Franglais 101: "I will kill you in the mountains and bury you in the snow."

...And so began my ski weekend with my dear sweet friend Masa, who threatened me with the brutally specific death described above before we had even left Bordeaux. Still, we made it to the adorable village of Cauterets in the Pyrenees on Friday evening, and by Saturday morning we were tearing it up on the bunny slopes - - or were we getting torn up by them? I fell twice (spectacularly, I might add) while actually skiing, but much more embarrassing were the two times I fell off the ski lift (how do you say tire-fesses in English?) as it was pulling me up the hill. Masa, who is from Jordan and thus unaccustomed to winter sports, didn't fall so much as choose to sit and slide on her ass any time she came even remotely close to actually skiing. Our friend Vicky also took a few solid spills, and I'm sure the three of us together put on quite a show. Luckily, we were with more patient and experiences skiers than ourselves. By mid-afternoon I could (mostly) stay on my feet, and I had even learned how to slow down, a lesson that took a surprisingly long time to stick, causing me to shout "Je peux pas m'arreter!*" more than a couple of times. Happy with our efforts, Masa and I left the mountain in the late afternoon to take advantage of the spa pass we had purchased in combo with our ski tickets, and our companions went to the advanced slopes where they belonged.

At the spa there was a heated outdoor pool with views of the mountains all around, and inside a sauna and hammam. It was...the best thing ever. We stayed for two hours, but I could have stayed happily for an entire week. Afterwards we returned to our lodgings for dinner with the group, and it became very clear who had been on the mountains based on the grimaces, bright red faces, and hilarious sunglass burn lines. Unfortunately, I was no exception - and actually my face was among the most ridiculous. If I ever go skiing again (and I hope I do) I'll be sure to remember sunblock.

The next day we forwent skiing and instead joined the group that rented sleds and took them to a national park located on another mountain. We had an absolute blast sledding and getting into snowball fights with aggressive French teenagers, and it could not have been in a more beautiful location.

We left Sunday afternoon to come back to Bordeaux, sore and exhausted but all in agreement that it was an absolutely amazing weekend. Here are some photos: