My enemies...

This weekend, I had to face my enemies once again, those horrible and evil contraptions - my ski boots. Once or twice (twice last year) a year, my feet would have to face their enemies for a few days to a week. During this time, they would be bound like bak chang and made to endure below freezing temperatures while I attempt to ski (or snow plough) down the slopes. This weekend was one of those times.

We went to Cervinia (the italian side of the famous Matterhorn) for 5 days. We stayed with in this family run Italian hotel which was fantastic. The food was to die for and the hotel had a really nice chalet feel and charm. No fake smiles or forced small talk, just some good (sometimes gruff) warm Italian frankness. We met and chatted with 2 couples during the trip, one from Sweden and another British, both quite nice and friendly. The Swedish guy was really quite animated and he was telling us about how he visited Singapore in 1974 and 1989 and his experiences in Bugis Street etc. On his excellent recommendation, we visited a mountain restaurant, called Chalet Etoile which served amazing seafood (unbelievable right? seafood on the slopes of Cervinia) - the food was so good that at some point, I actually forgot that I had my enemies on. The ski runs were fantastic, so YL and I had the opportunity to work on our carving.

Anyway, we returned to London yesterday, well fed, well rested and satisfied. I was very glad that I could get to watch British TV again. Watching "X factor" or "Who wants to be a millionaire" in Italian was really testing. All in all the holiday was great, my feet were the only casualties but they're now recovering fine. YL and I are going to a jap restaurant Soseki www.soseki.co.uk tonight to celebrate her belated birthday (it was yesterday) and we're both looking forward to eating something other than Italian for a change.

Next skiing trip will be in March, at Obergurgl in Austria. I heard the food and the atmostphere there is nice but its going to be tough (at least food wise) to beat the Italians.