Delayed Day 7 & a virus...

...virus was (and partly still is) luckily only on PC! That is I have not been able to access site from home pc. For some reason it blocs only google sites, go & figure... Here are day 7 pics.

Eli himakoneella virus joten ei paasya blogin paivitykseen mutta tassa muutamia kuvia.
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After ski
Local taxi's - paikalliset taksit

Local fire fighters - paikallinen paloauto

Ready to load the car - valmiina lastaamaan auto
...as soon as we clear the snow - kunhan lumet saadaan pois

Last view - viimeiset maisemat

Scenery route home over the Jura mountains - Maisemareitti kotiin Jura-vuoriston yli On the road - reitin varrelta

Customs from Switzerland to France - Sveitsin puolelta Ranskaan

French village - Kyla Ranskassa

Same village - sama kyla

And right from next - ja seuraavasta oikealle

Strange nature - luonnon kummallisuuksia

Welcome to Belgium - Tervetuloa Belgiaan!

No broken bones and loads of fun - should last until the next trip...

Ei hajonneita luita ja todella hauskaa - ei ku seuraavan suunnitteluun...

Day 6 Loads of fresh snow - Runsaasti uutta lunta

Day 6, Thu 18 Dec 2008
Illallisen jalkeinen huvi - Fun after dinner
Eilisilta jatkui samalla lumipyryllä kuin päivä ja ravintolassa tarjoilija pahoitteli ettei kuljetus päässyt ylös asti. Seurauksena saimme paremman viinin edullisemman hinnalla... Fondue oli erinomainen, mutta lasten "hampurilainen" oli ilman sämpylää ja sisältä hieman raaka joten se ei yllättäen päässyt suosikkilistan kärkeen.
Aamun tavoitteena aikuisvaeston miehella oli puuterin valloitus, mutta se meni hieman poskelleen kun lumi oli muuttunut melko raskaaksi. Nooh, rinteiden ulkopuolella tuli kuitenkin vietettya aika paljon aikaa Kn kanssa. Hauska päivä, keli vaihteli aurinkoisesta pilven sisällä oleiluun.

Yksi hiihtopäivä jäljellä, välillä jaloissa tuntuu rankalta mutta omituisesti K jaksaa painaa jatkuvasti lisää...
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After a snow night with a fondue dinner – and kids with a hamburger without the bread – we got to a fresh snow ski day. Snow was harder than the day before, but didn’t keep M and K from going to deep snow. Yep, we fell down now and then but it was loads of fun!!!
One more ski day to go, it feels touch on legs but K keeps going more and more…

Aamupilvet alhaalla laaksossa - Morning clouds down at the valley

Vuoristokuukkeli - Mountain Yeti

K vauhtikone - Speed monster

Pilvi kiipeaa laaksosta - Cloud climbing from a valley

K Vauhdissa - Off pist

Maisema ei ainakaan pilaa mielta edes auringon laskiessa - The view keeps one smiling even at sunset

Day 5 - Snow day - Lumipaiva

Day 5 Snow Day – Lumipäivä

Ski day was great but hard as said, so we were hoping to have a raclette(typing…?) dinner at the apartment. There is a cheese & meat shop downstairs and we went there to buy cheese, meat & other ingredients but then the friendly lady said that we need to wait until Friday. The deal is that if you buy the cheese & meat from them, they will borrow the raclette “machine” to you for free. We did it last time we were here and wanted to do it now too, but now after 2 day delay.

Instead we “must” settle for a fondue and since the kitchen is not likely to be open yet while writing this – about 1830 while CNN tells about Time Magazine´s Person of the Year.



Morning view


Cant see the mountains

30 cm uutta lunta ja koko ajan lisaa. Rankkaa mutta kivaa, kuvia myohemmin.
Same amount of fresh snow in English and more coming, hard skiing but fun!

Break cafe

I want the sun back!

By the way, it would be nice to know if anyone is reading this – while I don´t have counter on the page I have no idea if there is anyone else then mother-in-law, and she speaks veeeery limited English…Och samma på Finska.

Day 4 - Sun Fun - Aurinkoiloa (with text)

Day 4, 16 Dec 2008 – More skiing & views / Lisaa laskettelua ja maisemia

Tama on hieno hetki - Breath Taking View

Vuoristopilvi - Mountain cloud

Laakso pilven peitossa - Valley covered with a cloud

Lasten "tauko" - Kids idea of a break

Aikuisten tyylin tauko - Adult style break

Aikainen lähtö kämpilta, mukavan leppoista hiihtelyä ja aurinkoinen tauko terassilla. Siitä takaisin kämpille lounaalle ja villi ratkaisu katsoa mukaan otettua Poika ja Ilves –leffaa. Jai kesken koska haluttiin takas vuorille mutta oli todellakin sen arvoista. Mentiin ristiin rastiin laaksoa ja nauttiin monin puolin niin maisemista kuin lumisista rinteistä taskuun taittuvalla liukurilla ja suksilla.

K oli taas villi jaksaja joten M mukamas pakon edessa uhrautui ottamaan muutaman lisälaskun nuoren herran kanssa... Suunnitelmissa ennen reissua oli laittaa muksut yhtenä tai kahtena päivänä hiihtokouluun, mutta koska rinteiden haastaminen on ollut varsin hyvä päätimme jättää opettelun kaytännön pohjalle.

Ranskalainen tapa hiihtokoululle nayttää olevan aika aikuiskeskeinen;
Perhe tulee yhdessä lomalle mutta laittaa lapset maanantaista perjantaihin hiihtokouluun. Täällä se tarkoittaa aloitusta klo 9 aamulla ja lopetusta noin klo 4. Jos vanhemmat niin haluavat, he voivat nauttia lounaan lasten kanssa mutta näyttää olevan aika yleistä että myös lounas vietetään hiihtokoululauman kanssa. Edellisellä reissullamme laitoimme hieman vastahakoiset lapsemme kahtena päivänä kouluun mutta lounaan vietimme yhdessa samalla hieman lasketellen. Oleellisimpana perusteluna oli – ja on vielakin – mahdollisuus mennä useampiin rinteisiin yhdessä ja nauttia vuorien antimista...

Katsotaan nyt kuinka pitkään voimme mennä ilman hiihtokoulua – ja kuka perheestä on se joka sitä tarvitsee eniten pysyäksemme yhtenä laumana. S viimeksi tänään mainitsi ostavansa Exelin voitelemattomat sukset heti kun ei enää vauhdissa pärjää muksuille. Kapsun vauhti on jo aika kova mutta tänään myos lunta tuli haukattua aika monta kertaa. Mutta hauskaa oli kaikilla!!!
What, something needed in English too?

We left the flat quite early and had smooth skiing and a sunny terrace break (regards to Rome from that time). During lunch break at the flat we watched part of a Finnish movie that non-Finns should watch just to see how strange we are when it comes to the nature ;o) Then back to the slopes and back & forth the valleys and great time-outs enjoying the views.
K was again wild and wanted to continue skiing when the ladies said it was enough. Well, no wonder M was willing to go with him for few more slopes. Before the trip we had planned ski school for the kids but since they have been such good and active in going to new places, we decided to focus on learn by doing even with nasty parents.

When it comes to French on ski trips, they seem to have harsh habit with ski school. Kids are in the school from Mon to Fri all day. For me it feels not good since part of the whole fun is to enjoy the time with the kids even at the ski lifts. Yep, we have put ours there too in order to enable us to enjoy all slopes but not for the whole week in my opinion. Let´s see how long we can go without ski lesions needed in the family…

Enough is enough for one night

Day 3 + Photos / Kuvia

Day 3 – Exploration Day – Tutkimusmatkailua

Paiva alkoi Maailmancup rinteen valloituksella, musta rinne jolla pituutta taitaa olla noin 3 kilometria. Nimi on ilman tarkistusta Cop du Monde tai jotain... Ylaosassa on pitkaan kapeaa rannia ja alkuosa kulkee vuoren harjaa, joten ei mikaan ihme etta ryhmalla oli hieman jannitysta ilmassa kun tuuli oli aika voimakas. Tuulipussit vaakasuorassa ja korkeutta meren pinnasta noin 2400 metria. Kaikki tulivat alas tyylilla ja M jopa merkkas urosten tyyliin vuorenharjan.

Lounas oli snack-tyyliin mutta olisi pitanyt ottaa viereinen snack-creperie eika ravintolaa silla makkaroista, ranskalaisista perunoista ja raclette-patongista joutui maksamaan hieman extraa :o( Nooh, hieno hetki josta oli hyva jatkaa Sveitsin puolelle. Kahdella tuolihissilla taas lahes 2.5 kilometrin korkeuteen josta lasku Sveitsin puolen laaksoon. Rinne oli huonommassa kunnossa kuin Avoriazin puolella, enemman kivia ja multaa. Monin osin punainen rinne olisi ansainnut mustan merkin, ja jos olisi ollut Suomen rinteesta kyse se olisi ollut vuoristokiipeilyseina.

Taas tuli todettua etta muksujen ensimmaisen paivan hiihtotaso on noussut jarkyttavan paljon. Jyrkan punamustan rinteen voivat kuitata vauhdilla ja jopa hakeutuvat kevyisiin kumpareisiin. Kunhan vaan ryhman vanhus omaisi nopeammat jalat tai lyhyemmat sukset niin vois kekkuloida helpommin mukana (okei, viela menee hyvin mut eilen testaamani 170 cm vehkeet kaantyy hiton paljon helpommin ku omat 190 cm sukset).

Piiiitka paiva, K jopa halusi ottaa lisarinteita kun neidot kuittasivat laskut lasketuksi. Niin, paivan kokeiluihin kuului myos hieman hyppyja – lautamiehille rakennettujen hyppyreiden kokeilu oli ihan positiivinen, jopa jengin seniori hyppasi ja pysyi pystyssa.

Toivon vierailevien journalistien palaavan pian nappiksen aareen pian. Ja nyt erittäin viisas journalisti muistutti että tässä läppärissä on ääkköset mut ku oon unohtanut moisten käytön...



Cloudy in Switzerland / Pilvista Sveitsissa


Fun / Nastaa


Over priced cacao / Ylihintainen kaakao ???


View to go with the cacao / Maisema kaakaon kera


Nam!


Team Helmet / Kyparajengi


Coolest helmet in the village / Kylan komein kypara


Stone souvenier / kivi matkamuisto, taas


Going down / Takaisin alas


Getting tired / Alkaa vasyttaa

We were up there on the top / Me oltiin tuolla huipulla!

Trip continues, more pics and text tomorrow / Matka jatkuu ja lisaa tekstia ja kuvia todennakoisesti huomenna. By the way, day 4 was fan-fxxxing-tastic / Paiva oli hyva!

UGH!

Day 2 Kivaaaaa

Day 2 Sunday

Windy day with some sun. Loads of skiing, many laughs, good lunch with updating blog page and enjoying sausage, fries, soup and chicken nuggets. N went nuggets - or nuts - from the nuggets…

Youngsters have picked up the speed in skiing a lot and it seems they will be able to tackle any slope towards the end of the week. Evening finished with fajitas & Borat. Tomorrow morning we shall explore World Cup hill, a black run down from 2500 meters with about 3 km length…

Joo, tuulinen paiva ja kohtuudella aurinkoa. Hienoja laskuja, naurua, lounas blogia paivittaen ja makkaraa, ranskalaisia, keittoja ja kanan paloja huitoen. Muksuista on tulossa vauhtihirmuja ja kaikki rinteet on valloitettavissa. Ilta viimeisteltiin Boratilla ja fajitaksilla. Huomenna aamulla lahtee valloitukseen 3 km musta rinne.

Day 1 - Back on Slopes

Saturday, December 13th, 2008- Day 1

This morning, K, N, and M woke up about 8:30 pm. We put our outdoor clothes on and went to get breakfast and other food for the week. We left S sleeping.

When K, N, and M came back, they found S in the shower. Then we put the groceries in the fridge and cupboards. Then Kasper, M and N took a shower and then it was breakfast time.
After breakfast, we went out to buy tickets for skiing. There was a long line so it took about half an hour to get them. Then it was time to go skiing.

We had a hot chocolate and toilet bread about after an hour (or two (?)). K and N took hot chocolate with whipped cream, S took a coffee, and M took Coca Cola Light.

From the whole trip, M was the first of our family to fall during this trip!!! When M fell, K, N, and S started laughing – loud. K laughed the hardest and the most. At one point, N ‘’fell’’ but she said that she NEARLY fell but she did NOT! Well that’s what she said but actually she did.
For lunch, we came back to the house and had spaghetti and sausage. We stayed at the house for about an hour. Then it was back to the slopes.

We skied for about a few more hours but then we all had enough so we came back to the house and had shower. But before the showers, S warmed some glögg- flavoured Christmas drink.
After the glögg, S gave K and N a present from J, K and N’s uncle. It was a camera!!! M wanted N to make a PowerPoint slide (or something like that) to say Thank You to J for the camera. Then he took a picture with the Thank You slide, K, and N with their camera and then he took another picture with their camera with the Thank You slide, K, N, and the new camera.

After the present, we went to get a drink. Then for dinner, we went to a pizzeria called ‘La Falaise’. We all had pizza except K who had pasta bolognaise.

A Trip to Snow in Avoriaz, France

Friday, December 12th, 2008- Travel Day

This morning, we all woke up at 7:00 am. K and N had a normal school day but they were getting picked up at 12:30 pm. M had a normal day at work. He had a few meetings.

Then at 12:30 S went to pick K and N from school. N was really sad she would miss the basketball game against the teachers on Wednesday, the last day of school. We left straight from school because we had to pack still some things and we had to put everything in the car.

During the past few months, we have been noticing these little rocks that have been thrown from a school that share a wall with us in our backyard. S had once been to the school already to complain about the rocks but then we noticed some more. So when M came home, S told him about the rocks. They had both had enough of the rocks because they could break something so they went together to complain about the rocks.

When they were gone K and N saw two faces pop up and then disappear. Then they noticed about 5 rocks fly over the wall and then about five seconds later, they saw about 5 more rocks come over.

Then once M and S had sorted the problem with the rocks out, they started packing the things. When we had all of our things ready to go to the car, we took them to the car and left. We left around 3:00 pm.

Once we had been travelling for about 5 minutes, 2 blocks, S noticed that we had forgotten the keys to the house in Avoriaz. So we had to go back.

After travelling for about a few hours, we had a stop. But that was quite a short stop. Our next stop was after travelling for 5 hours. That time we stopped to have dinner. After that K and N both fell asleep.

Our next stop was Avoriaz. We got here around 11:15 pm. We had to walk to the house we were staying in. K and N went straight to bed but M and S went to bed a little bit later.
We were all exhausted after a long day in the car.