... well, one horribly rough day anyway.
I asked a friend if she'd be willing to escape the city with me this weekend, and she gladly obliged. We spent Friday brainstorming and only came up with one car rental and an idea of where we would go. Separately, at home, we had both ended up looking up things to do and where they are, so when the next morning came, we didn't even realize we had a full day already planned.
We stopped for the best croissants in town to get the trip started right. The first stop on arriving at our destination was tube sliding :) I was amazed at how frightened I was of even the beginner slopes. How embarrassing, when parents are practically chucking 2-year-olds down those very hills with no fear. In any case, we "manned up" and got to sliding, which was a lot of fun... especially what they call a tornado, which is like a bucket in which about 8 people sit and slide down, but under the weight, the bucket begins to spin as it descends at lightning speed. It would have been more fun had we not ended up with little kids who weigh nothing, because it was obvious the heavier buckets spun much faster.
Then, we had intended to have a light lunch since I had carefully selected a fancy dinner place for us to try, but when I saw that the sugar shack opened that VERY day, I could not resist: it has been maybe four years since I've been, and fortunately this friend is a fan.
Afterward, we drove around a bit on the hunt for a place to go snowshoeing, something neither of us had ever done. The weather was not as sunny and warm as in the morning, but when we did finally find a place, the weather couldn't have been more perfect really. It was grey and heavy snowflakes fell as we trekked alongside a partially frozen river, in a forest with probably 5-6 feet of perfect, fluffy snow cover and no one around. We only did one hour of snowshoeing since it was getting chilly and late, but I would love to go back and explore more of the area. What a great invention snowshoes are, especially the modern ones with the metal spikes :)
Next, it was time to visit the factory outlets very briefly. I picked up one Nike workout T-shirt and some fruit at a grocery store. Then we were basically done with that and went up to the main street in the village, where there is a good coffee place I like. We stayed there having something called a mochalattecino... it was good to warm up a bit and digest the heavy lunch before moving on to dinner :)
Good restaurants in this ski/tourist resort town are few and far between, so I dared to try a newer, fancier and "hipper" place than the usual places I try there. My friend and I shared a foodies plate that included: pate, proscuitto, salami, salad, tartiflette de roblochon (don't ask, it's so fat and it's good, but not great), a mini-poutine, and three varieties of crostini: a pair with calamari... very nice, a pair that was standard bruschetta, and the final duo being a mushroom/chicken combo. We each topped that off with a glass of Portuguese wine, hers white, mine red. The owner came out to see if all was edible, and the staff were very friendly. Overall the food was enjoyable.
All in all, a perfect day. Oh and I came home to Hairy, who had been in the U.S. with friends for the day, and who bought me a pack of super awesome flourescent workout socks and a Bluth banana stand shirt to sleep in, which is one of the coolest things I have ever received... For those who don't have any clue what a Bluth banana stand is, it's a reference to the TV show Arrested Development, which is a big favourite of mine.
This morning my stomach isn't feeling so hot because of all the fatty food, but I'm about to bring the rental car back then likely hit the gym for a light workout. My weight is still under control too since all I ate yesterday probably made up for the calories I did not consume Thursday.
I hope you enjoyed reading a more positive blog than my usual. It really was a much-needed escape.
No comments:
Post a Comment