Dutchman and I booked a special dinner date in the mountains during our skiing trip last January. The restaurant is located in the slopes and the gondolas are usually closed after 17:00 but for this dinner they are exclusively opening the gondola for the evening diners.
We were promised with a nice evening up in the slopes, a 3-course dinner inclusive of aperitifs, hors d’oeuvres, wines, champagne, coffee and some fireworks. Oh, we might even spot some wild animals as well since they usually come out at night.
Special Night Trip to the Slopes
The confirmed diners met at the Cret de la Brive gondola cabin station at 19:00 and in 15 minutes we were on our way up. It is my first time to ride a gondola up in the mountains in the evening. The dinner suddenly felt like a little excursion.
The restaurant is located just beside the station landing of the Cret de la Brive gondola in the slopes. We were herded to the upper lounge room of the restaurant where we were served with aperitifs, peanuts and warm hors d’oeuvres. Bottles of locally fruit-flavoured spirits were opened.
We met a young friendly couple and two women friends who were a bit older than Dutchman and I. They were ski fanatics who spent most of their time skiing during the entire holiday. Dutchman and I on the other hand spent less time skiing and snowboarding during this holiday, which somehow surprised us a bit. Times are changing for us but we are learning to just go along the flow.
After the drinks and group tete-a-tete which made everyone settle down in a nice mood, we were ushered to the main restaurant to be wined and dined. The restaurant was decked in red, even the candle lights were red.
Because the candle lights stand was not tall enough and I guess my curly long hair was all over the place, there was a huge chance I could have come out of this dinner a skinhead, bald and whiskerless. Just imagine.
Thankfully, I have a very quick reflex! WHEW.
It happened when I excused myself to visit the toilet. When I stood up, I bent down and I guess my flowy curly long hair got caught in the fire. The first thing I noticed was a zzzzztttttt! noise on my left ear which I quickly followed with a brush of my hand. I cannot thank myself enough for doing this because this particular action led to stopping the fire from spreading out and eating my hair. It was so quick, everything happened in just a split of a second. I then smelled something burning. It was my freaking hair that got burned! So I rushed to the toilet and made a mess there.
Burnt hair was falling off from my head on the lavatory. Lots of them, I was horrified! But more horrified at the prospect of going back to our chalet that night bald and scalding from the burn. I got lucky, really lucky because of my quick reflex.
I have never been bald, although when I was in high school, I cut one side of my hair really short the skin of my head is already showing while the other side has long hair. When you are young, stubborn and eccentric, you tend to do crazy things in trying to keep your identity in tact, but often fail because the act just screams attention seeking disorder, haha. Those were the days.
Anyway, I cleaned up and the lavatory as well and went back to the table poised as if nothing happened. The evening must continue =)
3-Course Dinner, Champagne and Fireworks
This dinner is 4.1 stars out of 5. It was nice, I like the idea of the welcome aperitif and snacks in a separate room to get everyone settled in and mingle with each other. The food was quite good.
Travel Period: January 2014
Destination: Valloire (Savoie – Rhone-Alpes), France
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Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)