It's the last day of January already. This time next Saturday we’ll be on our way to Cavaillon in Provence (near Avignon) where we’ve rented a 2 bedroom villa for four months till the end of May. We’re looking forward to a change of scenery. We’ve been in Carlipa since the end of August and have had a great time looking around this area and done lots while we’ve been here.
This week we’ll be busy packing up our stuff and cleaning the house. There seems to be a lot more than we came with but I suppose we’ve all had a birthday and Christmas since we’ve been here.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Last Day of Ski-ing 30 January 2009
It was our last day of ski-ing today. We checked out of our hotel and put all our gear in the boot of the car and headed back up to “the slopes”. Samuel and Ella couldn’t get there fast enough and were off ski-ing straightaway. Our “slopes” was more like flat ground with a small hump half way down but hey we have to start somewhere.
The rope pulley stopped working shortly after we arrived and then it only worked on and off the rest of the day which was a pain. The kids made the most of it when it was working and ski-ed as much as they could. Andrew pulled them up the slope when the rope wasn’t working. Andrew didn’t ski much today because he was exhausted from dragging the two of them back up when they ski-ed down.
Ella’s small friend was there again today. So Ella and Samuel and small friend teamed up and ski-ed to their heart’s content. It was great.
The rope pulley stopped working shortly after we arrived and then it only worked on and off the rest of the day which was a pain. The kids made the most of it when it was working and ski-ed as much as they could. Andrew pulled them up the slope when the rope wasn’t working. Andrew didn’t ski much today because he was exhausted from dragging the two of them back up when they ski-ed down.
Ella’s small friend was there again today. So Ella and Samuel and small friend teamed up and ski-ed to their heart’s content. It was great.
Some Photos of Ax-les-Thermes
Ax-les-Thermes lies between two rivers: the Ariège and the Oriège
Village of Ax-les-Thermes
The beautiful (and noisy) river running through town 
Across the road from our hotelDay 3 - Ski-ing 29 January 2009
In the telecabin going up to the ski station
Faraway photo of Ella (middle) and her friend (front)
The practice area
We had another lesson today. Today we had an excellent day ski-ing. We were much better organised. We were up at the ski station earlier for a bit of practice before our lesson. Samuel dug in the snow hole that he’d made the day before and said he definitely didn’t want any practice before our lesson.
To be honest when we had our first ski lesson I hated it (and so did Samuel I think). I found it frightening, slippery, I hated the speed and I was scared I was going to hurt myself or hurt someone else crashing into them. My shoes hurt, my pants were uncomfortable and I really couldn’t have cared if I never ski-ed again. By the third lesson with a bit more practice I started to enjoy it. It’s hard in the beginning but as the instructor said to me “It’s the same for everyone at the beginning”. Ski-ing uses muscles you never knew you had. It’s exhilarating when you feel as though you’re getting a bit better and lose that fear a little bit. It’s actually great fun.
Today Samuel decided after the lesson he would have another go on his own and once he started there was no stopping him. He just kept going up the rope and ski-ing down again and again till they turned the rope off at 5.30 pm. Samuel and Ella were the last kids still ski-ing.
Ella made a friend. This little girl all dressed in pink the same as Ella claimed her and the two of them happily ski-ed all afternoon together. Every now and then we could hear this maniacal laughter which was Ella enjoying herself going faster and faster with her arms raised in the air and then cruising to a comfortable finish in position at the start of the rope pulley ready to go up again.
It was very enjoyable for Andrew and I to see both our kids doing so well and really enjoying themselves. Samuel practised his turns in between some ski poles that had been placed there by an ESF instructor for practice.
To be honest when we had our first ski lesson I hated it (and so did Samuel I think). I found it frightening, slippery, I hated the speed and I was scared I was going to hurt myself or hurt someone else crashing into them. My shoes hurt, my pants were uncomfortable and I really couldn’t have cared if I never ski-ed again. By the third lesson with a bit more practice I started to enjoy it. It’s hard in the beginning but as the instructor said to me “It’s the same for everyone at the beginning”. Ski-ing uses muscles you never knew you had. It’s exhilarating when you feel as though you’re getting a bit better and lose that fear a little bit. It’s actually great fun.
Today Samuel decided after the lesson he would have another go on his own and once he started there was no stopping him. He just kept going up the rope and ski-ing down again and again till they turned the rope off at 5.30 pm. Samuel and Ella were the last kids still ski-ing.
Ella made a friend. This little girl all dressed in pink the same as Ella claimed her and the two of them happily ski-ed all afternoon together. Every now and then we could hear this maniacal laughter which was Ella enjoying herself going faster and faster with her arms raised in the air and then cruising to a comfortable finish in position at the start of the rope pulley ready to go up again.
It was very enjoyable for Andrew and I to see both our kids doing so well and really enjoying themselves. Samuel practised his turns in between some ski poles that had been placed there by an ESF instructor for practice.
Thermals
After we finished ski-ing on Wednesday afternoon we went over to have a look at the Thermal baths in the village. I'm not sure what we thought it would be. It sounded quite exotic and it was a bit disappointing to find out it was just a small heated indoor pool and two jacuzzis. There was also a weights room and two saunas which we weren't interested in. But we still enjoyed the pool and spa. The kids were very excited to be in a swimming pool and we had to keep telling them to be quiet seeing as we were the only people there with kids. There were signs all over the place saying "Respect the Silence". All the big people were in gaggles talking in hushed whispers.
Day 2 of Ski-ing 28 January 2009
Samuel playing in the snow
Samuel burrowing a hole under the fence
Enjoying lunch at Lou Cantou
Andrew enjoying a beer at lunch
Our second day of ski-ing was très bien. We ended up exchanging our boots at the ski hire shop. Ella and Samuel took a bigger size and I took the same size in a different style. It turns out there’s a little lever on the back of the boot to make it a fraction easier to walk when you don't have your skis on. So you don’t feel so much like an astronaut taking his first steps on the moon.
We had our second lesson. Ella started doing a few more things. She loves it all. She has no problem with any of it. The kids have good balance and find it easy to get up again when they fall down. Today we all got a bit better at hoisting ourselves back up with the rope pulley which gets you back to the top of the slope. After our lesson Samuel didn’t want to ski anymore. He only wanted to play in the snow and he dug a hole through the snow under the fence and burrowed down into it.
After we’d finished our lesson we had a scrumptious lunch at Lou Cantou and a couple of beers and then Ella and Andrew did some more ski-ing. I took some photos and did some video-ing and Samuel burrowed himself into his snow hole.
We had our second lesson. Ella started doing a few more things. She loves it all. She has no problem with any of it. The kids have good balance and find it easy to get up again when they fall down. Today we all got a bit better at hoisting ourselves back up with the rope pulley which gets you back to the top of the slope. After our lesson Samuel didn’t want to ski anymore. He only wanted to play in the snow and he dug a hole through the snow under the fence and burrowed down into it.
After we’d finished our lesson we had a scrumptious lunch at Lou Cantou and a couple of beers and then Ella and Andrew did some more ski-ing. I took some photos and did some video-ing and Samuel burrowed himself into his snow hole.
Ski-ing Trip Tuesday 27 January 2009
Looking out of the telecabin down to the cars below covered in snow
Telecabin
Ella and me
Andrew and Samuel ready for action
It was a rainy, blurry drive to Ax-les-ThermesWe left Carlipa this morning to drive to Ax-les-Thermes in the Pyrenees. It only took a couple of hours. We found our hotel and were able to check in early. We went to pick up our ski gear that we’d hired. The lady in the shop was really nice and helped us with sizes. The kids' gear included helmets. All the kids wear helmets to ski. I hadn’t guessed the kids’ shoe sizes too well and the ski shoes were very heavy and uncomfortable to walk in.
Carrying all the equipment (skis, poles, shoes and helmets) was hard going. The gear was heavy and the kids couldn’t manage their own gear.
Our first ski lesson was booked for 1pm. Just the four of us with the ESF instructor (École de Ski Français - France's leading ski school). He was very patient with us and good with the kids. Ella and Samuel took to it easily. They are amazing!
I think ski-ing should be called slipping. It so, so slippery. The first time I put skis on and immediately started sliding backwards I couldn’t believe how slippery it was. I fell over a few times and just couldn’t get myself into any sort of position to pick myself up. It was very awkward and quite unnatural if you ask me.
Ella was getting quite a bit of speed up and loving it. At one point she was having her turn and Samuel was at the other end and Andrew and I could hear her laughing as she scooted down the snow not too slowly. The instructor told her to slow down.
Samuel was a bit irritated with it. The rope pulley was a bit hard to get used to but once he got the hang of it there was no stopping him.
Carrying all the equipment (skis, poles, shoes and helmets) was hard going. The gear was heavy and the kids couldn’t manage their own gear.
Our first ski lesson was booked for 1pm. Just the four of us with the ESF instructor (École de Ski Français - France's leading ski school). He was very patient with us and good with the kids. Ella and Samuel took to it easily. They are amazing!
I think ski-ing should be called slipping. It so, so slippery. The first time I put skis on and immediately started sliding backwards I couldn’t believe how slippery it was. I fell over a few times and just couldn’t get myself into any sort of position to pick myself up. It was very awkward and quite unnatural if you ask me.
Ella was getting quite a bit of speed up and loving it. At one point she was having her turn and Samuel was at the other end and Andrew and I could hear her laughing as she scooted down the snow not too slowly. The instructor told her to slow down.
Samuel was a bit irritated with it. The rope pulley was a bit hard to get used to but once he got the hang of it there was no stopping him.
Monday 26 January 2009
The power still wasn’t on when we woke up. Kerrie sent a text message asking if we were ok in the hurricane so we started wondering how bad the storm was if they’d heard about it in Australia.
We had no information. Our landlord Mark said one million people in the south were without power.
The power finally came on at 6.30pm Monday night. We were so happy because we needed to get things ready for our ski-ing trip. We finally found out about the storm when we read the news on the internet. The news said it was the worst storm in a decade and winds had reached up to 200km per hour.
We had no information. Our landlord Mark said one million people in the south were without power.
The power finally came on at 6.30pm Monday night. We were so happy because we needed to get things ready for our ski-ing trip. We finally found out about the storm when we read the news on the internet. The news said it was the worst storm in a decade and winds had reached up to 200km per hour.
Narbonne Plage Sunday 25 January 2009
Andrew building dam wall
Ella and chateau
Samuel and chateau
Ella and Samuel at GruissanThe candles and tea lights that we had left over from Christmas came in handy last night when the power still wasn’t on. We have cuisinière à gaz (gas cooker) so I made dinner and we had some wood to keep the house warm.
After dinner we played 8 games of Uno by candlelight. Ella kept winning and Samuel got the pips. He said “I’ll never catch up”. Ella 4, Dad 2, Samuel 1, Mum 1. The kids have their DS’s too and Samuel looked at his Pokemon cards.
It leaves very little to do when there’s no power. I’m glad there wasn’t much meat and food in the fridge/freezer. We’ve been running down our supplies of everything because we’re moving in a couple of weeks. There wasn’t much in the fridge but I was sad to have to throw out my spaghetti meat sauce that I made the day before.
We spent Sunday, while the power was still off, at Narbonne Plage. We had fun playing on the beach, looking for shells and sticks and making elaborate sand chateaux and dam walls with big bits of driftwood. Narbonne had lots of big trees blown over in the storm.
Samuel ended up getting his shoes and socks soaked “accidentally” in the ocean so the kids took off their shoes and socks and rolled up their trousers. The water was freezing but they didn’t seem to mind while they were playing but after we had rinsed off the sand and dried off as best we could, they just couldn’t warm their feet.
We really expected our power to be back on when we got back from Narbonne but it wasn’t so that was kind of depressing.
After dinner we played 8 games of Uno by candlelight. Ella kept winning and Samuel got the pips. He said “I’ll never catch up”. Ella 4, Dad 2, Samuel 1, Mum 1. The kids have their DS’s too and Samuel looked at his Pokemon cards.
It leaves very little to do when there’s no power. I’m glad there wasn’t much meat and food in the fridge/freezer. We’ve been running down our supplies of everything because we’re moving in a couple of weeks. There wasn’t much in the fridge but I was sad to have to throw out my spaghetti meat sauce that I made the day before.
We spent Sunday, while the power was still off, at Narbonne Plage. We had fun playing on the beach, looking for shells and sticks and making elaborate sand chateaux and dam walls with big bits of driftwood. Narbonne had lots of big trees blown over in the storm.
Samuel ended up getting his shoes and socks soaked “accidentally” in the ocean so the kids took off their shoes and socks and rolled up their trousers. The water was freezing but they didn’t seem to mind while they were playing but after we had rinsed off the sand and dried off as best we could, they just couldn’t warm their feet.
We really expected our power to be back on when we got back from Narbonne but it wasn’t so that was kind of depressing.
Vent Violent Saturday 24 January 2009
It is so windy today. We went shopping at Go Sport in Toulouse for ski clothes for me and Andrew. Andrew said he could feel the wind moving the car as we drove down the road.
The wind was blowing like crazy. When we got back from Toulouse at about 1.30pm we had no power. So the wind must have damaged something, blown a power line over or something.
Patrick, a friendly French chap in our village came to warn us to get the kids inside because the Mairie (village council) had issued an Alerte Rouge. The kids were outside in the wind picking up sticks for firewood. Patrick said the power was going to be off for a while.
The wind was blowing like crazy. When we got back from Toulouse at about 1.30pm we had no power. So the wind must have damaged something, blown a power line over or something.
Patrick, a friendly French chap in our village came to warn us to get the kids inside because the Mairie (village council) had issued an Alerte Rouge. The kids were outside in the wind picking up sticks for firewood. Patrick said the power was going to be off for a while.
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