Le Region Rhone-Alps

So, after my last post, you might think that I did not end up going to the French Alps to go skiing. My first attempt was a failure, but I did end up going. My first attempt was a failure because I woke up a half hour late, so I was running late trying to catch my train in Paris. I got half way to Paris and realized I had forgotten two essential documents that I needed to get on the train. I quickly went back to Massy and got the documents, but just to be sure, I checked to see where my reservations were. It was a good thing I did because for some reason I had overlooked exactly where my hotel was in Chamonix and realized that I was staying in a place only accesible by car. By this point, I had missed my train and decided I wasn't going to go. Later that evening, after conferring with my father, I decided to call and cancel my hotel and try and find another one. This time, I called the place I wanted to stay and asked them how I could get there without a car. I ended up finding a place half as much and walking distance from at least one mountain resort.
After all that, my trip has been very good. My hotel was nice and cheap. Snowboarding in the Alps is quite different from the States but a lot of fun. The focus here is on what they call "off-piste." This is sort of like backcountry skiing in the States or doing tree runs in the States. They have four different colored levels but there is hardly much difference. And, there aren't that many of them. Most of the runs are very large and open. It would be quite difficult to learn here, but a lot of fun for advanced riders. The mountain got more icy during the several days that I was here. They haven't had snow in a while and that is making the conditions a little less than optimal. It was also overcast most of the time and I didn't get a lot of pictures. I will put up what pictures I did take later.
I snowboarded by myself for the first and last day. For the second day, I got to snowboard with a couple from Israel. Actually, I snowboarded mostly with the husband and the wife did her own thing. He basically showed me around one mountain that he had ridden for several days. He showed me all of the off piste runs and areas he liked. It was cool because I was a little hesitant to go off piste by myself. He was a pretty good snowboarder and I just let him lead for a day so I didn't have to make any decisions.
After my first day, I felt like I was suddenly much older than I remembered. I am always tired after I snowboard, but I have never ached as much as I did after my first day of snowboarding while I was here. That is probably because I haven't snowboarded in a couple of years and I am really out of shape. But, it was just a weird feeling to be in that much pain after just one day of snowboarding.
This trip was good for me because if I had stayed in Paris, I am sure I would have just been extremely lonely and missing my family who had just left after Christmas. I had one difficult night here, as traveling alone and living alone has slowly but surely been taking its toll on me. I have never been one to make lots of friends, but I have always depended on those I have greatly. It is difficult being here in a foreign country without anyone to lean on that can be here with me physically. I have my phone and the internet but that doesn't take the place of having someone you love right there with you.
I ended up on a sadder note, but all in all, it was a wonderful trip. Chamonix-Mont Blanc is situated right on the corner of France, Switzerland and Italy. The Alps resemble the Rockies more than the Appalachain Mts., but seem to rise quicker and have more jagged peaks. At least, the ski areas in the Rockies versus the skiing areas of the Alps. That's all for now.