New Year and Snow in Courmayeur

At the foot of Mont Blanc, on 31/12/05, my inseparable... friend and I set off. We arrive quickly, after a couple of hours of motorway, a muffled, snowy landscape, cold and a grey sky, but we're not discouraged... it's the end of the old year, we're celebrating!! We settle into the hotel, a very welcoming three-star, warm, clean, nice and well furnished... in the attic, we're comfortable and cosy....in the little attic room that makes everything hotter. Lunch in a typical mountain restaurant, lots of people around Courmayeur that day....after lunch a heavy snowfall blocks us and we settle into the wellness area of our hotel. We're the only ones pampering ourselves that afternoon, sauna and whirlpool with a window to watch the snow falling outside non-stop....we take photos and rest carefully to prepare for the evening.

A stop at the hotel bar over a hot tea, various chats, comments....we get ready for the evening and take photos in the room, a little muffled, warm world.....that keeps us there like a broody hen....dressed to the nines, we go out early to make our way into the narrow streets of the town while all the cars drive with chains and it's freezing cold.....we with our stiletto heels and backcombed hairdos, sheepskin coats and handbags......We arrive at the Mont Frety, a very trendy venue that keeps us entertained all New Year's night... We arrive and there's still no one, then gradually the place fills up and the aperitif gets going.....dressed-up tables, flowers, rich people covered in jewels, young waiters and insolent kids.

A little disheartened we begin to dance!! The musical entertainment shocks us and cuts our legs from under us, but undaunted we throw ourselves at the food.....halfway through dinner some guys arrive, they sit down not far from us, a few comments.....then food and more food......everything goes smoothly.....a little after eleven the guys not far from us, Parma footballers, invite us to make the midnight toast with them and sit at their table, can you say no? NO! We grab our things and move over.......midnight comes and all hell breaks loose......music, horns, balloons, streamers, sparkling wine and people shouting and laughing, it's chaos.........everyone hugs, exchanges wishes, eats and drinks......we dance!! And off with the conga line.....hot, steamy Latin dances and a bit of rock!! On it goes....A table of Russians, some Germans, Americans, we even get to know the musician...and on wi

th the celebrations.....our footballers strut to the rhythm of the music and we dance among arms and strangers. The alcohol clouds but doesn't stun, and after one o'clock lentils and cotechino are eaten for the luck of the new year......then limoncello and wine.....then the classic silliness of those with their noses in the air......outside, the fireworks of 2006 make themselves heard until late, and meanwhile it has started snowing furiously again, snow and snow......luxury cars and people on foot pass by, everyone celebrates the new year with thundering voices. The Mont Frety is a lake of sparkling wine and children dancing on the tables....the music at high volume.....some laugh, some make friends, some talk, some dance, some still eat.....

End of the party......After two everything shuts down and we decide to head into the fray to get back to our cosy, warm hotel that isn't far from the venue but with a blizzard and high heels.....not easy to face the street that separates us from the warm room! On the way back we meet lots of celebrating people and the movement is palpable.....it's snowing and seems unwilling to stop. We reach the hotel and collapse in the room.....tired, chilled, in screaming pyjamas and down under the covers, the last time I looked at the clock... past three.......we slept like dormice and the morning greeted us with an inhuman sun spreading in every direction....everything muffled by the snow that had fallen during the night, it was a spectacle.

The snow-white mountains, the sun that lit everything up, the icy cold that embraced us, little snowy streets, roofs overflowing with snow......we decided to head to the breakfast room and had a breakfast equal to a lunch. There was everything, from pastries to boiled eggs, from cold cuts to jam, coffee, tea, milk, yoghurt and cereals.....we ate next to a wide window overlooking the garden and admired the beautiful landscape in the warmth. We set off before midday and went to Aosta, where we took a walk in the city, which was sad and cold; on New Year's Day everyone was at home recovering from the night. In the afternoon we set off for the return below zero! A comfortable, fast journey; we had spent a lovely New Year's Eve and, happy about it, we threw ourselves into the warm beds of our homes for a well-deserved, healthy rest.

Courmayeur is a beautiful mountain resort and holds all the qualities of the high mountains and of the more or less VIP people who visit it, narrow streets and shops with eye-watering prices, boutiques and venues, polenta and fondue, decorations and groups of skiers out for a relaxing stroll. The buses that took people to the slopes were packed with bundled-up people and the streets soaked in snowy slush....houses full of people ready for their ski weeks and a festive atmosphere everywhere. We ate very well that evening and I still remember the menu....And then that sensation, snow and frost outside and me there, in the thermal pool....in a kind of semi-basement of the very rustic hotel.....a warmth.....sauna.....an environment that satisfied me very much, like the hotel itself.

Hotel Berthod, very close to the town centre, and the regret of not having made it to the ski slopes gives me the push to say: I'll be back.