Verbier and the big reunion

After three weeks apart, it was nice to finally have Vicki arrive in Verbier so that we can actually do this seasonnaire thing together. I arrived on Saturday, having passed my BASI level 2 instructor qualification last Friday and found blazing sunshine and +7 degrees in town. Compared to Zermatt, this was positively tropical! I started my training with Adrenaline ski school on the Sunday, which basically involves skiing around the pistes a bit from 9 til 1, leaving the afternoons free to deal with Swiss bureaucracy - the police, the work permit, the season ski pass, the shops which only open from 2.30 til 5, etc, etc. There are some things about London which we will definitely miss! But not that many...

Vicki arrived on Tuesday night around 7 to be whisked off straight away to go and have dinner with her work mates, followed by a couple of drinks in the bar below our studio. An early start meant that we have spent less than a couple of hours together since she arrived! But we knew that was going to be part and parcel of the experience. So a short but sweet reunion heralded the start "proper" of our ski season 2008/09 in Verbier. Hurrah!

I think Vicki is quite enjoying being sheparded around by Ski Verbier for the moment, after three weeks of lists and getting things done (many things I was supposed to do before I left London three weeks ago... yes, I will be in penance for quite some time yet...). I don't think she is under any illusions that this will be hard work from start to finish, but the challenge is definitely one she is relishing - especially rubbing shoulders with some extensively trained professional chefs!

From my side, things are going well. I have been lumped in with the French-speaking group, rather than with the rest of the English guys, which is exactly what I wanted! However, it does mean I haven't yet met most of the Brits in the same company as me! But I'm sure tonight will solve that, with free drinks in the one of the local bars for an hour later on... Tomorrow could be a challenge, especially as 20 kids from the local school are being shipped in for us to "practise" on. The 3-4 year-olds will be spread thinly as there are about 30 of us new instructors - half of whom don't speak French! So that could be interesting... The one bit of advice our trainer gave us at the end of today was to bring lots of tissues!! Tricks of the trade eh?

The studio we are in is small but perfectly formed. The bathroom is twice the size it needs to be for some unknown reason, but the main room is fine. Not quite our London flat but needs must - and we are paying for the privilege of being only 15 minutes walk (in ski boots mind) from the main lift. So perks all round. Although living above a bar (even if it is 4 floors) has its pros and cons as we found out last night (their opening night) when the live band was pumping tunes out until well into the night. And I do believe this building is made of mainly paper... But it does mean we don't have far to fall home when we decide to really get into this seasonnaire lifestyle!!

The view from the balcony is not bad though...


Let the games begin!!