Summer is in full swing here in France, and even in the Alps, the temperatures are unusually warm. Everyone has been enjoying the warm weather — whole businesses, in fact. Last week, I tried calling a doctor, an accountant and…
Tag: Aravis
Free entertainment galore in France
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: Annecy, Aravis, culture, entertainment, fete, La Clusaz, music, St Jean de Sixt, summer, Thones
How sport is done in the French Alps
There’s no shortage of sporting challenges in the French Alps. There’s the standard snow-related sports in winter, and cycling and running in summer, but some other sports that aren’t quite so obvious. Let’s start with Le Grand Bornand, where families…
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: Aravis, Candide Thovex, competition, culture, La Clusaz, Le Grand Bornand, local, Morzine, sport
A tractor in a ski competition
What do a tractor, a young boy, and a ski ramp have in common? They were all necessary to make the weekend’s freestyle ski competition in Saint Jean de Sixt happen. What you’re looking at above is a skier who…
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: Aravis, competition, entertainment, health & safety, landscape, local, skiing, sport, St Jean de Sixt
No autumn in France this year?
Just a few weeks ago, I was in sandals and sun dresses, but last weekend, the weather in St Jean de Sixt got very cold. So cold, in fact, that it snowed heavily. Pictured above is a photo I took…
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: Aravis, cat, landscape, Le Grand Bornand, snow, St Jean de Sixt
The lost cemetery of Le Grand Bornand
Here is a cemetery you won’t read about in many places. It’s the cimetière des miliciens, and it has no legal standing. On 24 August 1944, some 76 miliciens were executed in the Vallée du Bouchet after a court martial…
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: Aravis, culture, history, landscape, Le Grand Bornand, war sites
Skiing on plastic with wooden skis
The trampoline competition wasn’t the only event in the Aravis last weekend. La Clusaz hosted the annual Fête du Reblochon (cheese festival), and this year, I recorded some of the skiing action. Yes, there’s skiing at the Fête du Reblochon.…
Benefits of living in a holiday spot
Before I moved to La Clusaz (and subsequently St Jean de Sixt), I didn’t realise how busy this area is in summer. After all, La Clusaz and Le Grand Bornand are ski resorts, where people go to ski in winter.…
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: Aravis, bands, culture, entertainment, festival, St Jean de Sixt
It’s fly swatting season in the French Alps!
You might remember my rant a few years ago about the lack of fly wire screens in rural France despite the high number of flies due to the cows. This year, the late spring has kept fly numbers down. This…
Witnessing an avalanche
A few weeks ago, I took some friends to look at the picturesque views from the Col des Aravis. There was snow, green grass and wild mountain goats all visible nearby, and Mont Blanc was bright white in the distance.…
Festivals in the French Alps
March isn’t usually a month that you associate with outdoor festivals in either hemisphere of the world, but around these parts, one has just come and gone and another one is on its way. The Radiomeuh Circus festival is on…
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: Aravis, bands, entertainment, festival, La Clusaz, Le Grand Bornand, music, RadioMeuh
