Tidbits from our New Years Eve

The chalet
Originally uploaded by mrphrtq

First off - Happy New Years Eve to all! We just got back yesterday afternoon, but I was too tired last night to post a write-up here. I'll try not to let this drag out too long, but we have a lot to share. We start by setting the scene -

The Participants:
(Whose names I hope I spelled correctly...)

Dani
Steph
Olivier #1
Celia
Olivier #2 (AKA Mr Celia)
Ghost T. Dog
Nestor T. Dog

The Location:

* Celia's mother's chalet near Sion in Valais Canton in the south of Switzerland. The chalet was about an hour and a half long drive from Fribourg through miles and miles ... er... kilometers and kilometers of gorgeous scenery. The last twenty minutes of the drive took us through the narrowest, twistiest, most terrifying roads I've ever been on in my life and we were both relieved we had experienced (if somewhat heavy-footed) drivers to get us there. We parked at the top of the hill and walked about a quarter of a mile down a steep, snowy hill to the chalet.

We loved the chalet on sight - it was built into the side of the hill with a beautiful view of the mountains and very cozy. The main room of the chalet had a fireplace and big dining room table where we spent most of our time. Our bed was in the corner of the living room and served as a comfy lounge for hanging out on for everyone. The kitchen had a small wood burning stove that was constantly heating water for the gallons of hot tea we drank . The stove also heated water to use for washing dishes as the kitchen had no hot water. The bathroom and shower did, though, and that was all that mattered!

The Activities:

* Ligretto - We have a new addiction. Ligretto. We spent several hours losing at Ligretto to Mr Celia who was entirely too quick for his own good. We picked up our own copy yesterday and have already payed, though it is definitely more fun with four people than with two. We will be bringing it with us when we visit Atlanta in a few weeks.

* Sledding - Sledding! At night! Wearing headlamps! Enough said.

* Table bombs! On New Years Eve we got to set off table bombs - small canisters with a fuse. You light the fuse and the top of the canister blows off and shoots streamers and toys and funny hats and noses and masks and other silly stuff all over the place. They are the foot!*

The Meals:

* Crepe Party - Our first night we had crepes for dinner. We had two plug-in griddle tops on the table and a salty crepe batter as well as a sweet crepe batter for dessert. Each person made crepes as they wanted them. We filled the salty ones with cheese and ham and onions and bacon. Swoon! The sweet ones we filled with Nutella and bananas and various jellies.

* Dani's lasagna - The next day we had lasagna for lunch - a nine pound lasagna! It was delicious and he seven of us managed to demolish it. Of course, after a lunch like that, we all needed naps!

* New Year's Eve Raclette - More of the traditional Swiss food we've grown to love! Our raclette was a giant half wheel of cheese - maybe five pounds - melted with a funny device Olivier #1 brought along. As the cheese melted, the squishy bit was scraped off with a knife and onto the waiting plate of whoever was ready for another portion. once you got your plate, you added a potato, a little pickle, and little onion, some salt and pepper and you mixed the whole mess together - it was amazing!

* More Rösti - Rösti topped with egg and served with salad and bread - pretty much perfect!

I'm sure I'm leaving things out but hopefully Chris will fill in a few holes in his blog. Check out the rest of his pictures!

* "The foot" - My new favorite French phrase is "C'est le pied." Literally, it means "It's the foot" but in slang it is equivalent to English "It's cool," or "It's the bomb!" Our whole New years was "The Foot" - thanks so much Dani, Steph, Celia, Celia's mom, and both Oliviers!