Summer in the French alps #loveMorzine

Home from a fantastic week in Morzine in the French alps.

Courtesy of Pure Morzine https://www.puremorzine.com/
&  Chalet Kitchen https://www.chaletkitchen.com/

It all started back in November when I got a phone call off Ric @ Pure Morzine to confirm that I had won the competition.  I enter lots of competitions but never dreamt I would win a holiday.  I was very shocked and excited when I got the call. When entering we were asked if we would like to win a winter or summer holiday.  I had opted for winter option but as we had already booked our ski holiday for Feb 2018 and the prize was to be taken mid Jan 2018, Ric was kind enough to let us change the prize to the summer option which was to be taken 21st to 28th July.

The price included 7 nights in a self catering apartment with catering for 6 nights from Chalet Kitchen (more on them later). So we just had to get some flights booked to Geneva.

Once it was all confirmed we booked out flights with EasyJet from Manchester to Geneva.  Geneva is only about a one hour and twenty minute transfer to Morzine.

We travelled down to Manchester via train from Middlesbrough the night before our early morning flight.  We got 1st class return for £40 each - be sure to book early to get the best prices.

We stayed in the Radisson Blu https://www.radissonblu.com/en/hotel-manchesterairport.  If you book well enough in advance there are some great deals to be had.  The hotel has direct links to the airport so you don't even have to go outside to get to the terminals.

We had a great flight and landed early on the Saturday morning.  I had pre booked a shared transfer from Geneva airport with PowerCab https://www.powdercab.com/

The whole process from booking to meeting our driver Colin was seamless.  Colin text me just after we had landed to let us know exactly where to find him in the arrivals hall.  We were lucky that the family we were sharing with were also on our flight so we were soon on our way.

The journey to Morzine was great and nice to be able to sit back and relax and take in all of the magnificent views.  Colin was really friendly and gave us lots of insider tips for our stay in Morzine.  As well as giving us the low down on Morzine in the winter season. We will be sure to use PowerCab again when we return for a ski season and would highly recommend them.

We soon arrived in Morzine and our home for the week.

Ric from Pure Morzine https://www.puremorzine.com/  was waiting for us upon arrival.  Ric was so friendly and welcoming and it was great to finally meet him after liaising with him since Nov via email and phone calls.

We were in apartment Gentianes a two bedroom apartment. Talk about location, location, location. Wow right at the bottom of the Pleney piste (can't wait to go back in the winter season #skiinskiout)

The apartment was very spacious and it was spotless.  There was a lovely balcony off the lounge looking right out onto the Pleney piste and two spacious bedrooms.  The balcony on the lounge got the sun all afternoon til sunset so was great for chilling out with a bottle of wine after our days out.

The main bedroom also had it's only balcony with fantastic views.

This was the view from the lounge balcony.

Note the closeness to the Pleney piste which must be fantastic after a days skiing and skiing right back to the door.

Only a short walk to the chairlifts - which are all open in the summer so great for getting to the top of the mountains without any effort at all

This was the view from the picture window in the lounge - breathtaking

Ric's wife Charlotte showed us around the apartment - again she was really friendly and welcoming, and they were both on hand should we need anything during our stay.

Charlotte helped to organise our multi pass for using the cable cars, chairlifts, buses, swimming pool and lots more.  They are part of a scheme so their guests receive the multi pass at a fantastic discounted rate for only 2 euros per day per person which was a bargain.

This is a photo of the apartment in the ski season we can't wait to go back.  Morzine definitely got under our skin and we will be booking with Pure Morzine in the near future.

Then it was time to go and explore.  Ric had recommended a restaurant just across the road for lunch.  La Rotonde https://www.morznet.com/restaurants/la-rotonde-restaurant-morzine-57481

We got a lovely table in the conservatory and both ordered the Plat du jour.  Which was steak and chips with a barbecue sauce and it was lovely.

After lunch we headed off into the village to take a look around.

The village is lovely and so pretty and everyone was so friendly.

The flower displays throughout the village were beautiful.

We decided to stop for a drink and sit and people watch for a while right in the heart of the village at

Le Coup de Coeur https://www.morznet.com/bars/le-coup-de-coeur-wine-bar-morzine-57449

This soon became our favourite little bar throughout our stay to relax on the deckchairs and watch the world go by.

After a bit more of a wander we headed back to the apartment to eagerly await the delivery of our first meal from Chalet Kitchen https://www.chaletkitchen.com/.

Ashleigh arrived as promised just after 5pm with our first box of goodies, and we arranged that would be a good time for the delivery throughout our stay.

Each meal comes chilled in a big plastic box with an instruction card for cooking.

The food is all presented in lovely casserole dishes all ready to just pop into the oven, no hassle at all and the desserts are boxed up lovely too or in individual pots.

Our first meal was Tartiflette with real Savoyard Reblochan cheese and smoked bacon - summer salad and crunchy vegetables & chocolate profiteroles for dessert.

We were really impressed with the quality of the food and the profiteroles were the best we have ever tasted.

Our prize included meals for six nights and we were so impressed with the quality of every meal and the portions were very generous.  Ashleigh arrived promptly every day at the agreed time.  You don't even have to wash the dishes apparently but we did and just left them in the box each evening for them to be collected the next day.

The other meals we had above included -

• Pork filet roasted with chorizo and red peppers, glazed carrots and dauphinoise potatoes & vanilla panna cotta berry compote
• Chicken ceaser salad & summer fruit salad
• Rich and creamy lasagne and salad & chocolate tart
• Chalet Kitchen Sunday roast with roast potatoes and veg & ginger bread, caramel and passion fruit mousse
• Confit duck legs roasted in a cassoulet of butter beans and summer veg (my husband enjoyed the left over beans in an omelette the next dat for breakfast) & pear and almond tart

We will be sure to use Chalet Kitchen again in the future. We ate like kings for the week.

After our meal on the first night we went for a walk into the village and came across a "Festival of Orchestras" and enjoyed some local beer

Day 2 was soon upon us so we decided to jump on the Pleney cable car and explore further.

The views were gorgeous once we reached the top

I felt like Julie Andrews in the sound of music

We had a lovely picnic and then headed to one of the mountain bars for some cool refreshments

This was the view from the terrace

Once we headed back down we stopped to buy the obligatory bottle of Jagermeister a must for a holiday in the mountains.

We enjoyed a few games of table tennis back at the apartment & after our evening meal we walked over to the Bec Jaune micro brewary pub for a drink or two.

http://becjaunebrewery.com/

I tried some lovely fruity beer

Day 3 - We decided to head over to the other side of the village and use the Super Morzine cable car to access the mountains.  This was the view from the cable car.

We then jumped on a chairlift and headed all the way up.

Can't wait to ski down here some time soon !

The views were breathtaking at the top.

We decided to walk across to the next village of Avoriaz for lunch.  The wild flowers and views were beautiful.

 It was a lovely walk through the woods and along the mountain tracks.

Avoriaz is a ski in ski out resort and there are no cars allowed in the village.

Approaching the village above the golf course

We found a lovely spot for lunch

Then on the way back over to Morzine we walked down to the Saraussaux chair lift which took us back up to the path we needed to get the chair lift back down to Morzine.

We had a fab day and finished off with a shot of Jager on the balcony !!

We like it chilled in the freezer

Day 4 - Today we decided to jump on the bus to Lake Monttriond

https://en.valleedaulps.com/montriond-lake-1.html

The bus is free with the multi pass.

Colin who we got our transfer with told us to try the new snack place in the car park @ the lake.  There are a number of other restaurants but we went on his recommendation and we were not disappointed. We had a nice panini and I had a crepe' mmmmmmmmmmm !

It takes about 40 mins to walk round the lake and it was so pretty

We strolled round and stopped on various benches to soak up the views.

It was a lovely leisurely day out

There were people swimming the length of the main lake but there was also this smaller section for bathing in

Day 5 - Wednesday is market day in Morzine and it is held in the big Carrefour carpark.

We headed down about 10am for a wander round.  It was buzzing and there were stalls selling everything from cheese, meat, fish, bags and clothes and lots more.

I got a lovely new dress

We decided to just have a chill day after the market so just stayed local.  It was rude not to sample the local wine @ 2.75 Euro a bottle and it was lovely

We enjoyed watching some para gliders coming into land near our apartment later on.

Wednesday night was the Chalet Kitchen night off so we headed to a local restaurant that had been recommended Restaurant La Grange http://www.lagrangemorzine.com/.

We enjoyed a lovely meal in relaxing surroundings with very friendly welcoming staff.

When we got the bill we got the chance to sample some local liquor - it was served warm and was really tasty.

Day 6 - We decided to head back up the Super Morzine cable car again and visit a mountain restaurant that had been recommended by Ric. It's just up behind the cable car station at the top.

https://www.facebook.com/Lpassage-511476795686148/

We jumped on the chair lift again and decided to walk back down through the mountains to the restaurant.

The tracks wind down through woods crisscrossing with the downhill mountain bike trails.  We came across a black run and watched some daring bikers taking a leap of faith off a very big jump.

There was no margin for error

Lunch was then calling so we headed down the mountain to L'passage

We had a lovely lazy lunch

Again finished off with a tipple of the local liquor

On the way down the mountain we saw where the para gliders were taking off

Again a very enjoyable time was had by all

Ric and Charlotte from Pure Morzine called in on Thursday evening and we shared a couple of bottles of wine on the balcony with them. They are such a lovely couple and we wish them every success with their future and the success of Pure Morzine.

We saw some lovely sunsets from our apartment during our stay

The views across the village were lovely too

While we were in Morzine it was hosting the French Downhill Mountain Bike Championship on the Pleney piste behind our apartment.

It was great to chill out and watch the bike flying down the hill whilst having a drink @ the bar at the bottom of the run.

Day 7 - For our last full day we decided to just take it easy and have a nice lunch in the village after a relaxing morning in the sunshine outside the apartment.

We enjoyed a lovely lunch at La Remise

https://www.facebook.com/pages/La-Remise-Morzine/179361698794003

and then some drinks back at our favourite bar to toast our fantastic holiday

We used the local boulangerie a few times for breakfast - was lovely to walk down first thing on a morning for fresh pastries.

All in all as you can see we had the most amazing time and not only will we be going to the alps to ski during the winter season, it's now on our list to visit in the summer too.

So relaxing and the scenery is breathtaking which ever way you turn.

We want to express a huge thanks to Ric & Charlotte @ Pure Morzine for the fantastic prize and all the staff @ Chalet Kitchen for the gorgeous food.

Thanks for making this one of our most memorable holidays

Morzine has won our hearts and we will be back very soon

#loveMorzine #summerinthealps

xxx