Park City, Utah, United States

Last February we chose to go to Park City, Utah for our annual west coast ski trip. Squaw Valley was a bust the year prior in terms of snowfall and we wanted to try something different. We loved everything about this trip! From the bed and breakfast we stayed in that heated the room through a gas fireplace and warmed us up with an amazing breakfast each morning, to the amazing snow conditions and not so crowded skiing. And lucky us, it snowed about two feet the first night we got there!

View from our room

I think this was the coldest skiing I've ever done!!!

We absolutely loved our bed and breakfast. It was so cozy and completely added to our trip.

Walking around the old town of Park City

We loved our time here so much that we decided to come back in June with Julia to check out the beautiful summer weather. We booked a stay with the same bed and breakfast (and were not disappointed) and despite a very very early wakeup the first day due to a toddler being on east coast time and not used to sleeping in a bed (Hmm.. what to do at 3am?) we were able to fully enjoy our long weekend and explore the area.

On the plane waiting out a two hour delay on the runway... 

Nap at 9am is reasonable when you wake up at 3!

Dan, Rachel, and Ariella met us at the b&b in the early afternoon. After some lunch we decided to head over to Park City Mountain base. Here they have all kinds of fun stuff to do like alpine slides, alpine coasters, zip lines, trampolines, and much more. Being the daredevil that she is, Julia wanted to try the alpine slide and the big trampoline, which she just made the weight minimum for. The alpine slide has over 3,000 feet of sliding down a track. We rode the lift up with Dan (Rachel stayed with Ariella at the bottom), picked up our sliding contraptions and headed to the line. Julia rode with Jon and she had such a good time! Afterwards we took her to the trampoline where she soared super high and enjoyed a great view I'm sure!

Loving the lift!

Getting ready to ride! 

All set for the trampoline

The next day we took the bus to the Canyons where we decided to do some hiking. I think Julia and Ariella would have been very content riding the bus all day. After arriving at the Canyons we rode a gondola up and then took some kind of standing scary lift up the rest of the way. We hiked up a good amount with Julia in the hiking backpack and Ariella in her carrier. The weather was gorgeous and we just loved how we were able to be outside without the excess humidity like we find with DC summers. We probably hiked about 1.5 miles up and then turned around. We stopped for lunch before getting on the gondola and then made our way back down. The kiddos just loved riding on the gondola and standing ski lift. The rest of the afternoon we hung out at the bed and breakfast and let the kids relax and play.

The next day we set out on a longer hike with Julia. We took the bus to Deer Valley in order to hike the Mid-Mountain trail across to Park City. The hike is a popular route among mountain bikers and hikers as you can make your way down to Park City from many different areas. We loved this hike, but it was way longer than we thought it would be! By the end we were hot, tired, hungry, and very thirsty as we had run out of water. We hiked about 6 miles in total and Jon's back was achy from carrying Julia the whole time. But we had a great time and next time we would definitely plan better for the afternoon out.

Julia liked it so much she fell asleep! 

We had to leave our bed and breakfast by 7:30 the next morning since we had a long journey ahead of us. Our hosts made us breakfast to go, which included egg sandwiches and delicious banana chocolate chip muffins. We seriously questioned whether we should move out west after this visit. The outdoor activity, the laid back lifestyle, the openness, and the weather makes this area very appealing! Maybe one day...

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!