Archive for les-arcs tag
Les Arcs 1800, Part The Second – France
Goodbye Gatwick
We checked in as two small groups to avoid the disproportionate delay with checking in larger groups and headed off to the airport shops for breakfast and retail therapy.
Somebody once told me that there is no rationalisation for checking in hours ahead and it is merely a ploy for you to spend money while you wait. Those in government cite security concerns but the fact is you can drive through most of the borders of Europe with only a cursory glance and minimal security checks.
I reluctantly chewed on an overpriced sandwich and a cherry muffin while a friend of mine started on a pint of beer. It was a little past 6:30am.
Hello Lyon
The flight itself was fairly uneventful unless of course you’re a little scared of flying. Like me. Then every small bump feels like the end of your life and you can’t help but imagine the falling-out-of-the-sky experience that would be caused by a wing falling off.
We landed at Lyon airport, the second worst airport I’ve been in after Dabolim in Goa, India and even they are working on a new one. We queued for 25 minutes waiting to be waved past by two bored looking French customs officials and then had to stand around 45 minutes while the baggage handlers went for lunch half-way through putting our luggage onto the carousel. This isn’t the first time my holiday has come to an abrupt halt because a Frenchman was hungry…
Stopping on a French motorway stuck in a coach for an hour with no facilities isn’t fun, but it would have been less fun to be stuck in a red Seat Ibiza for an hour while the ambulance got to you. I’m not entirely sure who or what else was involved with the accident but I hope the passengers were okay. Anyone who’s driven in France can appreciate the risks.
En-route our cute kiwi rep from Neilson, Ingrid, scouted out those of us in need of passes and lessons and apologised for the lack of refreshments. I started on a bottle of Coke I had in my rucksack and bathed in the murderous glow of those around me.
Neil Gaiman kept me entertained with his prose in American Gods while Zelda kept my twitchy fingers occupied with her Minish Cap. No, it’s not an educational game about contraception.
Oooh, Les Arcs
We finally arrived at Les Arcs which is near Tegne and Val d’Isere, specifically Arc 1800 (the height of the resort, we also found 1600, 1950 and 2000). It’s a rather picturesque resort compared to the likes of concrete Flaine with it’s wooden apartments, shops and eateries sprawling along the length of the lower ski-runs.
We checked in at one side and trekked to our apartments loaded with luggage and bedding across icy paths. It appeared they were only cleared once a day and I found myself wishing for the American fear-of-getting-sued culture that would have them cleared almost hourly.
Having argued with the guy in the rental shop that no my friends wouldn’t be paying an extra 30 Euro’s each because our rep had misspelt our pre-paid coupons I informed them I’d deliver corrected ones tomorrow.
We ate, something, and I clambered up the little ladder to my blanked-laden top bunk before passing out into the usual feast of bizarre imagery that constitutes my dream state.
[)amien
Les Arcs 1800, Part The First – London
Every year I head out skiing with some snowboarding pals for some high-adrenaline thrills coupled with binge drinking. It’s not always a pleasant combination and this year I took my fifteen year old brother with me so my drinking took a back seat.
Not every day was eventful so here’s the first part, the London experience!
Arrival
Saved 50% off the Gatwick Hilton by using the hotel finder service just outside the south terminals arrival gate. Leaving the array of boards, bags and boots we nipped into central London on the Gatwick Express using the Express + One Day Travel card so we could roam the tube.
Roaming
And roam we did through Covent Garden, where the usual array of music, jugglers and artists were showcasing their talents, quickly through some back streets to The Snowboard Aslyum and then into KFC in Leicester Square where we watched what appeared to be a 13 year old male thief get chased, captured and subsequently handed over to police by his intended victim. Ah justice and chicken, what a combo meal.
We later ambled across the millennium bridge and practically ran round the Tate Modern with time was snapping at our heels.
Night
Jumping off at Hammersmith station we headed to Riverside Studios where I’d bagged us eleven tickets for a pilot TV show via Applause Store. Titled simply Strutter and hosted by Mike Strutter, fictional creation of Paul Kaye – best known as Dennis Pennis, they show extreme clips of people doing stupid things broken up with comical adult banter and mock interviews. Mike is accompanied by Northern wild-haired shy-guy Tommy and an Essex girl slapper with some odd fetishes.
Some of the clips were rather unpleasant and left me wondering if it would actually air but it’s been so long since I watched actual TV I guess I’m a little out of touch. Let me know if you see it on a TV schedule as I’m still only using my TV or DVD and gaming. I was in the second row back on the right, fourth in and should be visible in the singing bit with a stupid grin :)
I’d never seen a TV show recorded before and found it quite interesting. Surprising was how well these people deliver high-speed lines while in character and with very few mistakes. The actor playing Tommy didn’t break character once nor fluff a single line in two hours.
It finally wrapped at 11pm and we trundled back on the tube for an ‘early night’, after all we had to be up at 5:30am for our check-in…
[)amien