Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Special Assignment

I got a chance to steal away from the venue for a chance of a lifetime.

I went skiing in the Italian Alps! What was crazy about it, was that we took a lift to the top of a mountain, and from there you skied to other mountains which had more lifts that took you to other mountains. The number I heard was 62 miles of skiable terrain. Crazy time. The gentlemen I skied with, from our venue, had skied in France the previous time. While we were skiing from town to town of Italy, they had skied from country to country (France to Italy and back).

I started skiing downhill when I was 7. Now, many years later, I got a chance to ski in a different country. Of course the whole time I was trying to figure out how not to break my leg, since I haven't skied in over a year. Fortunately, I never fell. Of course I probably looked a little goofy sometimes. But, I never fell.

The terrain wasn't terribly difficult, but there were two points that made the whole trip worth it:
1. There was no one on the hill. It was Monday, and we saw some school kids and older people, but the slopes were ours. No lines. it was great.
2. The view was incredible. When we got to the bottom of the "hill" (and I use quotes, because it was more of a valley of a couple dozen peaks) there was a 360° view of mountain tops. No buildings, no power lines, the only sign of humans was the chair lift. It was beautiful. If only I had my camera with me. Oops.

After a long grueling day of skiing we went to Antique Astere. This was across the street of the La Grappe. It looked just like La Grappe, but the food was better. We walked in at 7:30, and they told us to come back in half an hour. When we did, we sat next to the fire place in a very comfy loveseat. Food and wine never stopped arriving. Antipasta, salad, spinach quiche, filet, creme brulee, oh my. The wine was excellent. We had white, red, and something the owner called the "Number one wine in Italy".

Between the skiiing and the dinner, I slept very well that night!

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