Les Deux Alpes

December 12, 2013

22:27 Grenoble, France

14:27 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

So I had finally arrived in Grenoble and the culture shock still hasn’t subsided. Getting lost. No one can help me. No English anywhere. I feel like a mute. People talk to me and I can do nothing but stare at them and say “no francias.” I feel helpless. It’s all part of the experience of travel. I think I will create a little list oh regular phases I could use out and about. It would be nice to be able to ask for something or for some help. OR even for them to just speak slower. They talk so fast and it all sounds like one word and it just goes in one ear and out the other. I have started to tone out languages I don’t understand. If it’s not in English I don’t respond. It’s funny, I get people poking me asking me a question or someone trying to tell me something that I could have forgotten. The people here do their best and it’s awesome. I can’t complain even if they can’t speak English. This is their home country and English isn’t really needed in a non-tourist city. I can’t wait to go back to German speaking countries. Today I went to Les Deux Alpes. It was very barren near the village. But oh boy. I went on the tram up the mountain and wow; the view. There was a decent amount of snow too. Pretty good for a glacier and for a resort that has year round skiing. This resort is massive. It goes way far back higher and higher. It’s roughly 3500m above sea level at the highest point. The bus ride to the mountain was beautiful too! Took so long though. 3 hours from Grenoble. It was an experience and I got a few runs out of it for cheap. Can’t complain when a 3 hour bus ride costs 7 Euros. And a half day on a massive mountain costs 26 Euros.

After I finished at Les Deux Alpes; my new friend and I (a person I had met at the bus station that is also a couch surfing globetrotter, who speaks English!! Boo ya!!) went to the Grenoble Christmas market. Had some Vin Chaud, or what I would like to say; Gluhwine. So good. And we had some amazing delicious sausage. No clue what it was but it was brilliant. And I tried a taste of Fois grais for the first time too. Pretty decent. But the most wicked thing about this Christmas market was there was this crazy santa dressed up punk kid DJ. Drumstep, Drum and bass, Trap, Dubstep, Funk, Electro. You name it. Got some wicked bonding in with my snowboard. Since my new friend and I came straight from Les Deux Alpes I still had my snowboard. So Le Snowboard and I had a few dances! Tons of fun! Well tomorrow I’m thinking on hitting up L’alpes-d’huez another world class mountain. But I’m going to have to get up crazy early in the morning to actually get a decent amount of time on the mountain. Gonna start training and progressing more. Dare to step out of the comfort zone and not settle with being comfortable where you are. Over and out. This Chica needs sleep.