SKIING ON 35mm FILM

Why hello there everyone. I hope you're all feeling good and refreshed now we're back at work? I'm actually in two minds with how I feel to be honest, I'm excited to get stuck in and get going on some ideas I've had over the Christmas break but i'm finding it a little tricky getting back into the swing of things due to just how relaxed I was throughout the festivities. But anyway, I thought I'd ease myself in gently with a little photo diary meets travel guide to our beautiful skiing holiday in Val D'Isere. George and I headed over there for a festive week skiing early last month and oh what a trip it was!

Having not skied for a good 10 years since back in high school I was a little nervous to return to the slopes once again. But after a quick refresher lesson on our first morning it was clear that you never really loose it altogether, a bit like riding a bike, it was just the technique that needed neatening up.

I snapped our little holiday on my film camera as usual and I’m really chuffed with how they turned out. We had a bit of a nightmare with our first roll of film, which basically entailed me exposing it too soon and loosing 22 frames... Devastation! But hey, you live and learn and we managed to fill up 2 other rolls so I can’t complain too much. I wanted to share these snaps as a little photo diary, with some info about where we stayed and what we ate, along with what I wore of course. There’s a couple of videos on my channel too including a vlog and a ski wear haul so if you fancy checking them out, do head on over there.

So Val D’isere is known for being one of the most exquisite ski resorts in the world and it certainly did not disappoint. A magical town in the French Alps it is without a doubt one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited.

We arrived on Sunday December 9th after a short 1.20hr flight into Geneva airport followed by a 3 hour transfer into the resort.

We stayed at the idyllic Barmes de l’Ours Hotel and Spa and my goodness was it dreamy and quite possibly the cosiest and most authentic hotel I've ever stayed at. It was truly gorgeous with a traditional alpine meets contemporary modern style down to a T; The perfect combination of what you’d expect to find in a ski chalet mixed with lashings of animal print and statement furniture. Everything about this hotel was perfect, from the rooms, to the food of the three restaurants within the hotel, the games room fit with two lane bowling alley, the extensive drinks list, the spa (we had a facial and a deep tissue massage) and of course the staff.
George and I arrived during the very first week of the season, so it was really rather quiet indeed meaning it often felt like we had the hotel entirely to ourselves... DREAMY! The staff went above and beyond to ensure our stay was perfect and for that I cannot recommend Barmes de l’Ours more! Special shout out to Julien, the hotel concierge ❤️

Julian recommended a variety of restaurants for us to try for our evening meal all of which were truly gorgeous and I would definitely add them to your list should you be visiting Val D’Isere.

Le Garage: relaxed, great beer choices, good music and vibes, pizza and brunch

La Casa Scara: authentic Italian, try the black truffle gnocchi, it’s delicious!

Le 1789: divine steak restaurant, extremely cosy and authentic

La Baraque: bistro food, live music and extremely relaxed

Within the hotel there are three restaurants, all totally beautiful but our favourite was the cheese restaurant which offered fondue and Raclette by the shed load, a total dream!

We dined there twice as it was simply perfect! It even prompted us to purchases our own Raclette grill, which we whacked out over Christmas, an absolute dream situation for when you're hosting!

For lunches our ski instructor Sam recommended the following, all of which were perfect for a quick break after skiing all morning.

La Bananas: I had the chilli cheese tacos which was delicious. A really relaxed haunt within the resort

Le Signal: The option for relaxed self service food at the top of a mountain or for a fine dining experience for something more fancy. We sampled both and both were great, particularly the find dining, what a treat!

Tignes Cuisine: Situated in neighbouring resort Tignes, this place is a favourite amongst both locals and visitors alike. Burritos, noodles and beer, just perfect.

La Folie Douce: A pretty famous place for Apres Ski and epic parties that also serves some delicious food too aka Spaghetti Bolognese in a pint glass...

Cocorico: speaking of Apres Ski we had a seriously fun late afternoon/evening here. A party place at the bottom of the slopes that is so much fun!

Our ski instructor Sam was such a bloody babe. He works with New Generation Ski School and both George and I couldn’t recommend him highly enough. He was such a calming influence on me, as I’m not exactly the most confident skier and to be perfectly honest he made the week all the more special for us both. Acting as an instructor, a guide, a photographer/videographer (thanks Sam) but also as a pal throughout the week, it was so much fun getting to know him.

Even now, if we're lucky enough to return to Val D'isere or to another ski resort for that matter, we'd be inclined to book lessons for the first day or so to allow us to neaten up our technique and also get to grips with the resort.

Now let’s talk styling shall we? Unfortunately some outfit snaps fell victim to the lost roll of film, (head on over to my Instagram to see more) but I’ve had a lot of questions about my looks so thought I’d answer them here.

The yellow suit is from ASOS and I truly loved wearing this little baby! Aside from it being a touch too big, which was a shame, it was such a great piece to wear. It was of course super cool and ticked all those retro ski-wear vibes beautifully but it was most importantly extremely warm, waterproof and brightly coloured which meant I could be seen in a snow storm. I wore it with my The North Face Nupste jacket, as the suit is sleeveless but it was such a toasty little combination that I would hugely recommend.

The Topshop white suit was equally as fabulous, equally as warm and waterproof too.  This time with a real Bond Girl vibe I felt extremely glamorous in this suit. The only downside to the coat was the high neck, it gets a little dirty with make up stains, but that’s white for ya ey? I adore the huge faux fur trim to the hood and the statement braces of the salopettes too.

It’s so easy to do skiwear on a budget nowadays with high street giants such as ASOS and Topshop absolutely nailing it! And whilst it’s pretty impossible to feel good when bundled up like the Michelin Man, these two looks did a pretty good job indeed.

So there we have our winter break all wrapped up. I hope you enjoyed reading a little more about our trip, it's been lovely looking back over the snaps and reminiscing on such a magical winter break.
I'd love to hear if you’re heading on a ski trip soon or if these snaps have inspired you to get one booked and also if theres anywhere else in the world that you would recommend for a skiing trip. George and I have the skiing bug now so are desperate to get something booked for this year asap!

Thanks so much for reading

x M

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROSIE BUTCHER