On Friday we went to our favourite thermal baths and listened to whales under water and Mozart. Every now and then we went outside to the larger pool seen here where we were swirled around in the jet pool and lay on the bubble beds, had our heads and necks pummelled under jets of water and stood in intense bubble pools to aerate our bodies. We both went to the Hammam and steamed ourselves into a coma then back for a last whale and Mozart refrain before hauling ourselves out and home for a late lunch. We are trying to eat all the food that OAP in his squirrel like fashion bought when we first arrived! We worked out that if we cook masses of food and consume it every night we wont have to throw anything away! He bought 46 eggs for God's sake - I never want to see an egg again! We are down to two packs of chicken breasts, a pizza and 500 gms mince - I shall be glad to go back on diet again would you believe - well, OK, I don't believe it either!! But I will try as I really enjoyed my smaller figure and the fact that all my clothes fitted better and nothing pinched. Only trouble was that I had just splashed out on larger clothes but I am sure that one day I will fit back in them (especially if I go on eating like this!).
Yesterday, after a huge eggy breakfast, we took the telecabine up to the top and walked up higher to see the "new lake". What a disappointment! There was no water in it! But apparently it fills during October and November and the water is used for making snow on the slopes. This last winter, we are told, it came in very handy as they had strange weather and very little snow in the middle of the season. They were able to make snow on the slopes every night and none of the visitors realised it wasn't God-given natural snow! Itwould be nice if it was full during the summer months especially as they apparently had one of the wettest June and Julys in years! Perhaps its just as well we couldn't come here earlier. After walking down through the trees to Taveyenne we found our favourite picnic spot and had bread, cheese and water for lunch then slogged back up to the Telecabine and back down to our car.
Today we are in "preparation for close down" mode. OAP is doing the paperwork which he always leaves till the last minute and I am packing clothes and bedding away. We had a 3 month let last winter and are hoping for one again this winter. I don't have to leave bedding out for them so am packing it all neatly into plastic bags and storing it. We have done a lot of ruthless clearing out this visit - OAP actually managed to go through a suitcase filled with his ex's and son's clothing. He, of course in true squirrel fashion, tried to keep the lot but after he left me alone in the garage (where the case was stored) I managed to weed out lots from his "keep" pile, then rushed it all off to the decheterie (the most organised, cleanest, tip you have ever seen! EVERYTHING is carefully sorted and put into special bins. They wouldn't even take the clothing until I had bought bags and seperated it: Mens and ladies, pants, shirts, socks, undies, etc.). We now have a bit more room to store stuff when we leave on Wednesday.
I can't wait to get back to Utopia to see how the garden is doing, I looked on the weather report and it showed rain but that doesn't really mean much as it can be raining cats and dogs in Utopia and not anywhere else and vice versa.
