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NewsletterJanuary 2009

Winter in the French Alps

Winter 2009 in the French Alps.

Skiing in Megève

This is shaping up to be a great year for skiing thanks to the most December snow in the Alps in over 50 years. Just before Christmas I along with my son went skiing in Megeve. We skied with my good friend, Mike Beaudet, aka ‘Megève Mike’. The snow was really coming down, making for a fun drive up to Megeve! In total there were 20 centimeters that day.
Then a few days later we went skiing on our own, still in Megeve. We started on the short beginner (and free) slope and then moved on to the longer green slope. We bought passes to take the chair lifts. What’s nice about Megeve is that you can buy a beginner’s pass to use the lower green runs and not have to buy a pass for the whole domain. The cost is 10.50€. For us that was fine as we aren’t great skiers – yet.
We skied on the Rochebrune and rented our skis through La Croix Sports. If you need a place to park I suggest the parking lot across from the Royal Rochebrune Hotel. The slopes are only a five minute walk away and you can buy your tickets on the way. See some photos I took.

Liane

Liane is the name of a new section of Autoroute (toll highway) between Annecy and Geneva. It stands for ‘Liaison Annecy Nord Express’ and at 5.50€ for 19 kilometers (12 miles) is the most expensive toll highway in France. This is due to the fact the Autoroute was built without state aid. Best estimate is that 23,000 people will use Liane everyday.
It’s debatable if Liane will solve the Geneva traffic problem, one goal of local planners. The road may increase traffic problems, caused by bottlenecks at many border crossings into Switzerland. Many crossings are two lanes or less. What Liane will help is traffic on French roads leading to Geneva. These roads are two lanes and go through villages and towns. That makes for a slow drive during rush hour.
Before Liane opened to motorize traffic there was an ‘open house’. The family and I walked on the Autoroute. We saw classic cars and listened to some music. You can also watch a local newscast about Liane (in French).

Le jeu des mille euros

Late last month my town had a visit from the radio game show Le jeu des mille euros. The show broadcast weekdays from 12.45 pm to 1.00 pm on France Inter with a quiz format. I listen whenever I’m in my car at that time.
Le jeu des mille euros is somewhat like Jeopardy. Only listeners send in the questions. Le jeu des mille euros travels throughout France broadcasting from different locations. Shows start with the host providing some local history and then introducing the two contestants.
Contestants are selected just before show time and work together to answer questions.
Questions are divided into blue (easiest), white and red (hardest), followed by a Banco and then a Super Banco question.
To win 1000 euros contestants must answer six of the blue, white and red questions correctly. If they do that, then they must answer the Banco and Super Banco questions. Listeners who are able to stump the contestants are also able to win money.
This is the web site of Le jeu des mille euros. My town’s show airs January 13th, 14th and 15th 2009. This is Le jeu des mille euros Wikipedia entry, in French.

Other newsletters

In last month’s edition I recommended a few other newsletters. I forgot to mention these two:
Aude & Ariege Flyer: Events and other happenings in the Aude and Ariege departments of France.
English Speakers in France Newsletter.

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