Marking time.

Winter was still with us on Matilda and the weather had been fairly cold but we were not too worried as we were going skiing. Once again we have booked a week in Labellemontagne’s resort at Hohneck near La Bresse in the Vosges.

We travel by train from Nancy to Remiremont, then bus to La Bresse and finally a taxi to the resort.

As the weather in Nancy was fine and sunny, albeit cold, we were relieved to find plenty of snow and ideal skiing conditions. Much better than last year.

We were fortunate this year to have a ground floor unit facing the slopes. We could ski up to our verandah, take off our skis and step inside.

The slopes were lit and busy till about 22.00 hrs (10 pm)

For those who don’t know, this is an electronic ski lift pass. You put it in a pocket in the left sleeve of your jacket and when you front the gates at the base of the lift, if it likes you, it will let your through.

For those who DO know, these usually cost many dollars – a day pass in Australia is between $80.00 and $120.00

This will make you all jealous, this one cost Peter 2 Euro ($2.75) as a refundable deposit and he skied for NOTHING. Of course being over 75 in age they thought he would not ski much. How wrong! Two weeks later and his legs and knees are still trying to recover.

To be fair, Margaret’s day pass only cost 21 euro. She is only a senior.

Back to Matilda and the preparation for the season continues:

The problem with a 105 year old iron boat is rust. And you never beat it! We have a number of chores to complete before the season starts. We have started some and painting is the most time consuming. There is some timber to varnish, the cabin roof and walkways to paint and the carpet under the bikes and on the rear deck both need attention. Also we are fitting a new radio – to keep us up with current requirements.

We have some visitors arriving in about a month and our cruising season will start. There will be plenty to talk about so we will keep in touch.