Winter has come to the Cote d'Azur

Winter has come to the Cote d’Azur, finally. Well, to be fair, the nearby mountains have already been snow-covered for a couple of weeks. Isola 2000 (the biggest ski resort in the area) opened last weekend, followed by the other resorts (Auron, Valberg and Greolieres) this weekend. Since the weather was back to normal (sun shining, blue skies), we figured it would be nice to do something winter-related.

So on Saturday, we decided to head for Greolieres (which according to our good friend Ollie is the prettiest village in France – must be a coincidence that he comes from there) – it being the ski resort nearest to us. After some deliberation, we decided to rent raquettes and go for some hiking in the snow, instead of doing downhill skiing. And what a glorious day we picked for it – the air was crips, the sky was blue, and the sun was shining. Just perfect for a hike through the snow-covered alpine landscapes. So off we set, after a healthy and nutritious meal ("Chicken et frites"for me, "steak hache and frites" for Mathilde).

The hike took us through a nice forest, along the ski slopes, towards le Plan des Baumettes, a valley surrounded by some decent-sized alpine peaks. From there we got to the toughest part of the hike – a rather steep hike up to la Croix de Verse (at the lofty altitude of 1706 meters). Once we got up there, we were hit by what is probably the strongest wind I’ve ever experienced, honest! I though I was going to be blown off the mountain for a minute, there! But the views were certainly worh our efforts, the distant and imposing peaks of Mercantour beckoning in the distance, and Jerusalem, a slightly higher peak just to the west of us. But we did not linger, due to the brisky wind, and made our way back down the cliff.

The walk back to Greolieres was just as delightful, although the sun was starting to set. We even found a snowman on the way back… A nice vin chaud in the first bar in sight brought an end to a pretty much perfect hike! Days like this makes me feel really lucky about living where I do – being able to enjoy the warm and sunny winter days on the coast, while at the same time being a 1-hour drive from some great snow-covered mountains….