This is the longest time off that I have had since I got to the alps. Training week was so jam packed with training and cooking that our only free time was after dinner and a final meeting at 9:30! Training week seems like a while away since I arrived in Courchevel but there were some funny moment. We arrived to green pistes and ended with a 48 hour snow storm which EXTREMELY high winds. It was almost impossible to go outside but we ended up with about 2 metres of snow so I'm not complaining. About 460 of us took over les Arc for 8 days and besides the hard work and lack of sleep it was actually really really fun! Training week consisted of waking up for breakfast at 7:30am, then we would have a menu demo in groups by two chefs, we would then cook what they showed us for a 1:30 4 course lunch. After eating all that food and washing up and clearing the kitchen, we usually had a lecture or talk on various topics. The only problem was that these started at 2:30 so we would never be finished in the kitchen on time! The 'cinema' was where all our lectures were held which we had to climb 204 steps to get to the top. It was a tiring hike. To make matters worse the lectures were soooooo boring and almost everyone fell asleep at some point during the lectures. You're probably wondering why I had lectures when my job involves cooking, cleaning and skiing.... well we were briefed on the company and their policies etc about 5 times. We had health and safety and safe skiing and many more. My favourite had to be chilkdcarte though. For those of you who don't know, I work for Inghams (I was Ski Total but I'll tell you about that later) and in Esprit Holidays LTD, there are 3 companies, Esprit, Inghams and Ski Total, all specialising in different areas. Anyway, some people who work in chaldcare with Esprit came to talk to us and when they saw someone falling asleep we all had to stand up and sing songs. It took me back to various childhood holidays. One day they decided to be a bit nicer and told us that we had 'activity day'. We were told to meet outside the apartments where were staying at a certain time and wouldn't tell us anything else. We all immediately imagined drills and starjumps and army training, I don't know why, I suppose it was because it had all been so intense. But it was a treasure hunt around the resort which was actually really fun. The only bad point was that it was in the middle of the snowstorm and that just meant an excuse for one big snowball fight. There were loads of dogs who obviously belonged to the French who live there so they all came to join in which was cute. At night we all gathered in the only 2 bars that were open in Les Arc but it was nice as everyone went there. Drinks were cheap so it's quite a shock now that we're in Courchevel. The day we left for Courchevel, we had to drag all our luggage about quarter of a mile to the coach and then a load of food that needed to be taken too. It's quite annoying living out of a suitcase, I still am as we haven't moved into our accommodation yet! At the moment, I'm staying in the Chalet hotel that Total has in 1650. It's actually quite nice and their staff accommodation is very decent, although me and the others working in 1850 are staying in the guest rooms which are even nicer! For the past few days we have been preparing our chalets for the guests arrival next Saturday. Thankfully, we do them in threes so we don't get lonely. The first chalet we did was Laura's, my roomie for training week. Her chalet is in the same building as mine. There are 3 chalets, have a look on the internet if you want: http://www.inghams.co.uk/ski-holidays/hotels/item90754/sonrier/

The photos are very misleading though as they are actually of Laura's chalet. Laura's chalet was a state. It was disgusting. We spent hours pulling black hair (not sure what sort of hair) out of the plug holes and toenails from the carpet. Apparently the guy who has been living there this summer did nothing. he had even left some lovely washing up for us to do (from 6 weeks ago). I was honestly disgusted and had absolutely no hopes for my chalet. I asked and asked management if mine was as bad but they were always very secretive. I think they were having a bit of a joke as we walked into my chalet the next day and it was 100x better than Laura's! The owners really have spent a bit of money on it with brand new bathrooms, clean carpets and some funky items in the lounge. It also has wifi so I can lie in bed and go on the internet (this is extyremely rare for seasonnaires). The owners have booked it out for 2 and a half weeks so I will have to move out for that time and find somewhere to sleep. Rumour has it I might go to a different resort... Sooo mine and Laura's chalets are nice and clean and have passed inspection from the managers. I now just need a few more pillows, coathangers and bins. The kitchen is well stocked and everything is relatively modern compared to Laura's 50's oven and fridge which had red wine stains and mould in. Tomorrow we're sorting out linen and have one more chalet to clean, THEN I MIGHT BE ABLE TO GO SKIING. I've put a few photos on for you to see, friends can see more on facebook which I don't think the fam would find very interesting! Hope you're al well at home, I've heard there's been a bit of snow but knowing england I'm sure it had melted by now! Lots of love to you all xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx