Bath, Beer and Bed (But don't mention the food!)

With the first afternoons skiing done and dusted, and people returning from the slopes in drips and drabs, it was time to unpack and find all the stuff that I really should have worn or taken with me that day, like my thermals and the fleecy thing that keeps my neck warm.

After a hot bath though, my body temperature was back to normal and all was well with the world, so it was off to the supermarket for those holiday essentials, beer, nibbles (lots of them), coke to go in my Bacardi, gin and tonic for the ladies and a sack of oranges!! for Les. Then it was back to the hotel to get stuck into our provisions. We just had time to down a couple of beers for Gary and me and a couple of G&Ts for Les and Karen, and stuff ourselves with a few crisp, nut and olives.

Now it was time to join the rest of the gang downstairs in the bar, for some more beer, G&Ts and a few more nibbles. The time had now rolled on to 7.30 and with gay abandon we all tripped into the hotel dining room in great anticipation of the feast that was to follow. Oh dear!! To say the food in the evenings was a bit disappointing would be a major understatement.

Things did not get off to a good start. The waiters came around and asked if we wanted water, yes we all said, can I have your room number then, meaning we had to buy the water. Is there any wine we asked, yes you can buy that as well?

Now the evening meal consisted of a buffet salad, which was not too bad. Except this first night when there just was not enough to go round, a good number of us ended up with a couple of lettuce leaves and some shredded carrot. Ok if you’ve got pointed ears, a twitching nose, and your name is Peter.

This was followed by some pasta, which was just about passable. We also found on our tables, a piece of paper with a menu on it, which as we discovered, was the menu for the following evening, and we had to make our choice that night. Just like being in hospital, and I’m afraid to say that the main course was just like something you would get in hospital! But all you got was meat and one veg? Tonight’s delight was some carrots and a piece of very fatty pork. I should think the poor pig had died from being obese and unable to move. Not the most appetising of meals I ever had.

To compound things even more I had to ask the waiters three times for another beer, and was eventually told that the barman had run out of glasses. My obvious thought was why doesn’t he get of his ass and collected the glasses off the tables so I could have a beer. A few minutes later, the barman did appear, rather reluctantly, did just that and a beer duly arrived.

Still it could have been worse, especially if you were vegetarian. They were served up what looked like a pancake, a crepe I thought. I was later informed that it was in fact an omelette! Where most chefs would use a whisk to beat eggs, this guy obviously used a rolling pin.

Dessert was passable as you cant go to wrong with ice cream and cheese. I had better add that these were in fact served separately. However, it would have been nice to have some biscuits and not just a plate of cheese. I also noticed that as people were going up for cheese the waiters very swiftly spirited away any remaining bread from the tables.

And that was the end of a far from satisfactory evening meal, could it get any worse? Well keep following this blog and all will be revealed.

Some people now retired to the bar and there was talk about going out and sampling the evening delights of Les Deux Alpes, but generally speaking, tiredness was setting in for most as we had all been up at such an uncivilised hour and all that could be managed was a few games of Pigs and Jenga. But we were kept amuse by Les constantly banging her head on the radiator.

So the first day of the holiday drew to a close with virtually everyone, and I ashamed to admit myself include, tucked up in bed before midnight!!