Nous sommes arrivés

Nous sommes arrivés

I’m sitting on our balcony, drinking a Kir Royale, watching the paragliders over Mont Chery and feeling incredibly thankful that we’re here at all. When we left last August, we fondly believed we’d be back for a month in March and until we passed the Les Gets village sign I was still holding my breath.

So here we are. For 5 whole weeks. Experience tells me it’ll slide away before we know it and I’m determined to make the most of every minute – both work and play. We’ve already packed a huge amount into our first couple of days. The first job was to inspect the village and see how it’s fared in our absence. The answer is mixed – the relentless building work has continued, with some new bars and restaurants springing up as a result. Obviously it’s my duty to check these out and I shall apply myself to this task with my customary thoroughness.

There have been casualties too – our favourite Alpine Bar has closed permanently, along with some restaurants. Covid’s pointy finger hasn’t spared Les Gets any more than anywhere else and it’s very sad to see in a place that has a permanent population of only 1800, and which relies almost entirely on tourism. Even my Roussette habit isn’t going to entirely keep them going, although I’ll make a valiant effort.

Happily, the wonderful Le Tyrol has survived – and has inherited a casualty of the Alpine Bar. We started to get to know Coralie last summer so it was lovely to turn up on Friday night and see her working there, especially as she remembered us and was even glad to see us. Le Tyrol produces the best pizzas in Les Gets and my inner Irish is gladdened by the offering that contains potato. That, along with a friend from home phoning to buy us a bottle of wine made for a memorable and extremely happy first evening. The first of 35. How great is that?

Nick and I have been together for 17 years. This in itself is quite extraordinary when you think about it – which we try not to, just in case. For 16 years and 11 months of this time we’ve been talking about wanting to spend more time in France. Driving back to the Eurotunnel in 2019, I stopped wailing and gnashing my teeth long enough to announce that we either had to do something about it or stop talking about it. In that moment, the three months of the year in Les Gets plan was born.

I have plenty more to say about this but it’ll keep for another day. Right now, the kir royale, sunshine and the promise of a BBQ is calling. The summer is stretching out in front of me, full of running, hiking, eating and working. We have visits from friends and family planned, to keep us from going too feral – and to give me the joy of sharing this amazing place with them.