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| Paris In Sites Newsletter Direct From France Edited by Linda Thalman Travel & Leisure Articles |
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La Rosière France - Thuile Italy
Chambéry France Skiing Trip March 2008 By Linda Thalman
We stayed in a family resort called la Rosière with stunning views of
Mont Blanc from the upper ski runs.
The plus of la Rosière is you can ski into Italy and down to the ski resort of
Thuile at 1400 meters - even in March.
With my partner Pierre and his brother Richard we did all the runs at la Rosière
and quite a few in Italy.
My favorite run was piste number 7 in Italy.
This is a long and wandering trail from the top of the mountain down the valley on a tree-lined
run to Thuile.
It was memorable for the sunny day, lunch outside,
a silly fall with both Pierre and I practically turned upside down and being totally
exhausted at the end of the day.
The snow was spring mushy and a side track led us into the fields with no snow.
We should have just skiied along the regular run as Richard did, but we didn't.
Another memorable moment.
Our apartment in la Rosière was smack dab in the middle of the village, at
street level, but on the third floor with no elevator. We'd hesitated about
booking a flat with no lift... but in the end it was perfect as the apartment was at street level!
With a south facing balcony we had a spectacular view on the mountains. The flat had
a living/kitchen area, a double bedroom, a bedroom with bunk beds, a shower room and
separate WC. It was perfect for the three of us and all our gear.
Travel Tip: If you are two, book an apartment for four people. If you're three or four
people, book a flat for six! Check the square meters: less than 25m2 is really small.
30 to 45m2 is comfortable and larger than that is pretty spacious.
Our apartment was promoted as being able to accommodate six. That was accurate, but it would
have meant persons five and six would sleep on the fold out couch in the living space.
If the budget is tight and you really know your friends and/or family, this could, however, work out fine.
Our spacious lodging with 52 square meters came to 45 euros per person per night. A very fair price.
The supermarket just across the street had all the basic necessities
and the local specialty shops had great prepared dishes and local produce to choose from.
Our one evening out for a cheese fondue with a tossed green salad was at Le Ruitor in
la Rosière. The price was ever so fair: 12.90 euros per person, wine not included.
The ambiance and service was delightful on a cool March evening.
Mid-week we usually take at least a half day off from skiing and indeed the weather 'cooperated'.
It rained all day. Global warming? Rain in March at 1850 meters? Snow is predicted for the Paris
region for the end of March... what to think?
In any case, off we went to a favorite restaurant: La Ferme in Villaroger in the
Haute Tarentaise region of France.
It was down the hill, along the valley, over hill and dale through beautiful country roads.
La Ferme is just below Les Arc ski resort which is across the valley from La Rosière.
We could even see the restaurant from our apartment balcony!
La Ferme is one of the most wonderful restaurants in the Savoie.
Have a Savoie white wine while you study the menu.
The plat du jour is always delicious, and
there's a good choice of regional specialties that all go well with local Savoie wines.
If you've room left, have the blueberry pie for dessert and a coffee with a local
burned wine.
The owners are just so welcoming and friendly. Not to be missed, I promise you.
Chambéry France
I mustn't forget to tell you about Chambéry where we stayed on our trip down to
the Alps. We stayed one night in the welcoming Le France Hotel, centrally located with private car park.
This was very useful as we had a lot of ski gear in the car and the 10 euros for the evening is typical
of hotel parking.
Having arrived at 19:30 we had time to see some of the 'old town' on our way
to L'Hypoténuse Restaurant for dinner at 20:30 and following dinner to explore a bit more
of the town.
Dinner was ever so pleasant at L'Hypoténuse. All the dishes were tasty and refined,
the wine lovely and the desserts works of art. See the dessert plate below in the photos.
While the town was quiet and quite empty for a Friday night in the middle of winter,
I'd be glad to come back and visit it on a summer's day, too.
Chambéry is well worth a visit on your way to or from the Savoie.
See also: http://www.parisinsites.com/skiing-les-arcs-march2007.html
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Skiing in the French and Italian Alps this year was a wonderful treat.
On the Marmotte piste in la Rosière Pierre and I had to take off our skis
and slip and slide down a few meters of the cow pastures.
The restaurants in la Rosière were not overly exciting, so we cooked dinner
most evenings.
Pierre and I ate twice at la Ferme in Villaroger on our ski trip to Les Arcs in 2007.
We just had to go back.
General Information
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Email – Linda@wfi.fr
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