Skiing at Chamonix and a stop in Geneva, Switzerland

Our second big ski trip of our time in Europe had to be at Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (our first one was last year at Zermatt when we stayed in the igloo). We had been wanting to come to this ski resort for a while now, even talking about it while we were still in the U.S. Like Zermatt, it is consistently in the top 10 lists for ski resorts, not only in Europe but around the world. The town of Chamonix is a true mountain town, surrounded by the towering French Alps, and catering to winter sports enthusiasts. Lying in the shadow of Mont Blanc, the highest of the Alpine peaks, Chamonix is in the Rhone-Alpes region and is in a "corner" of Europe consisting of France, Italy, and Switzerland.

The mountains around the town

View of the mountains while skiing

Some of the town

We flew into Geneva, which is about an hour away from Chamonix. We drove into the center and decided to explore this international city for a few hours. Almost half of Geneva is made up of people from 147 different countries linking together businesses from around the world. Walking down the streets felt like walking on Rodeo Drive or 5th Avenue; Prada, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and the like, dominated the streets, as well as the prevalence of very high-priced watch brands such as Rolex and Cartier.

A pretty church

Looking out onto the park

A small street away from the action

We strolled along Lake Geneva, taking in the sight of the Jet d'Eau Fountain, Geneva's most famous landmark. It is one of the biggest fountains in the world and the largest in Europe. The spray of the fountain reaches about 460 feet and pumps out 132 gallons of water per second!

After Geneva, we drove the hour to Chamonix and checked into our hotel/lodge. We spent three glorious days of skiing in great conditions; it had just snowed the night before we arrived, and the sun was shining clearly in the sky for us to see. Miles of groomed trails and un-groomed fresh powder laid before us and we were presented with a variety of descents for us to choose from.

Jon on the t-bar 

Action shot

Jon on his way down

Through the trees

Each day we made our way to our favorite lunch spot in the middle of the mountain where we could laze in the outdoor loungers, sip our vin chaud and beer, and chow down on some local grub. On one of the days a local band played music while we ate and it could be heard up and down the mountain. Our two main activities of the trip combined into one- skiing and eating!

The mountain top band

Looking out to the mountains

Speaking of eating, we ate at some fantastic restaurants while there. If I could eat foie gras at every meal I would, and every time we're in France I order it like it's going out of style. Combine that with an undying love for cheese fondue and we were all set as far as food went. Each dinner was better than the next and we left each meal satisfied, but wanting more - it was so good!

Cheese fondue

Flaming creme brûlée 

This was our last trip to France while we are living in Europe so it was a little sad when we had to leave. We've returned to France four times in a year and a half and we wish we had time for just one more visit before we leave. The people are very friendly, the scenery is beautiful, and the food is sensational! Chamonix is a ski destination we will be returning to in the future... definitely! We could see ourselves renting a cabin with friends (any takers?), skiing some fantastic runs during the day, drinking delicious French wine, and dipping bread into a never ending pot of cheese fondue. Sounds perfect!

The Wine Region of Burgundy, France

While Jon and I feel that we are getting pretty adept at Italian wine tasting and recognizing the different regions (and subregions) where they come from, we are pretty clueless when it comes to French wine. We know of the more famous regions such as Bordeaux, Champagne, Rhone, and Burgundy, but we aren't too informed about the differences between them (or have had the pleasure of tasting them on their own territory). So, we figured we'd take a long weekend exploring Burgundy and then visiting Luxembourg.

The region of Burgundy is one of the top producing wine regions in France and is not too far of a drive from Paris, which is where we flew into. We researched different areas of the region and decided to make the small town of Beaune our base for the weekend.

A snowy morning in Beaune

A quiet street

Beaune is such a cute and small town that caters to winos and foodies. Visiting Beaune at this time of year was perfect since it wasn't crowded with tourists and it had an overall wintery and Christmas feel to it. After enjoying the falling snow on the peaceful town we headed towards our first wine tasting. The host of this winery decided to surprise us with a blind tasting. With another couple, we blindly tasted 15 different wines and we were to determine the different scents and tastes associated with each one. She really wanted us to discover which wines we liked because of our tastes and not because of a label. We had so much fun at the tasting with the other couple (they were from New Zealand, but live in Spain) that we ended up going out to lunch with them afterwards (and then by chance meeting them at another wine tasting later on in the day). We learned quite a bit at this tasting and loved our experience there.

On a walk before the tasting

Posing in front of Collegiale Notre-Dame

The back of the cathedral

Beaune at night

A selection of cheeses at dinner

The wine tasting later in the day was self guided - they gave us a tasting 'dish', a list of wines to taste and an hour to finish.  After running into the couple from the morning on the stairs of the cellar, we tasted another 12 wines at our own pace down in the caves of Beaune.  Including tasting another five wines at a small shop next door and wine with lunch and dinner, we tasted 34 wines that day... plenty!

Interesting contraptions to taste wine in...

The next morning we went to the Beaune market, which is held weekly in the center of town. This was a gourmet food lovers heaven. Fine cheeses, truffles, varieties of mushrooms, infused olive oils, balsamic vinegars, breads, and an abundance of flavored salamis closed in on you as you walked the aisles of the market. The smells lured us into many of the stalls and we found ourselves buying oils and salts made with truffles and various French cheeses. Around the corner the market continued with non-food items such as wicker baskets, clothes, and music. It was a classic French experience; a man was playing the accordion nearby, young children were saying "bonjour" to us as we passed them down the street, and men and women were carrying their wicker baskets with fresh loaves of bread hanging out of the top.

The outdoor section

Olives

Fresh vegetables

The indoor market

A variety of flavored salamis

Wicker baskets

After spending the morning in Beaune we drove 45 minutes north to the city of Dijon. The attractive capital city of Burgundy, Dijon (yes, the same city in which Dijon mustard is named after and is still locally produced) is filled with classic medieval and Renaissance buildings. Traffic is restricted in the center of the city so we found many parts of it quiet and relaxing.

We decided to follow the "Owl Trail" which is a walk through the city where you follow the owl markers on the street to lead you to your next destination. The trail took us to many important sights in the city, as well as some hidden gems that we would have otherwise missed. It took us right through the center of town where an ice skating rink had been put up and vin chaud (hot, mulled wine) was being served to keep everyone warm.

Follow the owl!

A plaza with an ice skating rink

Towers of Notre Dame

Church of Eglise St. Michel

A cup of vin chaud, vino caldo, gluhwein, mulled wine...  in all languages it is delicious!

We had such a relaxing time in Burgundy this past weekend and it ranks high out of all of the trips we have taken. It was so nice to just stroll around the towns with nothing on the agenda except drinking wine and eating delicious and hearty food. We learned a little bit more about this famous wine region and have added another country's bottles to our ever growing wine collection. We hope to be back in the future!