Alpe d'Huez Apres Ski Report: 26th December 2008
Firstly, I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas! And as Christmas week draws to a close, so does the festive partying in Alpe D'Huez!
Those in resort for the arrival of Santa Claus and his friends kicked off the week in Smithy's Tavern for their famous Saturday morning Big Breakfast! You can take the English out of England but you certainly can't keep the fry-up away from them! This before hitting the slopes for a beautiful blue sky day of skiing... (people do actually ski here as well it's important to add!)
Relatively new to Alpe D'Huez at only 3 years old, Lounge 21, situated adjacent to Smithy's, has been getting in the festive spirit by offering some fantastic Christmas cocktails. The Lounge offers a diversity previously missing from the resort après scene. If you're looking for a chilled out, funky bar with great food and a wide range of beers, wine and cocktails, this is certainly your place. Everything's done with a touch of class, and I even treated myself to a lovely Strawberry Daquari on Christmas Eve!
Monday evening saw another eventful tour operator bar crawl (as I described in last week's report, and minus the hyperactive students this week!) as well as the return of legendary Alpe D'Huez band ‘Foreplay' in O'Sharkey's.
You would have thought the Alpe D'Huez public would have taken it easy on Tuesday, to save themselves for a big Christmas Eve on Wednesday. Not a chance! Hotel staff and their guests got the festive bug a day early, and after O'Bar kicked off proceedings with a 2 for 1 cocktail offer, the drinking contingent piled into Lily's, L'Etalon, Sphere and the Underground, with the remaining few survivors ending up in nightclubs Igloo and Les Caves.
And so onto Christmas Eve...The Underground boys completed their tradition of skiing all dressed as Santa to kick the day off in style. Stevie B played some great acoustic après tunes outside Sphere in the afternoon sunshine before the eagerly anticipated first gig of the season by Scottish John, Jez and Morse rocked out a packed house to see in Christmas Day! The resort was full of Christmas fancy dress and I think I must of heard Mariah Carey's ‘All I want for Christmas is You' about 34 times during the course of the evening! I'll forgive you Mariah as it's only once a year!
After a slow build up, Smithy's traditional table dancing got into full swing with DJ Northey smashing out the cheesy Christmas party tunes to the delight of the punters. Come 3.30am, everybody's dancing shoes had well and truly burnt themselves out and as the water began to be ordered in mass and the late licence had well and truly been used and abused, it was time to leave and go to bed. Was it hell! Those that survived (not me I might add!) headed down to the Underground to carry on the party until.... 9am! Show me a resort that has a better Christmas party than the Underground throws in the early hours and I'll eat my hat!
Now we move slowly and excitedly into the busy and much anticipated New Years week... now it really is party central in the Alps! Smithy's are throwing a huge Traffic Light party to celebrate turning 2008 into 2009, and with all the bars again having late licenses, it has the potential to be one very messy and eventful week in the Island in the Sun. I hope everyone's belly's are recovering from all the sherry and Christmas pudding and ready for what Alpe D'Huez is about to throw at them...
Until next week, that's all from me folks!
