Les Trois Vallées

/ The Alps, France/
Les Trois Vallées

One of the main questions one faces when planning a ski trip in Europe is where to go; one is simply spoilt for choice. Last year we had a week inAvoriaz, part of les portes de soleil conglomeration, which was fantastic, so wherever we went this time had to have a similar amount of terrain. Logistically it was challenging, as there were four of us: one from Paris, one from Geneva, one from Tübingen (Germany) and another from Budapest. To keep costs down, we did not want to be in Switzerland, which left us with Austria or France. We ended with up with France, as we discovered Les trois Vallées region. Nestled in the northern Alps and comprised of eight resorts, the skiable terrain is the largest in the world and with lifts servicing heights of 3230 metres, it was too good to pass up.

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Arctic Norway

/ Tromsø, Norway/
Arctic Norway

Being raised in Australia seems to instil a fascination with snow and all things cold, stemming from a complete lack of exposure to sub-zero temperatures. Winters are by no means warm, but snow simply does not fall at low altitude, nor does the temperature remain below zero should it happen to drop there, so something that is “naturally” frozen is very novel. Possessing the near-polar opposite climate is Norway, and in particular, northern Norway. The Norwegian landscape, characterised by spectacular fjords and soaring mountains, has always been one of the places that I dreamed of visiting. With the winter break offering an opportunity to travel and my desire to experience “a real winter”, Norway seemed like a great option. More than this, the frozen landscapes of Arctic Norway offer many experiences which simply cannot be found anywhere else. This trip was always going to be cool.

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Corsica

/ Corsica, France/
Corsica

The home of Napoleon Bonapart; luxury beach island; these were about the old things I knew about Corsica prior to going. My sister had visited the island during the (Northern hemisphere) summer during 2012, and it looked superb. My partner was coming to visit for 3 weeks during the (Northern hemisphere) winter and once I had the idea of a Christmas gift of a Corsican tour, there was no turning back. We set of on January 2nd, 2013 and returned 7 days later on January 8th. We flew from Orly Airport with Air France to Bastia. During the winter, most airports on the island except Bastia and Ajaccio close, and we went to Bastia as it was less expensive. We left a fresh Paris (about 4 or 5 degrees C) and arrived to a much nicer 12ish degrees. In mid-winter, this is about the standard temperature at sea level, with nice days getting up to about 16, which is much more agreeable than the negative temperatures on the mainland. We hired a car for the week, with AVIS as they had reasonable prices and snow tyres were included in the price, which are required by all companies for driving in winter. After picking up the car, I got into the “wrong” side of the car and prepared for my first experience driving on the other side of the road.

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