Cruise News TOP STAGE & SCREEN HITS AT SEA
down the beginners’ slope. By day three, we were parallel skiing down the steep forest road, albeit with a fall or two on “death mountain” – a particularly steep part of the route (for us, anyway!).
By day five, we were almost pros as we comfortably skied from one of the highest points at 10,000ft across a series of blue runs (and an all-important red), letting us appreciate the sheer scale of the Paradiski pistes – all 264 miles of them.
That day, we skied all four areas of Les Arcs including Arc 1950. Nicknamed “the Disneyland in the mountains”, it is a pedestrian-only, ski-in, ski-out resort above Bourg-SaintMaurice.
We also stopped at the mountainside restaurant Les Chalets de L’Arc on Arc 2000. Here, we lapped up the fantastic views as we sat outside and tucked into a traditional and delicious meal of baked bread filled with cabbage, cheese and sausage.
On Les Arcs, the ski lifts close at 4.30pm, but that is when the area really comes to life and the famous apres-ski kicks in. There are bars, umbrella bars and restaurants located in all of the villages of Les Arcs. In some villages there are also clubs.
We found ourselves at the Mont Blanc bar in the nearby village of Peisey-Vallandry, inset left, where most of the staff and punters were British and a great live band played into the small hours of the morning.
Vallandry is also the ideal place for buying gifts and local delicacies.
On the opposite side of Les Arcs is La Plagne, linked by the Vanoise Express cable car. The panoramic views from this impressive doubledecker lift are quite something as it crosses the 6,000ft gap in just four minutes.
In the valley below Plan Peisey sits the village of Peisey, along with a collection of other small settlements known as Peisey-Nancroix.
Peisey is an attractive little Alpine settlement complete with a Baroque church. It connects with Plan-Peisey via a quaint bucket lift – locally known as the “lobster pots”.
The ride down was great fun and the views were out of this world.
After a stroll through the snowcovered town, we came across a freshly made igloo, which I couldn’t resist climbing into.
Our trip was so much fun. Not only did I learn to ski on real snow but I also got to visit some beautiful places on – and off – the slopes.
But with so much more to see, we just didn’t have time, so Jay and I have promised ourselves that we will return – if only to enjoy the hospitality of Ski Beat once more. CRUISE entertainment has seen a sea change, with a new wave of ships equipped with state-of-the-art technology bringing the West End and Broadway to the water.
And the growing popularity of live music on cruises gives fans the chance to get on a boat that rocks – all included in the fare… For its latest ship Horizon, Carnival has raised the bar, teaming up with top creative directors from both Broadway and the West End to stage three dazzling shows. Soulbound is a high energy journey through New Orleans. While in Celestial Strings, classical meets pop in an enchanted garden, and Vintage Pop takes the audience back to the Great Gatsby era. More at carnival.com.
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cruising.org.