Keep calm and eat cake!: The month of LOVE...

February is a particularly special month for us as it is the month we got married and went on honeymoon and, of course, Valentine’s Day!

This year we celebrated our first wedding anniversary. We decided to make the most of the cold weather and explore more of the skiing areas, so we headed off to Verbier for the weekend.

We left early on Saturday morning and went by train to Martigny where we switched to the St Bernard Express train which took us further into the mountain area till Le Châble. From there we took a very windy bus trip up the narrow twists and turns to the top of the mountain, Verbier.

The Saint-Bernard Express

It was beautiful and looked like a postcard. There was so much snow everywhere with at least a meter of snow on the roofs of the houses. It was just VERY cold!

So much snow!

January and the beginning of February was extremely cold here in Switzerland (and I believe in England and many other parts of Europe). We were experiencing temperatures of around -20 degrees Celsius in Geneva when taking into account the wind chill, and the wind does like to blow across the lake.

The temperature in Verbier was similar (-20), although thankfully a lot more sheltered. So being outside for long periods was way too cold.

When we arrived we dropped our bag at our hotel Farinet (http://www.hotelfarinet.com/en/verbier.htm). Then we headed off to explore the town a bit and find a place for lunch. The town was very busy with skiers taking advantage of the good snow and had many ski rental shops and stores selling warm clothing.

Icicles on the hotel Farinet

There were quite a few restaurant and we opted for an Italian. Hubby decided on a pizza while I selected a mushroom risotto. Many times I have food envy, but this time was different. Although Hubby’s pizza was good, my risotto was sooo tasty! It was packed with mushroomy flavours and goodness and I loved every bite!

Relaxing at lunch

My mushroom risotto - looks like porridge but tasted great

We finished off the lunch with some dessert of tiramisu and panna cotta.

Tiramisu

Panna Cotta

After lunch we headed back to the hotel and relaxed in the warmth till dinner time.

Swiss all the way

View from our room

We went back to the Italian for dinner. This time we opted for dishes that are not particularly Italian and I slightly regretted it as it was not as nice as the lunch we had. I should have known, in an Italian restaurant stick to Italian food – lesson learnt.

I opted for the pork ribs as I hadn’t had some since South Africa and Hubby went for a steak. The ribs were quite dry, although the bbq sauce was tasty. Hubby’s steak was very tasty but a bit tough and sinewy.

Steak

Ribs

After dinner we headed to the bar in our hotel. Our hotel is known for being a party hotel and has a huge bar area where people go for après ski drinks and it also has a night club. They even give you ear plugs in your room to block out the noise!

We had a couple of drinks but after a while started feeling decidedly old as we were not enjoying the repetitive beat of the dance music, where every song sounds the same.

The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel, which was served in the bar area. The selection was good but being in the bar the place smelt like beer, not great for me but Hubby didn't mind.

Breakfast

We then headed to the slopes. We rented ski gear (which was so expensive compared to what we paid in Italy) and hopped on a bus to meet our ski instructor as we booked a 2 hour lesson for the morning.

Let’s just say the lesson did not go great for me. The instructor was very helpful and tried to encourage me but I am too much of a scaredy cat and would not go fast. He kept telling me to pick up speed and put my skis parallel but I refused. Somehow I don’t think skiing is my thing.

Hubby getting pulled up the slope

So tiny...AMAZING!

After an hour and being very nervous and refusing to go down one of the baby slopes I asked the instructor to rather spend the second hour with Hubby. This turned out great as Hubby is a better skier than me so the instructor helped him improve his technique and by the end of the hour he had improved so much and was a lot more confident.

We headed for the restaurant on the slopes and opted for a good old cheese fondue. The view was great and we enjoyed relaxing and watching the skiers.