Winter signs are here!

Late September, as the leaves were just beginning to turn all around Deer Valley and Park City, we decided to leave town for a few days to visit family and friends. As we always do, when we’re away, we keep an almost daily tab on what goes on in Utah and were stunned to hear about the early October snowfall!

Earlier this week, as we were driving home, we couldn’t miss a snow-capped Bald Mountain, while at the same time hearing on the radio that Deer Valley had just been named the No. 1 ski resort in North America for the fifth year in a row; wow! Combined, these visual and auditory sensations were sending a clear message: Snow season and great skiing were definitely on their way. As we arrived at home, we instantly felt the cool air and with it, began switching gears, forgetting almost everything about summer and fall weather, turning on the heat inside our home and embracing the upcoming change of season.

True, our summer and fall have been terrific and it’s now time to prepare for skiing and winter. Our seasonal survival checklist began with getting our Deer Valley ski passes in order. That’s right, we only have a few days left for taking advantage of the very best offers and absolutely can’t afford to let that date go by. We’ll also need to check our gear. Is it still in working order or up to par with the quality skiing we intend to accomplish? My ski boots need fixing and my poles are ready for a well-deserved retirement. My ski jacket still looks great, but I sure could use a new pair of ski pants. And these worn-out gloves will have to be replaced before December.

Then there’s the car and the tires that have to be changed, the ski rack that begs to be placed back on the roof. Even though April isn’t that far, I was so consumed with my summer activities that I had almost forgotten that winter would even return; that “Circle of Fun” must be part of the magic that comes with living in the mountains! Today, I feel my world shifting or should I say, beginning to slide underneath my feet and I must adapt fast. I know there’s still plenty of yellow in the aspen groves that are hugging the new snow, but it won’t last long and soon the Deer Valley chairlifts will be running. Count on me, I’m ready!

Home advantage

Someone who has always stayed at the very same place from birth to death can fully assume that he's from the place he lives in. That person is never asked to prove or establish anything, in order to claim any form of belonging to a particular place. That's what I would call a pretty easy life. On the other hand, any new comer to any new place will have to work hard in order to fit in, by learning the local culture, the language and the rules of life.

We belong to this group of people who didn't enjoy any home advantage through most of their adult life and it has made us very resilient and more adaptable. I like the experience and don't envy those who still can claim a “home advantage;” it has made me so much stronger!

Monstrous mileage?

Our last trip to France would have been a record breaker in terms of mileage. Between automobile and plane, we managed to cover 12,180 miles, without missing a bit, without any major problem or accident.

The flying has been super easy, thanks in part to the convenient direct Salt Lake – Paris flight and the driving uneventful and comfortable with a neat rental car and little traffic. Something must be said about traveling outside of peak periods. Now, we're back home, jet-lagged but happy to know that we won't have to travel for another six month!

Airport parking story

Parking right at the airport can be very costly, especially if you leave home for more than 10 days; at $7 per day, parking quickly becomes a major expense. To minimize it, we decided to experiment with a new program that enables us to park at one of two nearby hotels for half that price. So when we left on our trip, I made the reservation on line, printed my email receipt and to avoid unnecessary stress in trying to locate the hotel, I set up my GPS to the address indicated on the document and drove towards the aiport.

When I reached the hotel, I ran to the front desk, gave my receipt and was told to park my car anywhere I wanted. When we returned, I called the hotel from the airport, jumped on their courtesy van and immediately went to look for my car, but I couldn't find it. After circling the lot twice, I went to the front desk and noticed that it didn't look quite the same as I had remembered it 13 days before. I asked the man behind the desk if I could have – by chance - left my car at some other hotel. He suggested I tried the one across the street. I did and found my car waiting for me. I had parked it at the wrong hotel and the attendant had barely glanced at the document I had given her!

Paris stands for Pollution

As we were driving today from Britanny, we barely “touched” Paris periphery and while we were driving towards the airport, we could sense the acrid smell of pollution that constantly hangs on that big metropolis.

No one seems to talk about that, but it must be a horrible reality to have to live with when one is a “Parisian.” I discovered it decades ago and really feel fortunate that I never had to live in that place for any extended lengths of time....

The end of our visit to Brittany

Our trip to Brittany concluded with a visit to an old friend of mine, Michel Vittoz. At the same time, we had the opportunity to meet his charming wife Danielle. They showed us around the Brest area and were wonderful hosts. Before that, we spent some time visiting the Parish closes nearby.

This is a translation of the French term “enclos paroissial” which refers to a number of locations spread in the historic diocese of Léon, and that feature an elaborately-decorated parish church surrounded by an entirely-walled churchyard, dating from the 16th and 17th centuries. The surrounding walled churchyard wraps around buildings and structures designed for worship - the church, the calvary, and sometimes an ossuary or charnel house.

A very busy day indeed that concluded with a wonderful dinner at the Vittoz's!

Running alongside the towpath

We had a few good running experiences during this trip to Europe. One was in the Alps, the other in Lannion, Brittany, where we ran for a couple of days alongside the local towpath that extends to the open sea.

We didn't go all that far though; we stuck to a 5 mile trek that was plenty for us. The weather was drizzly, but the run was flat and easy...