I’m taking a week off from Chamonix, Listings Lab and most of the rest of my life this week. I’m doing a preliminary week-long instructor training course that is the first step to becoming a ski instructor.
The course is in Morzine, about an hour or so from Chamonix and a town I’ve never skied in or visited. I did think about driving back and forth from Chamonix for the 5 days rather than paying for a hotel, but then decided to see how much a hotel would be when I got here. Turns out not very much. I’m staying a french family-holiday type hotel in town. I’m not the usual customer being the only english person. Not only that I don’t have kids, grandkids and am not under 10 years old - three categories into which everyone else in the hotel fits.
I like it though. Firstly it’s cheap. EUR 25 a night with breakfast. Bargain. And secondly I quite like being surrounded by french famillies on holiday. There’s more crying kids than you’d like of course, but it’s fun being amongst these big, friendly relaxed families. Not like in the UK where families seem to close ranks and isolate themselves even more than usual. And they all get really into the cheesy entertainment that the hotel staff put on. Makes me smile.
So I’m going to stay here for the whole week and go back to Chamonix on Friday. Sarah has a day off on thursday so is probably going to come and stay for a night. Our Mont Blanc unlimited ski passes give us a few days skiing in other resorts, and the hotel is all set up, so I’m hoping she will.
