Goulaszes On Tour: Life as a mature age ski bum!

fe As a Mature Age Ski Bum – Part 1

Bonjour from Val D’Isere where life is starting to settle down and the two mature age ski bums are slowly finding their way around this grand ski village!

As for the title, well it really does feel like we are the ‘mature age students’ of the village :) I can’t say that bothers me in the slightest, in fact I’m rather glad my maturity has found us in our own apartment (not crammed in with 7 other smellies), one of the best paying jobs in town and out of most of the English bars, typically inhabited by rich 19 year old English chalet girls on their gap year sporting fluffy impractical everything (boots, gloves, hats, jackets – you name it, it has fluff on it!) and early 20s English or Swedish grommets with their jeans hanging half way down their arse and some trendy hat. I look forward to a time when the real snow falls and we get to see them slipping and sliding all over the place in their ‘apres’gear (not that I’m at all jealous they have daddy’s Pounds to spend on boutique designer wear!!).

As for work, our employers are similarly delighted with our performance. Most days we arrive in a sprightly fashion looking forward to the 3 or 4 hour shift (poor form I know but it will take a while to get those drinking legs going and of course mature age ski bums just can’t work on a hangover!) It must be something to do with the altitude (or our age!?) but after 4 or 5 drinks we both seem to have woken up with shocking headaches!! Only to be fixed by a trip to the local patisserie for chocolate éclairs or other Val D’Isere gateaux specialities :) Konrad in particular has seen a revolving door of young blokes, advised not to come in the next day. Dicks’ Tea Bar (really dodgy meat market in town) must be full of grommets talking about that balding Aussie bloke in La Daille who takes his job entirely too seriously and has thus set the bench mark too high for any of them to gain employment for the season! I mean who would work solidly for a 4 hour shift, not take breaks, and seek conversation from their mates who drop by? (Clearly, only a mature age ski bum who thinks 4 hour shifts are a breeze!?) I will add that both the ski rental and clothes stores where we work are now mainly inhabited by Aussies & Kiwis, who according to our bosses, Phillipe & Simonetta, seem to have the best work ethic. With me being the only one who speaks high school French, serving customers is always entertaining!

Our social life has taken a while to get going. After wondering into a few clubs full of teenagers it became apparent we really did look like a couple of mature age uni students at the uni bar. We have since found our place in a French bar called ‘Bar L'Alexandra’ which is run by a Kiwi guy Phil, who incidentally is married to a French girl and speaks perfect French (as odd as a Kiwi speaking French sounds!?). The place also seems to be inhabited with late 20 somethings, a few of them born and bred in Val. Nice and relaxed, you can hear yourself over the music (can’t believe I just said that) and they don’t sell shooters!

I work with a 21 year old English girl and manage to live vicariously through her nights out. She keeps me informed of all the cool bars, big nights, places to go (or not too) and general shenanigans of the young crowd!

So life is good! We have befriended a few of the French locals, either through work, or going out to bars or to eat and are still looking to find more mature age bums such as ourselves. Our next venture out is likely to the Val D’Isere yoga club for a couple of evening yoga sessions :).

Maybe by the next installment we will be downing Long Island Ice Teas with the best of them – there is some hope these mature age students will eventually assimilate – but then again, perhaps not!

Aurevoir et a Bientot!

Ps Here are some recent pics;
Life As a Mature Age Ski Bum – Part 1

The architecturally award winning building where the Goulaszes will spend the season (yeah I know it’s f*&king ugly but it did really win an award)