Verbier!

Finally!  It's SKI time! 

It's been over two years since Team Sasso has attempted to ski! Of course, we did try Ski Dubai, which frankly does NOT count unless you like to ski without making any turns as someone in a giant human hamster ball wearing a ski-burka tumbles ass over teakettle down the run next to you.  We were super excited to get back on the slopes!  And not just any slopes- the Alps!  We spent a week in Verbier, Switzerland and we were lucky to have great weather, great food, great snow and great company!  Per usual, we were joined by our great friends Shauna, Geoff, Taylor and Daniel Walker.  Here are things I learned about skiing the Alps:

1) The Alps are very high mountains.  Very.

2) A single run can take you over 30 minutes going straight down without stopping, so you'd best think about doing some squats to prepare.

3) There is a high percentage of AWESOME expert skiers, so bring your A game.

4) Prada makes ski outfits!

5) It is possible to pay $20 for a hot chocolate

Here are some pictures to demonstrate! We were skiing above the cloud line!

Check out the gorgeous terrain! (That's Caroline, looking sharp. She picked out her own outfit.  It's very "EuroSki")

One of the amazing things about Verbier is that it is part of the Four Valleys.  The Four Valleys allow you to ski the resorts of Bruson, Evolene, La Tzoumaz, Nendaz, Siviez, Thyon les Collons, and Vevsonnaz, as well as Verbier.  They're all linked together by the gondolas and lifts and what not.  That's 412 kilometers of downhill skiing!  It's never ending! But also guarantees that I am 100 percent lost, 100 percent of the time (not to mention mildly disgruntled that MY ski outfit is not Prada).

It's also interesting that it is completely permissable to ski "Off Piste".  The "piste" being the ski run, going "off piste" means that you are free to ski out of bounds, not on groomed trails.  This is always forbidden territory in US resorts, because it can be really dangerous.  I believe the philosophy here is that you are either a) Good enough that you are able to handle the terrain or b) Stupid enough to think you can handle it and thus deserve whatever injury you sustain.  Augusto is solidly in category "a", and he took this pic off piste:

The kids both did a fantastic job skiing!  Even Georgia, who was previously our "lodge girl", went out every day!

But I think they looked forward to the apres-ski more...which for them meant hanging in the snow-igloo they found in front of our villa:

And getting cosy with their buddies!

Another thing that was new to us on this trip was the concept of a "Fully Catered" villa.  This is essentially when you rent a villa or condo, and breakfast, high tea, and dinner are provided.  We assumed this would mean standard ski-fare - burgers, pasta, chili...good hearty food.  Oh no.  No, no, no...

We won the Super-Lotto of villa catering. Our Chef, Gerwin, was trained in both Michelin 2 and a 3 star restaurant - where he was also the head pastry chef!  Gerwin would show up faithfully each morning, and spend the entire day creating the most unbelievable culinary creations completely from scratch.  Honestly - it was like living in a 5 star restaurant!  The only picture we got before the food was devoured was one of our desserts - a passion fruit souffle with home made ice cream:

I will not tell you how much weight was gained that week.  Let's just say it's no longer the "Expat Eleven". 

The town of Verbier is also incredibly charming.  It's all tucked up on to the hillside, and looks just as beautiful as the Matterhorn area at Disneyland...only bigger:

We are already planning our ski trip for next year!  But for now, looking forward to spring break (with some SPECIAL California visitors!) and some fun in the sun!  Lots of love to all!