Now that Valentine’s day is over and we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief that enforced romanticism is over for another year, the main question on everyone’s lips in Verbier is what to wear for Mardi Gras. I feel a little sheepish for completely forgetting to pack a half-decent fancy dress outfit so I’ve got about an hour to either cobble something together fashioned out of tinfoil and sticky-back plastic (actually, I don’t think you can get the latter in resort) or be a party-pooper and make a stand for personal dignity. As I’m feeling totally uninspired at the moment and the only think I want to make is a chocolat chaud, it may end up being the latter.
There are some aspects of seasonnaire life that I had conveniently forgotten in the years since I was last working out here - much as women reputedly forget the pain of labour shortly after giving birth. My hands are already as dry as a bone despite the wonders of Elizabeth Arden’s 8 hours cream and I’m not sure if it’s heartening or slightly worrying that I remember my way around the Coop with unerring accuracy. However the weirdest thing is being back in staff accommodation. It’s a return to eating bread and brownies during the daytime, the kettle fusing every time you want a cup of tea, and the usual seasonal deprivations of no mugs, milk, loo paper or light bulbs because no-one has remembered to bring any back... I don't really do squalor - well, I guess I do now! It seems that the state of staff chalets in the Alps is inversely proportional to the spotless-ness of guests’ chalet – my guess is that chalet staff use up all their cleaning prowess in one the blast in the morning and cannot muster enough for another 24 hours? However, my housemates for the week are a great bunch and it’s lovely to catch up with loads of people I was out here with several years ago.
As staff accommodation is clearly not the most propitious place to work in, I have found myself a great new ‘office’ to operate from. Le Rouge, a bar/ restaurant at the end of the piste by Brunet bus stop, opened at the end of last season and does a fine line of relaxed chilling, with loads of sheepskin rugs and a good vibe. Last night, I came with a few of the Armadillos and had a game of giant backgammon and a quiet pint, which made a change from the rigors of an evening in the Pub Mont Fort or après in the Farinet.
However, having sat outside on the terrace for the best part of two hours, the DJ pumping behind me, my tiny hands are too frozen to continue typing and I think my laptop battery is about to give up the ghost. I guess I had better start thinking about that costume again…Click here for welove2ski's Verbier resort report.
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