French New Year

As soon as Christmas was all wrapped up I hit the airport and was on the first flight to Paris. I had plans to spend New Year’s with Antoine, and I couldn’t wait!

After a grueling 11 hour flight, I was ecstatic to see Antoine’s cute little face waiting for me at arrivals at Charles de Gaulle, and clutching a beautiful bouquet of sparkly roses to boot!

We made a quick stop at his dad’s house to get a helmet for me to wear skiing, and then we were on the road again. It was just shy of a 6 hour drive to the Alps, where we had rented an apartment to ring in 2017 with our good friends Borat and Solène. We made just a few stops for pain au chocolat and the bathroom. Antoine got a Parisien sandwich at Paul and I ended up eating half of it because it was so good!! Finally I was back in France with the delicious flavors that I’d missed so much. I took a well-deserved nap for the last part of the journey. I’m prone to carsickness and the icy, winding roads up the mountain coupled with my jet lag were doing me no favors.

Finally we arrived at the ski station La Plagne – Bellecôte and Borat was there to greet us! It was so wonderful to see him – I hadn’t seen him since summer!

Borat is Antoine’s closest friend, and he’s one of the most thoughtful guys I know. This belief was proven when we walked into the apartment and saw that he had brought a Christmas tree and decorated the whole apartment – complete with gifts! There was a bottle of wine and some delicious saucisson aperitif. What a wonderful surprise!

We stayed awake and Antoine made us all some pesto pasta. I think we stayed up until about 1am, and I honestly don’t know how I did it! It had been over 24 hours since my head had rested on a pillow. Finally Antoine saw that my energy had waned completely and we headed to bed.

The next day was our first skiing. We woke up early and then rented my skis and hit the slopes! Antoine and Borat are really good skiers, and I’ve skied before but am by no means good. Luckily they slowed down for me and it was a great first day on the slopes! There’s nothing quite like skiing down a face of the Mont Blanc. The views are remarkable. About halfway through the afternoon Borat left to pick up his girlfriend Solène at the train station.

Antoine and I took a break for some “vin chaud” (hot wine), which would become a theme of the trip. We meant to head back out to the slopes but when Antoine suggested a little nap I could not argue. Jet lag had hit me hard!

Soon enough Solène and Borat arrived and we took les oeufs (the eggs, literally, but the ski lift in which you’re not required to have skis on) to the little village to explore. The Alps have a special charm that I just adore. We stopped for a drink, vin chaud of course, before heading back down the mountain.

That night for dinner we had a traditional raclette. This is a French mountain tradition, and is basically melted cheese on tiny, piping hot potatoes with all of the charcuterie (salami, ham, etc.) you can imagine – and red wine, of course. The boys were so excited to make it for us and it was truly delicious. Raclette is truly an art form and I’d like to think I learned it well. You could tell who the American was though when I stopped about 20 minutes before the others were full! I don’t know how they stomach that much cheese!

The next day came and again we hit the slopes. Solène is really a novice skier (read: had never skied before in her life), but we convinced her to come out with us. Well the boy geniuses thought it was a wonderful idea to strap on her skis and take her up a ski lift right off the bat. I’ll let you imagine how that went…(she fell 4 times in 100m and had to be taken back down on the chairlift). Antoine and I finished the run and met up with Borat and Solène later. Solène had had a lesson with a ski instructor so things were looking up. We celebrated with, you guessed it, vin chaud. 

That night we decided to have dinner “en amoreux” (between lovers). We got all dolled up and went to the restaurant. Antoine and I split a delicious fondue. In France fondue comes both with tiny little hot potatoes as well as unlimited pieces of baguette. Heaven!

The next day was NYE but it was more of the same – except now Antoine and I had matching hats and we also all got a lesson together. The instructor spoke English but primarily French and so now my ski vocabulary is very advanced! 😉 He helped Solène a lot but then also taught me how to do parallel! My skiing progresses. After the lesson Antoine had a surprise up his sleeve. He’d scheduled us both for a 30mn massage! It was a very nice gesture but this was my first massage and perhaps I’d have been more comfortable if it had been in English! Still, it was nice and felt great after all of our exercise over the last few days.

We met back with Borat and had way too many vin chauds before hitting the slopes again. Honestly skiing tipsy is one of the best things ever – I don’t know if this is a good thing, per se, but a lot of your inhibitions go out the window and one thing I lack in skiing is confidence so it worked well for me!

After running down the slopes we had another vin chaud with our ski instructor (apparently it’s tradition to buy your instructor a drink), and then went back to the room. We checked the time and realized we needed to hurry to make our New Year’s Eve reservations! 

After running down the slopes we had another vin chaud with our ski instructor (apparently it’s tradition to buy your instructor a drink), and then went back to the room. We checked the time and realized we needed to hurry to make our New Year’s Eve reservations!

A lovely New Year’s Eve dinner ensued. Antoine and I got to the table early and ordered some mojitos to start. They weren’t great (we should have known not to order a summery drink in the Alps), but later we shared a delicious raclette with charcuterie on the side. We all had a few bottles of wine and enjoyed the dinner immensely.

We went back to the apartment and exchanged Christmas presents and drank champagne and more wine. Borat gave Antoine a really neat bottle of vodka, and when that was opened any remaining sobriety among the group disappeared!! We headed downstairs to the party about 15 minutes before midnight. It was below freezing, and my dress was not conducive to the cold! Luckily Antoine had bought me these lovely Moncler cashmere socks that made my legs nice and toasty. He also got me this adorable Burberry scarf, so luckily I didn’t freeze to death.

The ensuing firework show was simply marvelous. They played amazing music and everyone was so happy and loud. The party took place on the actual ski run and it left nothing to be desired. It was definitely the best New Year’s Eve of my life, and I couldn’t have asked to spend it with better friends.

All too soon the holiday was over and the apartment required us to be out the next morning by 10am! It had been a late night before, so this was easier said than done! Also, we actually had to have someone come and verify that we had cleaned the apartment sufficiently. After a quick  McDonald’s run with the gang Antoine and I hit the road to Auvergne, where we were staying the night at Catherine’s house with Antoine’s dad, Catherine and Lucien.

I’m sure the 5 hours of road was more difficult for Antoine, but I slept most of it away. Antoine woke me occasionally for pain au chocolat stops or to show me the beautiful snowy landscapes.

We arrived in the late afternoon to the house, and it was the most charming house ever! The front had details of green and the inside had a roaring fire and the most adorable details. We settled in and I greeted everyone with the bises (in Auvergne, it’s not two kisses on the cheek, but three!), then had dinner, traditional Auvergne fare prepared by Catherine. It was cabbage and sausage, and quite good! Afterwards everyone hit the hay but Antoine and Lucien wanted to show me the village. I was amazed, it was so tiny! Night had fallen, and it had an eery vibe, but you could tell it was a darling place. The cathedral is where Antoine’s dad and Catherine had been married, and it is very impressive. One thing that intrigued me especially was the town’s water. There was a spigot from a lion’s mouth with the coldest, most fresh and delicious water I’ve ever had! Antoine and Lucien then took me behind the house into a field, and with no light pollution whatsoever the stars seemed to go on forever. It was lovely.

The next morning we packed ourselves up and headed back to Paris. There were literally no stops along the way because we didn’t want to miss Lucien’s train back to his boarding school in Nantes.

The following morning was an early one. Antoine works for a very rich gentleman who has his own private plane, and Antoine is the pilot! His family had taken it to the Alps for skiing and Antoine was asked if he could bring it back home to Paris. I tagged along for the ride. We left early in the morning and went to the train station, then took a series of trains to Albertville in the Alps. It was a sleepy, pleasant morning. Luckily train food in France is good, and Antoine and I shared caramel chocolate biscuits and hot chocolate.

We headed from the train station to the airport and I admired the Alps all around on the way. Then I sat in the copilot’s chair of the plane and read my book while Antoine prepared the flight. It was just too cold to wait outside – I’d decided to dress private plane chic with a skirt and my Moncler socks kept falling down and letting the freezing cold air touch my bare skin.

The flight was amazing. The Alps were so close and while it was cold and cloudy on the ground, we hit a cruising altitude and found ourselves in sunny warmth. I kept dozing off and I tried to hide it from Antoine and I thought I was doing a good job until he told me to sleep well. After a power nap I woke up in time for the impressive landing. We were in turbulent, dark clouds and the runway wasn’t visible at all until less than 1 minute before we hit the ground. I’m so thankful to have such a skilled pilot on my side!

Once home we headed to Pantin to stay the night before an early departure for a weekend in Hardelot the next morning. We made cabécou burgers and then were joined by Antoine’s pilot friend Pierre. Antoine’s mom has a cat and I’m so allergic to cats that I’m afraid my terrible allergies and fatigue didn’t lend itself to me being very social. Still, I loved Pierre and was glad to meet another of Antoine’s good friends.

The next morning, bright and early, we were on the road for Hardelot. It’s only about a 2 hour drive from Paris, and it’s always pleasant. I drifted off, per usual, and the trip felt all the more quick! We stopped at a rest stop not far from our destination and Antoine was thrilled to see that they had a Mezzo de Pasta. We both got the four cheese and a couple of Cokes, and I tell you it was DELICIOUS! Such a great idea to have quality pasta available at a rest stop. I’d take that over McDonald’s or Carl’s Jr any day!

We pulled into Hardelot shortly after and Antoine immediately started a fire and positioned our chairs directly in front of it. The heat had been off for months and you could see your breath. But luckily Antoine is a man of many talents and the fire was roaring in no time. 

The weekend that followed was punctuated by beach combing, lazy mornings, (Antoine) cooking, and just a relaxing and wonderful time!

After we beach combed one afternoon our hands were icy so we stopped into the local brasserie for my favorite crêpes – beurre sucre (butter sugar) and an expresso for Antoine and a chantilly hot chocolate for moi. Delicious!

On our last day in Hardelot one of my best friends Austin who’s studying in London jumped across the pond to spend the day with us! We showed him around Le Touquet and had lunch, and then returned to Hardelot. Antoine gave us both lessons in driving stick shift (I was better than Austin – for the first time at anything 😉 ) and then we went back to the house to have some wine and drinks. It was so nice to have two of my favorite guys together!

The next day was our last. Antoine and I headed back to Paris and met up with his mom, Val, who showed me baby videos of Antoine. Boy was he precious! Then we met her best friend Flo for dinner at a new restaurant in Pantin. It was a great ending to the trip. My flight was early the next morning and I bid adieu to my love until next time. But what a grand New Year it had been!