Italy and Courmayeur

Well with Nick in Australia and a bit of time to kill, I did what anyone would do - I went to Italy! I went with two friends of mine from uni, Beni and Steph. We spent 4 days in Courmayeur, a (ski) resort town on the Italian side of Mont Blanc, followed by one day hitting the streets (and the shops) of Milan. Courmayeur is beautiful, with old chalets nestled into the side of a mountain, surrounded by snow-covered slopes. We went on some beautiful walks, including one in the snow (which didn't do my shoes any good!), but we also spent a day skiing. Now I've only been skiing once, and that was at a beginners slope in Canada, nevertheless I approached the day with confidence. What a mistake. I was completely uncoordinated and made an absolute fool of myself. The day started with me losing control as soon as I put the skis on my feet, followed by a few stacks, and then falling off the ski lift! (Don't worry - Beni did catch a few stacks on camera! These will be forthcoming!) After a few less than successful attempts at the "baby slope", we decided to hit the big slopes. I discovered throughout the day how many different ways you can crash when skiing. There was the splits, the forward somersault, the knee-twist and, most commonly, the side collapse. In fact, I fell on my right side so often that I developed a huge bruise on the inside of my left knee from hitting my right ski, and one on the outside of my right buttock! Needless to say, I found it very difficult to walk the next day (and the day after, and the day after that and.....). One of the highlights was having to bum-slide about 50 metres to a place where I could reattach my skis. But apart from my skiing, the day was fantastic. I loved being up in the mountains, enjoying the view and the beautiful sunshine. In fact, the weather was spectacular, somewhere around 20 degrees. Sitting on top of the mountain drinking hot chocolate in the sun was just wonderful. In fact, that experience alone would entice me to try my hand at skiing again (maybe with the help of some lessons next time though). That and the thought of Nick having to go through the same humiliation!!
So the mountains were beautiful, and it was great to get out of London and into the fresh air. Milan was a different story - one of the most polluted cities in Europe. Although it does have great shopping, which we took full advantage of. The other main attraction of Italy, though, is of course the food. Beni's mum cooked us two beautiful home-cooked italian meals. I have never tasted tomato pasta like it before! And we ate many a pizza, foccacia, and a local drink called grolla (a mixture of coffee, a spirit and orange juice, to name a few). So all in all, a great trip to Italy!

Beni and I during our walk in the snow 

The mountains and buildings of Courmayeur 

Coffee in Courmayeur - from right: Steph, Beni and Beni's parent's.