Ciao Italia

Say hello to Frank, who is giving us a quick introduction as to what we would be doing for the day.

Altogether now.... Hellloooo Frannnnkkkk!

He owns the hotel we are staying at, and every week him and his wife Simone (who is wearing the purple coat and having a chuckle to herself) takes their guests on a ski day across the Alps.

Zermatt is situated on the Swiss/Italian border, so Frank planned out a ski route that would take us over into Italy, with the promise of a hearty Italian lunch at the end!

Zip those coats up guys and girls, we are off on an adventure!

We jumped in a cable car from Trockener Steg and headed up to 4000m to the Klein Matterhorn Station, or as Frank called it, 'The Top of Europe.’

It literally is the highest station in Europe, as the conductor told us in multiple languages on the way up before ending with 'Bye Bye Good Day.'

The English laughed, the Swiss smiled, and everyone else looked confused.

Skiing isn't just about the slopes, its about the amazing views you see when you are high up the mountains. It’s something you don’t see everyday when stuck on the underground, or working next to the window in the middle of a city.

The views are one of those things that make you stop what you are doing, take a moment to look around you, and just say ‘Wow.’

See what I mean? It is incredible!

Some of us were a little worse for wear from the Apres Ski, so took a moment to lay down and take in the cold air to feel normal again.

Whilst me and my hangover was propped up by dad to have the obligatory 'Look How High Up We Are' photo to send home to mum!

Down the slope, you can see the Matterhorn in all its glory. This is what Zermatt is famed for, as it is one of the 10 highest peaks in the Swiss Alps at over 4400m high! The first climb up was in 1865, which ended with two of the climbers not coming back, and you can still climb it today (though a little more safely!).

Here is a fun fact for you, the four faces of the mountain faces exactly north, south, east and west. 

There is also an on-going story that the Italians want to turn the Matterhorn round so they can see it in it’s best angle, but the Swiss folk have been refusing for decades!

Tall, pointy and a compass...pretty impressive work there mother nature!

We then headed down some of the red and black slopes towards La Testa Grigia, the border for Switzerland and Italy, dropping down through the clouds moments before they were blew away by the wind to reveal blue skies!

Time for a quick mid-morning Glühwein at the boarder I think!

Whilst we warmed up, Frank told us how on the sunniest of days the slopes are filled with tourists and locals trying to get down to Italy in time to taste their food - so much so that sometimes you have to wait a while for the slope to clear if you wanted a decent run down! He also went on to tell us that we would need Euros if we wanted to buy anything, not Francs.

Instead of worrying about which (or lack of) currency we needed, we gulped down the rest of our drinks...

...Before we took the plunge to beat the crowds and headed into Italy, shooting down the slopes towards Valtournenche.

After a morning of skiing we reached Valtournenche, and headed to the Hotel Rascard for that promised Italian lunch.

Which is also known as the 'so-much-food-how-am-I-going-to-move-afterwards' meal!

I absolutely love Italian food, and this was no exception. There were 21 courses in total, but I won't bore you with photos of every course (sorry foodie's), but it was brilliant.

It just kept coming and coming, to the point where I didn't know if I could eat another bite!

Then dessert came out!

Who can say no to dessert!

At the end of the courses, Frank came over to break some 'bad news' to us...

All the wine and spirits on the table had to be drunk before we left.

Music to our ears, we grabbed the bottles, shared it out and gave a big ching of cheers around the table to Frank and Simone for a great day!

15 very full, slightly tipsy skiers left the hotel and headed for the chairlift back up to the top.

Ready to ski down with our very own traffic lights guiding the way!

Who didn't do a very good job at all!

Although he did pick himself up to the cheers of the rest of us, found his skis buried in the soft snow, and carried on down the slopes till we reached half way down the final run of the day...

Apres Ski, we meet again!

I'm off to get another couple (I mean a lot) of drinks!

Italy, it was a pleasure!