Winter vineyards

While I was skiing Radek went on a walk to the nearby vineyards. We know this place so well and we see how the time passes observing the circle of vegetation. At the moment everything is put to sleep, waiting for spring to liven up the world. Nature is still but it will waken up. Isn't it philosophical in a sense?

Skiing in Les Contamines

This week's outing was in Les Contamines in French Alps. This is by no means the prettiest ski resort I have seen so far, it's a pity I had visibility only for a very short period in the morning. Still, it's better luck than Radek had as he skied in blizzard and mist and haven't seen anything. I hope to go there one more time to show him the beauty of mountains around.

Within half an hour the weather turned from what you see in the upper photos into this:

In any case, we had lots of fun both on the pistes and in the lifts :)

Skiing in Saint-Gervais

CERN ski course outing number 3 - Saint-Gervais. Every week I get better and better at skiing. It makes me so happy to see my progress but most of all, it becomes more and more fun on the slopes. Of course, I am still in my "a bit scared" phase when on the skis but I gain confidence with every hour.

Both days were kind of gloomy, Radek had slightly better weather than I did. Nevertheless, it didn't really matter because the nature still  looked spectacular. I just love winter mountains.

Skiing in La Clusaz

Ski adventure continues... This weekend we're in La Clusaz. Our second outing with CERN Ski Club was a real blast. We had been closely observing the weather the week before as the snow level in the Alps was rather alarming. Fortunately, just a night before Saturday temperatures had dropped and it had been snowing. What a relief :)
My turn was on Saturday. I had rather difficult conditions as it was pretty cold and it was snowing all the time. You won't see many lovely photos from my outing but nevertheless I enjoyed the views even if they were a bit misty. I managed to go down a blue piste for the first time in my life - a challenge that was rewarded by the sunny spells!

Radek had more luck on his day as it was bright and sunny all the time. I can't really say a lot about his outing as I wasn't there but I can assure you he had lots of fun. He's getting way ahead of me with his skills, I really need to catch up!

Ski Adventure begins: Les Gets

Longly awaited by us skiing course has begun! The next 5 weekends in a row we will spend on pistes, doing shu shu shu. I am very happy that we get to try yet another new thing for us. It's a pity that we won't exactly share this experience with Radek. I mean, we will share it but separetly, as I attend the course on Saturdays and Radek on Sundays. Also, our level is a bit different as my husband already did some skiing last year and I am a complete rookie. This also means that our blog will be flooded by poor quality cell phone photos but on the other hand I promise you lots of beautiful winter mountains landscape.
On our first outing we went to Les Gets. Although the snow is nearly non-existent, for a beginner like me it was just fine. I had lovely weather, some nice views and lots of fun. I already know I like skiing :) Keep your fingers crossed that I don't break a leg.

Don't date a girl who travels

My recent discovery. So beautiful, so true...

Christmas and New Year in Szczecin

Finally, it's this time of the year, my favourite without any doubt. I am happy we could spend Christmas with family and friends this year. We celebrated Christmas Eve with all our family sitting at one table (17 people children not counted). Before that we had done lots of Christmas preparations like decorating a tree, cooking pierogi or setting up winter decorations. First day of Christmas meant more family visits to us. On the second day of Christmas we organised a meeting to all our closest friends - a traditions that was started 10 years ago and has been cherished ever since. I am grateful that I have so many dear people around me and that I can share those moments with them.

Our visit passed quickly and we never had a moment for ourselves to rest. We had lots of visits, did some walks in the city greenery, went shopping a couple of times, did even more visits... Despite having such a busy time we managed to rest a bit and charge the batteries for the New Year.

On our way back home (by home I mean France now) we experienced a little setback... I mean, it's winter so it was nothing very unexpected but recent high temperatures dulled our vigilance. And here's what we encountered...

Fortunately we made it safely to Saint Genis and we are back to our everyday life ready for new challenges. Next on: ski course in the Alps!