Alpe d'Huez Apres Ski Report: 14th January 2010
I'd like to say that this week's Aprés Report will show my more sophisticated self and prove to be a calmer, more mature approach to the week's party scene. And in many ways, that's true. I haven't been burning the candle at both ends this week, and instead have moved some my ski-free activities to the daytime so there's still been plenty of fun!
After dancing the night away on Thursday to DJ Mavro at Smithy's Tavern I was grateful for the blizzard that allowed me a much-needed lie-in on Friday morning. However, The Boyfriend had other ideas and having read in last week's report how much I wanted to go to the new tea house – and let me say here, it wasn't a surprise – he'd set the morning aside to spend it drinking tea and eating cakes. Needless to say it was 11am by the time we got there but it was so worth clambering out of bed for the experience. We had a variety of cakes and pastries between us, washed down with organic tea. The selection was amazing and the ambiance is very calm. It's not the cheapest café in town, with our final bill topping 20€, but it's definitely worth popping in for a treat, or two, or three...
On Saturday I went skiing with the crew from Lounge 21 to celebrate Madeleine's birthday. We lunched at Les Airelles, which is the restaurant on the left as you enter Montfrais via the Chalets and Travers pistes. The menu is standard mountain fare but the presentation is excellent and the portions are a good size. Watch out though, they do charge an extra 20 cents for a slice of lemon in your soft drink... cheeky!
We decided that the trek out to Montfrais and back was enough skiing for a birthday and headed for the newest bar in Alpe d'Huez, the Ice Bar at 2100m. It's set below the restaurant at the DMC mid-station, through a door below the right side of the terrace and is definitely worth a visit. It's easily the coolest bar in the Southern Alps, being made entirely from ice and snow. The interior is decorated with sculptures and neon lights and the DJ was playing some excellent House. We had birthday shots in glasses made of ice, courtesy of barman Christophe and a mini bottle of Laurent Perrier. Just as we were about to leave, notorious part-time seasonaires Nick and Alex arrived, complete with a credit card for a larger bottle of Champagne. Seduced by the music, the lights and the flowing booze, it took us a couple of hours to get out of the bar and make our way gingerly down the darkening pistes into resort.
On Sunday night I forfeited dinner at the swanky new Alpages restaurant in favour of the highly recommended – and far more reasonably priced – Edelweiss. Here you can get main courses for under 20€ and huge helpings of traditional mountain food. They also have a good selection of fish and I ate the red mullet with a green salad and tarte tatin for dessert. The Boyfriend had a chunk of beef and reported it to be tasty and lean. The restaurant is decorated to resemble a traditional chalet and is an inexpensive choice if you're dining as a large group. We were – of course – accosted by the photographer from Star Photo, as is the norm when you dine out in Alpe d'Huez. It's a peculiar French tradition to have your photo taken while eating out on holiday and one that many Brits, us included, find embarrassing to the point of hilarity; especially when they charge you 25€ for a photo in which you blatantly have the giggles.
By Tuesday night it was time to calm it down a little, so we opted for the best grown-up takeaway pizza in town: Peppone. Situated by the Sphere Bar above the main high street, the pizza is oven baked and heaving with topping. They also sell mini tubs of Ben and Jerry's ice cream, which takes care of dessert.
Coming up this week there are a few party nights organised in the British bars, it's Lounge barman Dylan's birthday on Friday and I'm sure I'll be popping into the Ice Bar again. But tonight it's a quiet dinner at home and then off to Lounge 21 to see what Tom's created for his celebrated Café Gourmand. Yum!
For a full list of this week's events, check out our What's On Calendar. You can also find full Bar and Restaurant listings in the Dining and Going Out section of the site.
