The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of Gunshots

Usually I look forward to a decent full-day hike at the weekends, exploring the peaks and forests of the mountains we’re lucky enough to live in. Enjoying stunning views, taking the mountain air and a cheeky lunch break at a little restaurant with good friends – what’s not to love? There are dangers of course. Trips and falls, being caught in bad weather, getting shot. Wait, getting shot?

Campervan Adventures: Chamonix, Gorges de la Diosaz & Lac Vert

Rainy days in the mountains are not the grey miserable drizzly affairs they are in the UK. Dramatic low hanging clouds sweep up valleys like tidal waves, rivers turn into swirling gushing torrents and the green forests look almost fluorescent. Instead of going high, it’s best to go low and to make the most of the weather we visited the Gorges de la Diosaz.

 

Campervan Adventures: Hiking In Chamonix, Barberine To Emosson Dam

Starting a hike of 1km vertical ascent up a mountain at 3pm when a storm is forecast might not have seemed like the best idea to some people. But when we saw the Emosson dam looming above us we just had to get up there to check it out – and I’m so glad we did! We’d driven to Chamonix in the camper van, had some work meetings in the morning and taken the advice of a local client to take a short waterfall hike from the little hamlet of Barberine. We reached the waterfall in 20 minutes and the signs directing us to the 2hr trail to the dam were too much to resist, so on we marched with one eye on the gathering clouds.

First Campervan Adventure: Champagne & Langres

Life in the mountains is all about exploring and getting out into the great outdoors – which is why we bought a camper van last week! From our home in Morzine we can reach some stunning places within an hour or few’s drive – Annecy, Switzerland, Lake Geneva, Italy’s lakes or coast. We could even just pop up the road to beautiful Lake Montriond with the BBQ and a bag of wine for sunset any day of the week! With just a moment’s notice Steve, the dog and I can hop in the van and be on holiday. We can’t wait! The van has a pop-up roof, a couple of hobs and a sink, electrics and we’ve got plenty of outdoor furniture to play with. So here begins the Downs’ Camper Adventures (nothing to do with Steve’s limp wrists – or my currently broken one).

Dream Wedding: Getting Married In France

Walking down the aisle at my wedding, on the arm of my dad, I remember feeling so happy and pretty – until I looked down and realised in horror that I’d forgotten to take off my woolly cardigan. No-one had turned round to see me walk in yet, so I quickly took it off before anyone noticed. But under that cardy was another, equally woolly, and another – in fact I was wearing 5 cardigans. Suddenly racked with self-doubt I turned to my dad and asked what he thought of the mop I was wearing as a wig. He looked unsure and I tore it off, while noticing I wasn’t wearing any shoes.

Obviously, this was a dream.

The French Attitude To Dogs

Before I got a dog I’d always been mistrustful of them and, although England is renowned for being an animal-loving country, I’ve found the attitude of most shopkeepers, restaurant owners and people on the street backed up my opinion. In England you can’t take your dog into any shop – you’d have security on you in seconds in anticipation of a stray pee on the products. You certainly can’t take your dog into a restaurant – there’d be so many diners refusing to eat due to the hairy, potentially flea-ridden beast slavering over their meals. In France, you’re welcomed with your dog in both shops and restaurants, and most people’s houses – in fact you’ll be the most popular person in the place due to your cute furry friend.

24 Hours Of Life In A Ski Resort

I was never outdoorsy, or I thought I wasn’t. Completely uninterested in sport or any strenuous activity, it never even occurred to me to try skiing and when Steve first took me I remember saying that I couldn’t imagine a worse job than being a ski instructor. Out early every day in freezing blizzards, what a nightmare! I liked my nice warm desk job. Now on my second season living in a ski resort, my whole attitude has completely changed. I love seeing nature’s extremes every day and getting out amongst it. If I feel a little low I pop my skis on and get up a mountain. The stunning scenery lifts the soul and the crisp, clean air in your lungs and your hair as you slide back down will blow any cobwebs or cares away. The sky is so unbelievably blue here in our isolated, high up spot with so little light pollution, the stars and the moon are so bright, the snow covering everything so pure and white. If I’m sat at my laptop for too long my feet are itching to get out. Leaving the safety of employment to work for myself was terrifying, but the reward has been this unreal life – here’s a taster of my favourite 24 hours this week…

The Cheque: Still Alive & Stifling Business In France

France is one of the most innovative countries in the world – it’s leading the way globally in technology research and IT, ranking way above the UK in a recent study. They’ve invented new online systems used in other countries to make payments easier and boost economies by facilitating trade – which is why it’s so baffling that the nation is still using cheques as its main method of doing business. Yes, CHEQUES!

Drinking in France: Showing Them How To Do It

In rural France you don’t get bars or pubs as we know them. In England we get home from work at 6ish, get the tea straight on and get down the pub for about 7.30. By 10 we’re a bit tipsy – if you make it to 12 things have probably got out of hand. Possibly because they all have a 2-hour lunch break and they’ve got work to catch up on, or possibly because they’re enjoying the weather or napping, in rural France no-one emerges from their homes until at least 9ish, when they usually go to a restaurant for a long late dinner with a few drinks. The continental way, you start drinking later and it’s with food so you don’t get drunk. But where’s the fun in that?

Eating in France: Jaffa Cake Revolution

When my boyfriend first asked me to fill any gaps in my hand luggage with packs of bacon and cheddar cheese, I thought he was joking – and a bit odd. But he’s right that the bacon is not the same in France, it’s streaky strips or fatty lardons. I’ve also found it hard to find a decent fat juicy sausage – many of them are thin long things that pinder up under the grill and don’t have much taste. There’s a heck of a lot of cheese and it’s served with practically every meal – not just after Christmas dinner when it’s opened and hardly touched as in England – but you won’t easily find a strong mature cheddar taste equivalent. I know these are the types of things you can hanker after when you’ve lived away for a while, but when I told him I had no room left in my suitcase and he exclaimed “Well strap it to your thighs then!” I thought he’d gone a bit far.