It has become normal in our family to make spontaneous trips. This time, the French Alps - the town of Val Thorens (Three Valleys) - became the place for recreation (more precisely, active recreation). Initially, the idea arose to go to Finland for the New Year holidays, but taking into account all the pros and cons, it turned out that there were more cons.
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It has become normal in our family to make spontaneous trips. This time, the French Alps - the town of Val Thorens (Three Valleys) - became the place for recreation (more precisely, active recreation).
Initially, the idea arose to go to Finland for the New Year holidays, but taking into account all the pros and cons, it turned out that there were more cons. Namely, a large distance - about 2 thousand km one way - will be tiring for a four-year-old daughter; the condition of our roads in winter; lack of any experience in winter resorts. And then there's a friend was going to fly with his family to France. So we decided to combine his experience as a skier and our desire. A large company - 9 people, of which 4 children, bought a ticket from the Erzog tour operator.
The lining of the trip proved to be from the start.
Two weeks later, the family of an acquaintance was confirmed with a visa (albeit only for the duration of the trip), but my family received a REFUSAL with the indication: "the documents submitted do not correspond to the purposes of the trip. " Rave! The travel agent advised us not to despair and in a week we hand over the documents again and ...lo and behold - a multivisa 365/90 for me and my wife, and for the children for the duration of the trip.
The flight was scheduled for 11 or 12 noon to Lyon with Transaero. However, a few days before the trip changes - "Yamal" to Grenoble at 6.20 am.
And here we are in Domodedovo at 3 o'clock in the morning, with children tired from a 4-hour drive, but optimistic and with a great desire to see the Alps and Val Thorens.
A small delay at the airport and after 4 hours of flight we leave in Grenoble. Temperature +10, somewhere green grass ...and slow French. 4 flights from Britain and 2 from Russia with a difference of 5-10 minutes created a real collapse in the small Grenoble-isere Airport (St Geoirs).
Travel time to Valthorens is 3 hours, with a short stop at the foot of the Alps.
After the stop, the road to the mountains along the serpentine, and as a result, in the area of Menuire, the daughter died.
Along the way, guide Natalia gives standard information, along the way offers discounts on ski passes and rental of ski equipment. Ski pass 240 euros / person (with her discount, to Three Valleys)
About the residence.
The bus takes everyone to hotels and residences. The local time is 12 noon, we know in advance that the check-in to the apartments is at 16.00, but we hope for the mercy of the French. As it turned out in vain - "the apartments are not ready" - says Madam at the reception. Then he carefully offers a ski pass with a fee "on arrival" for 199 euros, and when we agree ...fantastic, the apartment is ready. Apartments with an area of .35 sq. m even visually turn out to be cramped, instead of a microwave - a grill, there is no kettle (later the guide said that this is the norm), there is a coffee maker, at night it was also discovered that there was a gap in the finger under the balcony door.
In the morning we politely ask to do something with the balcony door, we ask for the "declared" microwave. It is somehow not convenient to heat a cup in the grill and cook porridge for children in the morning. While we spend morning and afternoon on the slopes, mastering skiing, a local "locksmith" came to the room, nailed a plastic edging with a stapler and noted that the work was done. His so-called job didn't change anything. Toward evening we again explain to madam that it is drafty in the room, the children can get sick. Need a microwave.
Dear readers, just understand correctly and do not count as a hypocrite. When you return to your room from a frost (albeit not a big one), you want warmth and comfort. There is no desire to insulate the door with blankets and other improvised means. And when they say to your face that "the master has done everything and will not do anything else, if you don't like it - change the hotel", you have to ...make noise! As a result, the apartments were changed to better ones.
About good.
And there are enough positives in Val Thorens. The place is unique in its kind. The highest mountain ski resort, the beauty of the mountains is indescribable in clear weather. The system of various lifts impresses with its scope, the slopes are well-groomed. Snow groomers work all night in the mountains so that the tracks are ready in the morning. Trails for every taste and experience. Ski in and ski out, early in the morning and the start of the lifts, putting on your skis, you can go down the slope right from the hotel entrance even to Menuire itself, and then calmly return back. In the city center on a slope there are three free lifts - conveyor belts under a dome. My daughter learned to get in and out of them herself, which is unusual in itself, since she skied for the first time in Valthorens. Numerous cafes and restaurants offer both traditional Savoyard cuisine and fast food, prices for any budget. There are ski schools for both children and adults, for skiers and snowboarders.
We enrolled our daughters, 4 and 5 years old, in ESF (a French school for a Russian-speaking instructor), and paid 154 euros each. Classes are from 9 to 12, but so far in the morning they started to work, while they were getting skis for the children at the rental, they were a couple of hours late. They wanted to give them back on the same day from 12 o’clock, but the arrogant instructor did not even begin to talk (despite the fact that only 3 children studied with him). By the way, in the morning there were about 10 children in the classroom. My wife looked at how the kids were crying, but they were not paying attention, and she asked me if I was sure that I wanted to send my daughter here? As a result, the next day they handed over vouchers for schooling, the money was fully compensated. And the father of the second girl, who had 8 years of skiing experience, took up the training of the girls, which no one regretted, because in a week they began to ski normally, were happy, competed in front of each other, and when we got tired or wanted to eat, we went with them to the snack bar.
We turned to the clinic, paid, enlightened 4 times and let him lie down.
By the way, the victims were seen every day, they were constantly taken away from the slopes. They barely persuaded their wives to start skiing (they were more impressed by what they saw than the desire to ski).
About departure.
There was no information until the last day. However, we worried in vain, a few hours before departure we were given an envelope with instructions on the time of collection and about the flight. Departure time from Grenoble airport 7.20 am, picked up from the hotel at 2 am.
Before that, it began to snow, and as a result, the whole of France was covered with snow. The road to the airport was not pleasant. Our bus was not moving slowly because it was late. At the same time, other buses overtook us, as standing ones, on the autobahn. At the airport, the French scooped out all the products from hand luggage, saying that yogurts are supposed to be for children under two years old, and ours are already large. Then they were waiting for the arrival of the flight from Moscow, at about 10.00 they boarded the plane, again waiting.
No information. Through the Internet, we learned that in the Chambé ry region, on the way to the airport, a bus with Russian tourists who were supposed to fly on our flight (who also bought vouchers in Herzog) got into an accident. After a tedious wait around 14.00 local time, the tour operator finally gave the go-ahead for the plane to take off, but the injured tourists were never brought.
Outcome.
The experience of mountain skiing exceeded my personal expectations. The wife was not delighted, but she actually does not pretend to be an athlete. The kids are happy and that's what matters. The youngest started skiing, she is interested, she is not afraid. The son became much more confident to ride, which is also nice.
We have never been hungry, thanks first of all to mothers for their cooking, and secondly to local restaurants. Tried fondue, raclette, all delicious and satisfying. Order a dish for two people, three or four people will eat at the same time.
And again, a good company and a positive attitude are the main factors for a successful holiday!
Initially, the idea arose to go to Finland for the New Year holidays, but taking into account all the pros and cons, it turned out that there were more cons. Namely, a large distance - about 2 thousand km one way - will be tiring for a four-year-old daughter; the condition of our roads in winter; lack of any experience in winter resorts. And then there's a friend was going to fly with his family to France. So we decided to combine his experience as a skier and our desire. A large company - 9 people, of which 4 children, bought a ticket from the Erzog tour operator.
The lining of the trip proved to be from the start.
Two weeks later, the family of an acquaintance was confirmed with a visa (albeit only for the duration of the trip), but my family received a REFUSAL with the indication: "the documents submitted do not correspond to the purposes of the trip. " Rave! The travel agent advised us not to despair and in a week we hand over the documents again and ...lo and behold - a multivisa 365/90 for me and my wife, and for the children for the duration of the trip.
The flight was scheduled for 11 or 12 noon to Lyon with Transaero. However, a few days before the trip changes - "Yamal" to Grenoble at 6.20 am.
And here we are in Domodedovo at 3 o'clock in the morning, with children tired from a 4-hour drive, but optimistic and with a great desire to see the Alps and Val Thorens.
A small delay at the airport and after 4 hours of flight we leave in Grenoble. Temperature +10, somewhere green grass ...and slow French. 4 flights from Britain and 2 from Russia with a difference of 5-10 minutes created a real collapse in the small Grenoble-isere Airport (St Geoirs).
Travel time to Valthorens is 3 hours, with a short stop at the foot of the Alps.
After the stop, the road to the mountains along the serpentine, and as a result, in the area of Menuire, the daughter died.
Along the way, guide Natalia gives standard information, along the way offers discounts on ski passes and rental of ski equipment. Ski pass 240 euros / person (with her discount, to Three Valleys)
About the residence.
The bus takes everyone to hotels and residences. The local time is 12 noon, we know in advance that the check-in to the apartments is at 16.00, but we hope for the mercy of the French. As it turned out in vain - "the apartments are not ready" - says Madam at the reception. Then he carefully offers a ski pass with a fee "on arrival" for 199 euros, and when we agree ...fantastic, the apartment is ready. Apartments with an area of .35 sq. m even visually turn out to be cramped, instead of a microwave - a grill, there is no kettle (later the guide said that this is the norm), there is a coffee maker, at night it was also discovered that there was a gap in the finger under the balcony door.
In the morning we politely ask to do something with the balcony door, we ask for the "declared" microwave. It is somehow not convenient to heat a cup in the grill and cook porridge for children in the morning. While we spend morning and afternoon on the slopes, mastering skiing, a local "locksmith" came to the room, nailed a plastic edging with a stapler and noted that the work was done. His so-called job didn't change anything. Toward evening we again explain to madam that it is drafty in the room, the children can get sick. Need a microwave.
Dear readers, just understand correctly and do not count as a hypocrite. When you return to your room from a frost (albeit not a big one), you want warmth and comfort. There is no desire to insulate the door with blankets and other improvised means. And when they say to your face that "the master has done everything and will not do anything else, if you don't like it - change the hotel", you have to ...make noise! As a result, the apartments were changed to better ones.
About good.
And there are enough positives in Val Thorens. The place is unique in its kind. The highest mountain ski resort, the beauty of the mountains is indescribable in clear weather. The system of various lifts impresses with its scope, the slopes are well-groomed. Snow groomers work all night in the mountains so that the tracks are ready in the morning. Trails for every taste and experience. Ski in and ski out, early in the morning and the start of the lifts, putting on your skis, you can go down the slope right from the hotel entrance even to Menuire itself, and then calmly return back. In the city center on a slope there are three free lifts - conveyor belts under a dome. My daughter learned to get in and out of them herself, which is unusual in itself, since she skied for the first time in Valthorens. Numerous cafes and restaurants offer both traditional Savoyard cuisine and fast food, prices for any budget. There are ski schools for both children and adults, for skiers and snowboarders.
We enrolled our daughters, 4 and 5 years old, in ESF (a French school for a Russian-speaking instructor), and paid 154 euros each. Classes are from 9 to 12, but so far in the morning they started to work, while they were getting skis for the children at the rental, they were a couple of hours late. They wanted to give them back on the same day from 12 o’clock, but the arrogant instructor did not even begin to talk (despite the fact that only 3 children studied with him). By the way, in the morning there were about 10 children in the classroom. My wife looked at how the kids were crying, but they were not paying attention, and she asked me if I was sure that I wanted to send my daughter here? As a result, the next day they handed over vouchers for schooling, the money was fully compensated. And the father of the second girl, who had 8 years of skiing experience, took up the training of the girls, which no one regretted, because in a week they began to ski normally, were happy, competed in front of each other, and when we got tired or wanted to eat, we went with them to the snack bar.
We turned to the clinic, paid, enlightened 4 times and let him lie down.
By the way, the victims were seen every day, they were constantly taken away from the slopes. They barely persuaded their wives to start skiing (they were more impressed by what they saw than the desire to ski).
About departure.
There was no information until the last day. However, we worried in vain, a few hours before departure we were given an envelope with instructions on the time of collection and about the flight. Departure time from Grenoble airport 7.20 am, picked up from the hotel at 2 am.
Before that, it began to snow, and as a result, the whole of France was covered with snow. The road to the airport was not pleasant. Our bus was not moving slowly because it was late. At the same time, other buses overtook us, as standing ones, on the autobahn. At the airport, the French scooped out all the products from hand luggage, saying that yogurts are supposed to be for children under two years old, and ours are already large. Then they were waiting for the arrival of the flight from Moscow, at about 10.00 they boarded the plane, again waiting.
No information. Through the Internet, we learned that in the Chambé ry region, on the way to the airport, a bus with Russian tourists who were supposed to fly on our flight (who also bought vouchers in Herzog) got into an accident. After a tedious wait around 14.00 local time, the tour operator finally gave the go-ahead for the plane to take off, but the injured tourists were never brought.
Outcome.
The experience of mountain skiing exceeded my personal expectations. The wife was not delighted, but she actually does not pretend to be an athlete. The kids are happy and that's what matters. The youngest started skiing, she is interested, she is not afraid. The son became much more confident to ride, which is also nice.
We have never been hungry, thanks first of all to mothers for their cooking, and secondly to local restaurants. Tried fondue, raclette, all delicious and satisfying. Order a dish for two people, three or four people will eat at the same time.
And again, a good company and a positive attitude are the main factors for a successful holiday!
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