Skiing in Megeve, France
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Friday, January 25th - Paris to Megeve
We rented two cars and left Clamart at 5:30pm.  The traffic leaving Paris was mild (surprisingly), and we were out of the city within an hour.  Six and half hours and several candy stops later we arrived in the small mountain town of Megeve.  The city is situated in a valley at a low altitude (~5000 feet?), and is therefore fairly easy to access.  We checked into two apartments that we had reserved in advance, just 1km from the lift.  Despite the late arrival, we managed to motivate ourselves to find a bar in town, where we had a few beers.  We were asleep by 3am. 
Saturday, January 26th - Skiing Day 1
After waking up late (9am) and finding coffee and croissants in town, we rented our skis and hit the slopes.  The sky was blue and the mountains were clear on the horizon, but my skiing was far less impressive.  We spent the first half of the day in the lower sections of the station, and made our way to the higher slopes by the late afternoon.  One of the highlights of the day was a break for hot wine and snacks at small restaurant on the slopes, with a great view of Mont Blanc.  A few images from the day:
 
Jo before his morning coffee
Aaron & Cecilia on the lift
Valentine with alien chapstick
Hot wine on the slopes

We returned to the apartments at 6pm, and decided to bring in dinner from a town grocery store.  Everyone was exhausted, and looked forward to a relaxing night with good food and drink.  The highlights of the night were superb chicken-carving by Cecilia, and the strange drinks mixes that were created with our limited bar selection.  Everyone was asleep by 1am.  A few images from the night:
 
Sunset over Megeve
Cecilia carving the chickens...
Relaxing after dinner
Jo and the girls, in bed?



Sunday, January 27th - Skiing Day 2, and Return to Paris
Despite another late wakeup and coffee in town, we were able to hit the slopes early.  It had snowed overnight, and the higher slopes had seen significant accumulation.  We skied until early afternoon, when we again stopped for hot wine and lunch on the slopes.  The temperature rose significantly after lunch, and the snow began to turn to rain.  Our final runs were a little wet, but did not dampen any spirits.  We were back in the cars by 5pm, headed for Paris.  We had a *minor* three-hour delay just outside Megeve, due to oil troubles with the (brand new) rental car.  After resolving a low oil (and then high oil) condition, we were back on the road to Paris.  After five hours of traffic-free driving and good conversation, we arrived back in Paris.  A few images from the second day of skiing:
 
Stefan and his map
Expert snowboarder Cecilia
On the lift...
Aaron, with Mont Blanc in the background

Superb skiing and great company!  Thanks to Valentin and Cecilia for organizing everything.