (ok and a bottle of wine), we stumbled into a British owned pub. There, we had a few more drinks and even made a few new friends! We woke up on Sunday with a slight headaches to look out the window and discover beautiful snowfall. Since our shuttled was collecting us mid-afternoon, we decided to explore the town with a relaxing stroll and a stop for some much needed good coffee. We headed home late in the day with slightly sore legs, red noses, and memories of great weekend. Thankfully, all our bones made it home intact as well!

Cheers.

Some Good Friends and Good Crepes

Finally There!

Waiting in line for a crepe!

Jignesh, Anna, and Valentin in the Heath

Last weekend, we were lucky enough to meet up with some German friends that we originally met in Charlotte. We started the afternoon by exploring the Heath with Schlopy tagging along and then showed Anna and Valentin around the rest of our 'hood. Towards the end of the day we found ourselves at one of our favorite places in Hampstead. Tucked away on the High Street, La Creperie de Hampstead is a small crepe stand serves some of the best crepes in London. It is rare to pass the stand and not see at least 20 people in the queue. On this particular day, the weather was not even a deterrent as it was quite cold with flurries in the air! Since Jignesh and I had not eaten lunch, we both opted for savory crepes of ham, cheese, spinach, and various seasonings! Anna and Valentin decided to endulge in sweet crepes of chocolate, nuts, rum and bananas (my mouth is watering just writing about it!). Ok, so what do you do on a Sunday afternoon in London after you have stuffed yourself with crepes? Go to the pub, of course! And that is exactly what we did. The Holly Bush is a landmark on its own. One of the oldest pubs in London, the Holly Bush is known for its original features and cozy fireplace. Here, we all enjoyed a drink of our choice. It was great to see some old friends and we are looking forward to taking them up on the offer to visit them in Germany!

Cheers!

Budapest

The Royal Palace

The Buda Castle

An overall view of Budapest

The Royal Palace

Last week, Jignesh traveled to Budapest for work. Unfortunately, this was a solo trip as I had to work. Even though I have been to Budapest, I was still a bit jealous! Although he was confined to a conference room for the majority of his trip, he was able to get out and see a bit of the city directly after his arrival. Thanks to the conference, he had a wonderful 5 course dinner at the Buda Castle! Here are a few pics from his trip.

Cheers!

Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

Our garden

Our snowy Hampstead street

Schlopy loves the snow!

A snowman family constructed by some neighborhood kids

Over the last 24 hours, London has been experiencing its biggest snowfall in 18 years! The first of the snowflakes began to fall yesterday late afternoon and have continued throughout the day today. It is expected to continue throughout the night and finally come to a end early tomorrow morning. With a total of 8-12 inches forecasted, this snowfall is by no means comparable to the storms seen in the Midwestern or Northeastern United States. However, for a city that rarely sees more than a dusting, this is undoubtedly considered a blizzard. Ill-equipped for this amount of snow, London essentially shut down today. Most forms of public transportation were either completely or partially suspended, many stores and businesses failed to open their doors, and children enjoyed a rare snow day from school. I am sure the airports were complete chaos. Despite the masses of people who stayed home today, Jiggy and I both trudged to work. I am not sure if we are dedicated or crazy. At least I was rewarded with an extra vacation day for my efforts! I am looking forward to spending the remainder of the evening curled up in a warm blanket with a cup of hot chocoloate (or wine).

Cheers!

Adjusting to a New Job

I have been a working girl for two weeks now! I feel very fortunate to have a job in this economy but on the mornings when the alarm jolts me awake at 4:45am, I briefly re-consider this whole job thing. Working in a truly local environment has thrown me into British life. I have learned more about the British culture, language, and lifestyle in the last two weeks than I have in the last six months. I am amazed by the lack of customer service (reception will let the phone ring 10-15 times before answering!) and the brashness of dealing with customer complaints/issues. I thought I was getting use to the British accent but try talking on the phone to someone talking a mile a minute!

On another note, Jignesh has also been busy at work the last few weeks. He is slowly transitioning to a more specialized department and his work load has picked up significantly. He actually left this morning for a conference in Budapest! With my new job and somewhat odd hours and his new projects, we are like semis passing one another on the highway. Ummm...maybe it is time for trip.

Cheers!

You Know You Have Lived in London Too Long When...

Although I don't feel like I have lived in London long enough, I thought this was both funny and true and will give you some more interesting tidbits about life in London. Oh, I cannot take the credit for this one as a friend passed it along. Enjoy.

1. You don't even bother looking out of the window when you get up in the morning to check what the day is like. You know it is overcast.

2. You believe that Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday are all good nights for drinking. Sunday day is also entirely reasonable.

3. You can't remember what 'customer service' means.

4. After a big night out you find yourself looking for a Curry house and not a 24 hour McDonalds.

5. You start to accept queuing as a way of life.

6. More than three hours sunlight on summer days seems excessive.

7. You always call soccer 'football' ...and you have a team...and it's not Manchester United.

8. You don't think twice about buying a packaged sandwich.

9. A sunny lunchtime means searching for a patch of grass and stripping off practically down to your underwear.

10. You expect men to actually cut, comb and style their hair (using hair products). And to wear decent clothes. Jeans and a t-shirt are no longer socially acceptable.

11. You think 40 quid for a haircut is quite reasonable.

12. You finish every sentence with "Cheers" or "In'it", and start every conversation with Hiya.

13. You only just realise you have lost your sunglasses - you left them in Greece 2 summers ago.

14. You start thinking English cuisine isn't all that bad after all, I mean, it's hard to beat a full English breakfast.

15. You are on to your 6th umbrella and your second overcoat.

16. You buy a disposable baby BBQ from Argos.

17. You realise your sunscreen is the stuff you originally brought from home with you.

18. A day at the beach means wearing the warmest clothes you own while standing on golf ball-size pebbles and the thought of swimming doesn't even enter your head.

19. You actually say, "Sor'ed" or "it's all gone a bit pear shaped".

20. Wearing a suit in a pub is relatively normal attire.

21. You have given up complaining about the Victorian-like banking services offered in the UK.

22. You have given up explaining why you are half an hour late to work as no-one notices or even cares. In fact - you may even join the one hour gossip session around the coffee machine before booting up your computer.

23. Coming to work with a hangover is entirely accepted and indeed expected at least once a week.

Cheers!