A White Christmas

Merry Christmas!

We hope you had a wonderful day with friends and family, celebrating, giving, eating and drinking. 

Christmas morning in the Ecrins

We elebrated on Christmas Eve with some steaks, a bottle of pinot noir and phone calls home. And then woke up late on Christmas morning, here in Venosc in the Ecrins. There had been snow overnight, making it a classic image of a white Christmas morning. Jen may have been brought up with the hot Australian summer Christmas, but for her snow somehow feels appropriate at this time of year.

Being cool and crisp, we headed out for a walk towards a nearby ice fall that afternoon... with our gear, just in case. But sadly, the icefall is still a waterfall (although a rather pretty one).

We saw animal tracks on the fresh snow - deer, wild pig, and maybe a fox or feral cat? - and came across a ramshackle hiking hut, with an incredible purple woodstove, an eclectic but vast array of cooking equipment and a few candles in old wine bottles. Although it had recently been fitted out with new windows, even with the stove going it would be chilly overnight to stay there ... but we can't say it wasn't a little tempting.