Welcome to the January blog, first of 2024. It's a few days late sorry, but I'm hoping you'll all grant me an extension for this one :-) January was a slog...... Well done to us all for making it through!
-
-
I was incredibly lucky to escape to France this week (hence the late blog...) I topped up on Vitamin D and had a lovely few days skiing. Following my trip this month’s travel recommendation is from one of my all-time favourite places to visit. The French Alps.
-
-
I know most people imagine Winter when they think of visiting the French Alps, and it’s a place I have aways loved to come to in the snow, but in the last 10 years I have also discovered the Portes Du Soleil as a fantastic Summer destination as well. If you’re looking for somewhere a little different to try this Summer here is an option to consider.
-
-
With just over an hours travel time from Geneva airport, the Portes du Soleil is a perfect long weekend getaway. The weather can be changeable, but if you are lucky and get a sunny weekend it’s hard to beat as a place to come and relax, get a bucket full of fresh air, and just generally re-charge yourself surrounded by nature.
-
-
In the heart of the Portes du Soleil; Les Gets is a traditional French village, pretty as a post card and with plenty of restaurants, cafes, bakeries, two small supermarkets, basically everything you could want or need within walking distance. It is a perfect place for walking and cycling in the mountains, and in the height of the Summer (from the end of June), there is also a fresh water lake to swim in and cool off by, with inflatable rafts to play on, parasols and sun beds to hire, and a nice café right next door selling ice creams, lunches, drinks and snacks.
-
-
In the village itself there are almost too many eateries to recommend but here are a few of my favourites: The Tyrol is family friendly traditional restaurant a few hundred yards from the centre of the village. It does great fondues and other more traditional dishes, as well as a perfect cheese burger and frites.
-
Les Copeaux is slightly pricier but is lovely for a one off treat. Its Pierrade, (which is meat you cook yourself at the table on a hot plate), is fun to share and delicious. They also serve one of my favourite dishes which consists of a plate of charcuterie, salad, a pot of melted cheese and potato Rosti (Rosti are basically very tasty posh hash browns), very good dipped into the melted cheese!
-
Finally if you’re looking for a nice spot for breakfast and maybe a crepe, Lou Berthandy’s which is right opposite the main chair lift is a nice sunny spot to sit and have a coffee.
-
-
Also worth mentioning is that most of the bakeries in the village have a few tables and chairs outside as well, so a nice sunny walk into the village centre in the morning is a really pleasant thing to do. You can sit and have a croissant and coffee in the sun whilst you pick up your bread for later in the day.
-
-
-
In the last ten years Les Gets has transformed itself from just a Winter resort into an all year round destination. I would say that if you come in May and June or September and October there is just enough open to fully enjoy the weekends, and whilst it is quiet, there is still a nice buzz about the place. In July and August everything will be open, and the place is busy and has a great atmosphere.
-
-
The big attractions in the Summer months are the walking, mountain biking and also road cycling. A few of the main ski chair lifts have been adapted so they can carry the mountain bikes as well as people up the side of the slopes without any snow. I’m not a great cyclist, but I love the fact that the chair lifts are open to walking as well as cyclists, as they open up a lot of the higher walking routes without having to do the initial hard trekking to the top!
-
-
We spent a long weekend in Les Gets last May and for one of our walks we took the main Chavannes chair lift from the village to a point half way up the mountain. From there we had a short trek uphill to a road that then traverses one of the largest mountains in lets Gets - The Ranfoilly. This road is only accessible in the Summer, and at the end of the walk is a great little café/restaurant “Le Relais des Vallees” serving crepes, omelettes, salads and ice cold beer. The view is truly amazing looking down towards the village of Samoens in the distance.
-
-
Once you have refuelled, you can walk back to Les Gets following the path-ways which follow most of the ski runs during the Winter. No matter how many times I walk in the Alps it always amazes me how much steeper everything looks when covered in grass and not snow!!… All in all this walk was a good three and a half to four hours of walking there and back, and of course allow at least an hour to sit in the sun for lunch in between.
-
-
There are so many other walking trips and day trips you can do with Les Gets as a base it’s almost impossible to list them all, but two of my other recommendations would be as follows:
-
Mont Chery - This is a south facing ski slope in les Gets. From the middle of the village you can either walk up to the main Mont Chery ski station where there is a café, and walk back down again. Or you can get the small bubble car from the village to the top of Mont Chery and then walk back down afterwards. The views of Mont Blanc from the top of Mont Chery are always stunning.
-
Col de Cou - Taking a drive just past Morzine (a neighbouring village to Les Gets), you will come to a small lake, Lac des Mines d’Or. This is an old gold mining lake and you can walk from the lake to the Col de Cou - a high point at the border of France and Switzerland. The route used to be a historic smuggling route and was used extensively during the 2nd World War, both to smuggle weapons in to the French resistance and to help refugees flee. The surrounding views especially when you reach the Col at the top are truly breathtaking. This is a longish trek taking approx 3hrs and ascending 500m. There are no facilities on this walk, so be sure to take a pack lunch and plenty of liquid.
-
-
Samoens is another pretty village that has lots of lovely walks heading out from the village. A really fun one is the walk up towards the Cascade du Rouget Waterfall.
-
-
-
-
This is a great walk to do in the morning as it only takes about 90 minutes there and back. Afterwards you can have some nice lunch in the main square in Samoens. There is also a lovely traditional ice cream café on one of the little streets running off the square. We really needed this after one of our walks last Summer where the heat was up at 30 degrees in the afternoon.
-
-
If you have a little more time, and don’t mind a bit of a drive one day I highly recommend visiting Annecy. This beautiful town dates back to the 10th Century and is a mix of medieval streets bursting with cafes and shops and the beautiful lac Annecy stretching out from the edge of the town.
-
-
-
It’s a great place to walk round and maybe have a swim in the lake whilst there. There are a few places around the edge of the lac with sun beds to hire. One thing I would like to try on my next visit is to hire a bike and cycle round the perimeter of the lake. It’s a nice flat cycle, and although it would take most of the day that would be if taking it fairly easy and steady, and of course allowing time to stop for some lunch and maybe a dip along the way.
-
-
I would also of course recommend Les Gets as a Winter resort as well. Both our boys learned to ski here, and it’s perfect for beginners and good skiers alike. There are some great cafes on the slopes and it always has a lovely safe and friendly atmosphere in the village.
-
I took my black merino wool roll neck to ski in this week and can confirm it was perfect, warm on the slopes and not too hot in the restaurants at lunch. Being 100% merino wool it's naturally moisture wicking. For anyone lucky enough to be skiing this season I highly recommend one of these.
-
-
Following Christmas and now Alpine eating..... I am looking forward to some healthy and not expensive meal options for February. One of my current favourites is a lazy version of a Jamie Oliver roasted veg curry. It’s very easy to make. I make double the portions and then freeze half for a quick ready-made soup a few week’s down the line.
-
-
Easy Roasted Vegetable Curry:
-
Dice 2 x onions and soften in oil in a large pan.
Chop a large cauliflower, a sweet potato or a squash, and some carrots into chunks.
Place in a roasting tray and cover with a jar of whatever curry sauce you have available. Madras works very well.
Roast until the veg are half cooked through.
Remove half the diced onion from your pan and set aside to cool.
Add half of the roasted veg to the remaining onion in the pan.
Add a cup of red lentils, a tin of coconut milk, half a veg or chicken stock cube and 1 x tin of water.
Simmer until lentils are softened and serve with rice and naan.
You can also sprinkle some chilli and coriander on top for serving.
-
Easy Freezer Ready Curry Roasted Veg Soup:
-
-
For a nice freezer ready soup simply place the leftover roasted curry veg and softened onion (once cooled) into a big freezer bag and pop in the freezer. When you want to make the soup the process is pretty much the same as for the curry.
-
Remove and defrost the contents of the freezer bag. Add to a pan with 1 x tin of coconut milk, half a veg or chicken stock cube, and a tin of water, plus a cup of red lentils. Simmer until the lentils are cooked through and then liquidise all together. This is a really lovely and warming soup with crusty bread dipped in. Add a swirl of yogurt to the bowls to serve.
-
NEW IN!!!! 100% cotton tees and sweatshirts!!!!
-
-
I’m so happy to announce that starting this month we have our new 100% cotton range!!! All made in Europe in a factory using solar power. We are launching our new range with a gorgeous classic but slightly retro shape sweatshirt and two great wardrobe staple tees.
-
I don’t know about you but I have found it so difficult recently to find a a great classic shape sweatshirt that we used to be able to find so easily in the 70s and 80s. These days sweatshirts can be anything from boxy, bell sleeved, or just have a neck that is too high to be genuinely comfortable and flattering.
-
I wanted something I could pull on with jeans or a nice skirt in the summer. I have honestly lived in my final version since it arrived. It also came skiing with me! It’s cosy without being bulky, and we have spent days working on the neck line so that it’s super flattering and doesn’t feel tight at all.
-
-
All of our new range will have our new signature embroidered heart on the sleeve. So many of you loved having a heart as a point of distinction. We hope the heart on the sleeve will become a symbol of sustainability and quality you will love to wear.
-
-
The sweatshirts and tees will be on pre-order from today until Sunday 11th Feb and they will arrive middle/end of March, just in time for Spring and the Easter holidays. As a thank you for pre-ordering, if you pre-order more than one item from our new cotton range you will receive 10% off each item. Simply enter the code "Cotton" at checkout.
-
-
-
Our two new tees; a lovely navy v neck, and a white crew neck with a wider flattering neck line neckline both have a soft slightly curved hem at the hip, which gives a nice flattering shape if you don't like tucking things in.
-
-
Both of these tees will work perfectly with jeans, skirts and under smarter jackets. The cotton is really soft and non see through or clingy!
-
-
My clothing recommendation this month is this long tartan skirt from Next. I have had my eye on this since I first spotted it on Caroline style hacks Instagram. (Such a great account to follow for style tips and fab ideas). Tartan is always a classic, and so is a good midi skirt. I can see me wearing this in Winter with a roll neck and boots, in the Spring with our grey sweatshirt and in the summer with our navy or white tee and some fresh looking white trainers.
-
-
My beauty recommendation is this great little lip glow. Very inexpensive and great for just adding moisture and a hint of colour without being crazy sticky. Available at Boots, Superdrug and lots of other on line beauty stores.
-
-
Have a great February everyone! Sarah x