A few weeks ago myself and a few companions set off on our annual pilgrimage to The Alps, shaking things up a bit this year and choosing France over Switzerland. Thank goodness we did make this change as our usual destination of Zermatt was pretty much snowed-in. Val D’isere was experiencing heavy snowfall too – but thankfully we managed to get out there most days.
Skiing was limited though thanks to lift closures and high avalanche risks. This naturally meant more time for eating and drinking. Being in the French Alps I was quick to tuck into a tartiflette, my favourite treat of mostly potatoes, bacon, cream and cheese.
I also managed to tuck into crepes, chocolat vinnois and vin chaud. But the main agenda was cheese, cheese and more cheese…I actually had so much I’m sort of off it right now (can you OD on cheese?!). An individual (but still very large) raclette all to myself was quite a feat of cheese consumption, even for me! I also indulged in cheese fondue and cheesy croissants for breakfast, so definitely on a break from dairy right now.
Our hotel Aigle des Neiges was a lovely cosy place with a roaring fire and delicious cocktails on the menu. It’s a good thing too, some nights while we were away a curfew was imposed so the streets could be cleared of snow safely at night, meaning we were glad of such cosy, boozy surroundings!
Our favourite spots for food while out there were La Casserole, Restaurant les Tufs and Chez Paolo for pizza.
I hadn’t been to Val D’isere for 10 years, so it was like new with a few hazy memories of places here and there. And while my heart is most definitely in Switzerland, there’s something to be said for France and French cuisine. Plus it’s great being able to understand everything a little better (I have a good basic grip of French, but struggle with the Swiss-German spoken in Swiss ski resorts). The amazing convenience of the Eurostar ski train to Bourg Saint Maurice is a huge bonus too (just don’t expect to get any sleep on the overnight train!).
On the left above is Val D’isere in 2018 and right is Val D’isere in 2008. The big difference is helmets – why didn’t we have them 10 years ago?!
Anyway, farewell for now France, can I suggest you get more heated ski lift seats please?
