Une Semaine en France

Translated, the title of this blog is "A Week in France". I just returned home yesterday from a week skiing at Val Disere in the French Alps which are located in the southeast corner of the country which is twice the size of Colorado. We left University of Nottingham on Friday December 16th at 9pm in 4 coaches. We traveled to Dover, England on the far southeast corner of the country where we were lucky enough to be the very last vehicle on the ferry we rode to Calais, France which took about 90 minutes. From there, we drove through the night and all the next day across France until we reached Val Disere at around 6:30 pm, 21 hrs after we left the day before.

We had 6 days of lift pass to enjoy the Espace Killy, a ski area that combines that both the ski resorts of Val Disere and Tignes. It snowed about 3 inches the first night we were there but that would be the last natural snow we would see fall all week. The first day I skiied all throughout Val Disere, but that would be the last time i would spend considerable time in the resort alone. Tignes had far better snow in comparison and far more runs open. In Val Disere, because so little of the resort was open and that which was open was so only because of artificial snow creation, most ski runs were short and felt as though you were only skiing from one lift to the next all day long. Tignes was much larger and had much more open and accessible. The runs were longer and, for the most part, had better snow coverage. Sadly though, after a week of skiing, my ski's are nearly destroyed from the enormous amount of rocks that litter the ski runs across both resorts. I think the ski groomer whose job was to add snow to the runs missed the memo and decded to just dump loads of gravel on them instead. In Oregon, i believe i have hit two rocks in all of my skiing there, whereas I met some 200 rocks in a week in France. But, on the plus side, i did increase my ability to ski and manage to conquer some steep runs that my friends and I climbed up to.

There were about 140 students from my Uni and similar groups from a dozen other schools at the mountain during the week so the nightlife often got pretty crazy. We had 3 themed nights to attend which included a White Party, Pirate Party, and of course, a Christmas Party. I never stayed out too late as I was dedicated to skiing rather than partying, but I was well dressed for the White Party. My buddy Ed and I wore the same costume which included white shoes, socks, long johns, t-shirts, and a white bathrobe to top it all off. We also painted our skin and hair white to complete the ensemble. We were legends for the night. The other nights were fair as well, however the clubs that Val Disere maintained could not hold capacity for the number of students that wanted admittance thus the clubs became rammed and movement was all but halted throughout the bars at night. This was usually the time i would leave for bed to ensure i beat all the others to the slopes in the morning.

The week was very fun, but i am very much looking forward to my schedule Austria trip in hopes that there will be proper snow cover so that my repaired ski's will not take nearly the beating that they did in Val Disere. I had a great time with my friends, skiied hard and fast, and skiied some fairly difficult terrain. To top off the week, we rode the bus home from France for 19 hrs. Luckily, on both journeys, keeping with form that most people know and love, i slept more than 75% of both trips.
Merry Christmas everyone. I pray that you are with friends or family or both and enjoying the holiday season. If you get a chance, drop me a line or call at 503-616-4425 and I would love to hear from you. Merry Christmas!

Love, Alan Perry

CHECK OUT THE PHOTO ALBUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q195/alanperry/Val%20Disere%202006/

(Copy and paste the address into your web browser to view. Cheers!)

Slowly but surely

Well prayers are starting to be answered. 20cm of snow dumped yesterday at Val Disere. There is not anymore in the 3 day forecast but it is cold enough for them to turn on the snow machines to get a good man made snow slope built for me to shred in one weeks time.

Dreaming of Snow

In exactly 7 days, I will be jumping on a bus for the long drive to the south of France to spend a week at Val Disere with the University Snow Sports team. However, the snowfall right now is similar to the Sahara in July..... pretty slim. To be fair, there is some snow falling right now and there might, that being the key word, be a foot on the ground when we get there. It is pretty frustrating given how much money I have spent on this trip but I have decided to make the best of it. If there is no snow in the lowlands then Alan Perry will just seek higher ground. I will bring my back pack and I will ascend each and every of the highest peaks in search of fresh snow and fast lines. I will not let the Man bring me down. Please, if you have a chance, pray the God stops snowing so much on Oregon and sends some over this way. Mt Hood Meadows was not even open and they received 7 feet of snow. If I did not know better, I would say God made a small mistake about where his great white package was to be delivered.

Regardless, I still have a lot to look forward to. Ryanair, the cheap airline over here, has been successfully baiting me to give them business with penny fares all over the place. I booked a flight last week to the beautiful country of Spain for my birthday. I will fly from Nottingham on Wednesday, January 3rd, to Madrid, the capital of Spain. I will be making the two hour flight for a mere 9 pounds, or $18 for all of you who are keeping track of the dismal decline of the value of our currency. Sadly, it may cost me that much just to get a bus or taxi to the airport. This continent is a bit strange. Anyway, I will stay 2 days in Madrid, and then take a day trip of Friday for either Segovia or Toledo, to which I have yet to decide. Back to Madrid on Saturday and then that night I plan on sleeping in the airport to save money. On Sunday morning, my 22nd birthday, I am taking a 6am flight from Madrid to Barcelona for a mere 25 euros, about $34, to meet my friend Celeste there. The train, would have been more expensive so I figured I would continue my flying, by this time I should be getting pretty good at it. Finally, Celeste and I will hang out in Barcelona for 3 days and fly back on January 10th. It should be a pretty fun trip and I look forward to going out for a nice dinner in downtown Barcelona for my birthday. Oh, and to top it off $12 flight to get home from Barcelona

Between France, Spain, and Austria, I have a lot to look forward to in the next month. Keep sending me emails and phone calls and updating me on what you are up to.

Cheers,

Traveling Al


A Fountain in Madrid


The great cathedral in Barcelona, known as La Sagrada Familia from the sky.


Las Ramblas, an iconic pedetrian mall in the Gothic District.