We all spent our last night in Les Arcs at Whistler's, the best bar in town. When I say its the best, I base my assessment on the fact that it is the only place that had wireless Internet in the town and the bartenders wouldn't let me pay for any drinks. On my last night they cornered me and asked me if I wanted to work there. I told them that if Courchevel doesn't work out for me that I will be back to make some Seven and Sevens for them.
We left Les Arcs Monday morning and arrived shortly after 1 in Courchevel. We had all been looking forward to this day since we arrived in Les Arcs a week ago. I was mostly looking forward to meeting my new home and finally unpacking my luggage. I have been living out of a suitcase for close to 4 weeks and it was getting a bit cumbersome.
Driving into Courchevel, I noticed that there was a sign indicating that it is the sister city of Park City, Utah. I have never been to Park City, thus, I am unable to determine whether or not my new home has any sort of resemblance to the American city.
When we arrived, we were greeted by a magestic wonder that isnt really a Chalet. It is more like a hotel. It is a five storied beaute that they call a Chalet. It can hold 77 people. If I were a guest looking for some adventure in the Alps, this would be the place I would want to stay. The views from the Chalet are stunning. I have never seen something like this before. Our accommodations are stunning as well. I am sharing a room with Emma, a 21 year old from somewhere in England. She is 21 but is way more advanced than I was at that age. I remember thinking I was mature at 21; however, let's all be honest, at 21 I was a hot mess, sans the hot.
After we unpacked on Monday, we walked around the city and tried to familiarize ourselves with the place that is going to be our home for the next 5 months. We were all wearing our uniforms, which I can attest are pretty cool, and it was quite interesting to witness the reception that we received from the shop owners and town dwellers. As the ski season does not officially start until Saturday, all of the shops are working on setting up their stores. The city is quite empty so all you see are the seasonaires. Everyone gets to know everyone and it is a great feeling when you walk into a shop and are greeted by fellow snow lovers who are interested in getting to know you and offer you good deals on anything since they know that you will return the favor by sending your guests to them.
I am in love with my team. All of the kids are absolutely great. My team consists of Alex who is the head chef and Luke who is the assistant chef. Alex possesses by far, the best laugh that I have ever heard. He is always in a good mood and is always up for anything. Luke is originally from Ireland but has spent the past several years in South Africa. He could write a novel with the stories that he has acquired. Then we have Emma, Jess, Jo, Jamie, Ian, and Jack. Jack is our kitchen porter and rocks a fro. Jess is an 18 year old hippie. She talks and laughs like my cousin Desi. I love her. Ian is a cunning, beer loving, computer programmer. I love him. Jo is the 18 year old savant who I shared a room with during training. She is going to Cambridge next year. I love her. The manager of the chalets is Frankie. She is a 24 year old from London. She is one of those people who doesnt expect you to do all the dirty work. She is one of those who gets in there with you and does it as well. I love her. Our resort manager, Mike, is from Ireland and I understand about 4 out of every 26 words that come out of this mouth. I have to ask him to repeat himself everytime we talk. The only thing I understand is when he says "Fuck." I bust out laughing everytime he says it because it sounds nothing like it does when I say it. I think he thinks I am retarded. I love him too.
Turns out that I have become the translator for my miniature team of Brits. This is my favorite part of my job. I feel like I am constantly learning. I love it. As the owners of this Chalet, Patrice and Jos, are French, they are always around and are always willing to answer all of the questions that I have. They are also extremely eager to ensure that we understand that this Chalet is their baby and that we must look after it. I understand. If I had a place like this, I wouldn't let anyone inside. Patrice is my favorite already and it is quite obvious that his wife Jocelyn wears the pants in the relationship. It is hilarious. Everyone in my company is scared of Jos because she tells them they shouldn't drop rocks on her new marble floor...things of that nature. I like her and we get along. Today I spent some time trying to explain to them that the dishwasher is missing a hose and that their are 17beds that are missing their legs. At least this is the point that I was hoping to get across to them. Looking back on the conversation, I think I might have told them that I am a cat lady and live with 17 cats, some of which I shove in the dishwasher so I can clean them efficiently.
I have every Thursday off. Sundays are what we in the industry call transfer day. It is the day when the current guests depart and the new ones arrive. It is know to be quite a hectic day and will require that we work long, long hours. Luckily I am taking over part of the rep job so I will be spending most of time picking people up from the airport on Sundays. I am looking forward to that.
Tomorrow we are heading up to the hills for a well deserved day off. We have turned this hotel around in 3 days and it looks fantastic. I feel like I have been waiting for this day for so long. I am so excited, I do not think that I will be able to sleep tonight.
I remember the feeling I had when I was in Chamonix and how I promised myself that I would be back for the following season. I knew I wanted to and needed to work a full season in the Alps. I am so thankful that I went for it. After stepping out onto my balcony here in Courchevel I knew that I had made the best decision of my life. Walking across the street to the local grocery store to get my daily chocolate bar, I am greeted by the surrounding mountains. Every morning I am greeted by the most amazing sunrise I have seen. The same goes for the evenings, the sunsets are spectacular. Being able to have a conversation with the owner of the cafe about the status of the snow, in French, is a great feeling. I have loved every second of this so called operation and I am pretty sure that will not change. I love the town. I love the group of people I am with. I love my job. I love the mountains. I love the French villagers. I love my Chalet. I love my room. I love everything. This is an opportunity that I would have regretted had I not taken it.
I have posted the pictures that I have taken so far of Courchevel to Picasa. All of the pictures were taken from my balcony.
http://picasaweb.google.com/ohalfen/CourchevelBeginnings#
I hope you are all well. I miss you!
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