Italy+Switzerland//Ski trip!

This post’s chronology is a bit messy... I was writing whenever I had the chance. Sometimes in the present, sometimes in the future. Whoops, and sorry in advance!

FEB 21~FEB 29

Today we woke up at 5:30 am and were on the road at around 6 am. I can’t sleep, I think I’m just too excited, or maybe it’s cause I’ve been sleeping the entire week. I got really sick and ended up having tonsillitis 😩 It’s ok though! I got enough rest to be good just in time. UPDATE: I got in a 1hr of sleep until I woke up from the sunrise. My host siblings fell in and out of sleep till about 11 am (now). I remember writing about enjoying the drive through France when I went to Paris. I still do! It’s really gorgeous seeing all of the changes in scenery. Going from the flats of Belgium to the vineyards in France, to the mountains, and soon to Switzerland. Update: after 7hrs in the car we arrived in Geneva, Switzerland. We went on a gondola called the téléphérique to see the city from birds view. We saw Lake Geneva down below, and above the city were some mountains of France and Switzerland. After, we drove into the city to walk around. There isn’t a whole lot to do, but it was a gorgeous city and a gorgeous day. I was in complete awe of just BEING in Switzerland. It's one of my top bucket list countries. Even looking at a garbage can made my jaw drop because it was a garbage can in SWITZERLAND!!! I'm so excited to return one day 💕 Then, we went to my host mum’s aunt's house for dinner and a sleepover. We had fondue 🤢 but it’s fine. I’ve gotten better at eating it and enjoying the cheese. It’s definitely not my favourite but I’ll gladly eat a few pieces. I can't tell the difference in cheese but APPARENTLY this one was really really good. My host sister and I got to sleepover at the aunt's house. My host parents and brother stayed at a hotel nearby. In the morning they came back for breakfast, and then we were off. The route for today is about 3hrs to our ski resort in Italy. WHOOO! The sun is shining, the mountains are out, I can tell it'll be a great day, and an amazing week! WOAH we just drove through a tunnel in the mountain that started in France, and we came out the other end in Italy. THE HECK!!! Update: We finally arrived. We sorted out the apartment and then went into the village to get our rentals and explore a bit. We're staying in the ski village of Cervinia, located in northern Italy. Our ski resort splits down into Switzerland, and we got passes that'll let us pass over into that resort whenever we want! I am SO SO SO excited. The forecast shows a week of almost perfect conditions, and we're in one of the best ski areas in the world. I am so lucky, and grateful.

Update: We spent the night eating pasta and playing card games 😊. Tomorrow, we hit the slopes! WHOOHOO!

DAY ONE of ski is done, and it was amazing. Our apartment building is right on the hill, so it was really easy to get up in the morning and just ski directly down to the lift. The skies were blue, and the conditions were great. It's so hot! Like 0-5+ degrees!? In February?! I had to ski in my long sleeve! How's that Canda? We stopped to eat our lunch on a big rock and got some goggle tanning in. For dinner, we went to an Italian restaurant and I got my first pizza in Italy! It was amazing, as you can imagine 😉

DAY TWO we skied into Switzerland! It was a great day! I got to see the Toblerone bar mountain, and we skied all the way down to the famous ski village of Zermatt. There were some really great runs! We ate lunch on some logs in the snow. I think this was one of the best days of my life!!! I got all my rusty dusty kinks out on day one and today really couldn't have been more perfect. I was rippin down the slopes, and feeling complete bliss. We had dinner in our teeny tiny apartment with my host families close friends who were also on vacation.

DAY THREE the blizzard came. There was lots of snow, wind, and we couldn't see anything. I also had a terrible nose bleed that lasted about 2hrs in the morning, and such a bad headache afterwards. I only got in about 2hrs of skiing that day before I had to send myself back to the apartment and sleep. At least this monstrous nose bleed showed up on a snow day!

DAY FOUR was another snow day, but the visibility was better. There was so much powder from yesterday. I LOVED it! Everyone's legs were pretty burnt out by lunch. We spent lots of time just relaxing at the "Apres Ski". Apres Ski's are outdoor patios on the mountain where you can relax and unwind a little with your boots up and faces in the sun. My host family really enjoys spending time there. At night, we went back to the Italian restaurant and I got... yes you guessed it, PIZZA! still delish.

DAY FIVE was another amazing day! This trip has gone by so quickly! I can't believe it. The sun was back out today and we got to profit from all of the fresh snow. It started getting super windy and snowy again around dinner. We ate in a beautiful chalet on the hill. I had the best steak I've eaten since being in Canada. (meat in Belgium is not so great) And I got ice cream with berries for dessert. YUMMM!

DAY SIX, last day 😭 Today we were planning on going into Switzerland again but ended up not being able to because it was too windy up at the top of the mountain, and we couldn't pass over. It ended up being ok, we spent our day playing in the snow and dancing at the Apres Ski. As the day went by, some of the lifts at our resort started to open. We still got a few hours of great skiing in. Before I knew it we were eating our last meal in the teeny tiny apartment, and packing up!

some pictures:

And then there was the bittersweet return... This was one of the best weeks of my life. I got to visit 2 incredible new countries that I've always dreamed of seeing. I got to ski in blue skies, eat delicious pizza, and make memories with an amazing host family that I'll never forget! Thank you SO SO SO much Michel, Manuella, Auriane, and Matthieu for an amazing week! ♥️♥️♥️

I hope that was an ok update for you guys! Love you all!

Bisous ~Z