We’d heard about the famous Utah powder and decided to check it out for ourselves.  It was an easy flight into Salt Lake City and then just 36 miles up the mountain to Park City.  If you show your boarding pass, you can even get a free lift ticket on the day you arrive.

We chose Deer Valley because it was voted the number one resort by readers of Ski magazine for the fifth year in a row and we wanted to see what all the buzz was about.

Our first impression was the remarkable guest services. Friendly people in green outfits directed traffic, then helped us get our skis off our car.  There was even someone standing by the map when we got off the lift to help us know where to go. This level of service spilled over even into the lessons I signed up for during the trip . The lessons I took had four maximum in the class, with lots of individual attention.  Since I was starting over after a thirty-year hiatus so that I could ski with my grand kids, I was grateful for all the help.

The powder was real.  Fresh snow fell daily and the conditions were great.  My partner is an expert skier and I’m not, but the mountain offers something for everyone.  There are six peaks, five of which have green/beginner runs, and there are green runs all over the mountain.  That makes is a friendly family place. There are free guided mountain tours everyday to help skiers make the most of the mountain. In addition, the resort limits their sales of lift tickets to 6500-7500 skiers per day maximum so it doesn’t ever feel crowded.  With twenty-one lifts and one hundred runs spread out over their 2026 acres, they can transport 46,000 skiers uphill per hour.  That meant we didn’t wait in lift lines.

The mountain also offers award-winning restaurants for romantic evenings out or fun with the family. The elegant Mariposa, at Silver Lake Lodge at mid-mountain is the winner of a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence and a #1 Zagat survey placement. (Tuesday through Sunday, 6 to 9 p.m. Call 435-645-6632 for reservations.) A great spot to take a break from skiing to enjoy lunch is at the Royal Street Café, also located in the Silver Lake Lodge at mid-mountain. If you go, be sure to sample one of their fresh baked cookies for dessert. (Open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.; 435-645-6632 for reservations.)

Our favorite restaurant was the Fireside Dining experience at Empire Canyon Lodge.  From our table near a crackling fire, we looked out a huge picture window, which lit up the winter wonderland outside—fat fluffy snowflakes falling onto huge evergreens already covered in snow. The restaurant offers hearty favorites from the European Alps, such as Swiss Raclette, stews, fire roasted meats and fricassees, each course served in front of a massive stone fireplace. In addition to the succulent main courses, we especially enjoyed the fresh biscuits, the roasted potatoes and an asparagus pesto that was amazing.  Perfect fare and ambience after a day of skiing.

Between dinner and dessert, we bundled up and stepped outside for a sleigh ride. We cuddled cozy under a thick blanket for a refreshing glide in the crisp night air, with snow falling and the bells jingling on the two massive horses that pulled our sleigh.

Then back inside for the dessert Fondue, my favorite course.  I learned that the word ‘Fondue’ comes from the French verb ‘Fondre’, to melt.  Our fondues included dark chocolate, caramel and white chocolate Grand Marnier fondues.The delectable choices to dip into the fondues:  Apple, banana, strawberries, pineapple, apricots, biscotti, chocolate chip cookies and cinnamon pound cake.

A warm dessert on a chilly evening.  Simply the best.

Fireside dining is open Wednesday through Saturday, 6 – 9 p.m. Free parking available.  Adults $56, Children $28 (11 years and younger), prices do not include beverages, tax or gratuity. Call 435-645-6632 for reservations between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. daily. For Sleigh Ride reservations please email  fireside [at]deervalley.com.

We agree with the readers of Ski magazine.  Deer Valley is #1 in our book too, for an all around experience of excellent skiing, service and restaurants. Get ready for a great season of skiing this year.

Diane Covington 2012

We arrived in Paris at the Gare de Lyon in the hustle and bustle of a Friday afternoon in a train station.  So many people coming and going!

We looked at the metro to get to our hotel and when we realized it was two different changes, we said, all right, one taxi coming up!  It was only our second taxi in the whole trip, so we thought we’d earned it.

Across the Seine and up into the Latin Quarter, past so many buildings I recognized and streets I knew.  That is my part of Paris, where I feel at home.

I hadn’t been to the hotel in 3 ½ years, but we found it just fine.  I’ve been going to this hotel for at least twelve years and it is exactly the same each time, clean, very simple and the best deal in Paris.  But certainly not fancy.

But we did have a TV in our room, so were able to watch the end of that day’s stage of the Tour de France, which has been getting more exciting each day, as it is closer and closer to the end.  We were pulling for the Australian and it turns out he won!  Now that I’m an Aussie, I felt proud.

We walked down the street and found a restaurant that I’d been to before, right near the Pantheon.  Chicken, frites, salad and a glass of wine with a very polite waiter—not always the case in Paris!We strolled down Boulevard St. Michel to the Seine and stood watching the Bateaux Mouches glide by underneath.  The Notre Dame Cathedral, always majestic, was just down the street and the Seine glistened with the sunset light.

I’ve been to Paris many many times and only two other times in the summer.  I remembered why it’s better to go off-season–we were surrounded by tourists!  All the Parisians were ‘en vacances’, places like the Cote d’Azur, or Alsace—or Annecy!  Paris is always beautiful, but in fall, winter or spring, you are a part of the real city, with Parisians going about their lives.  That feels different.

I got my one scoop of real “vanille” ice cream and we headed back to the hotel.  I never liked vanilla ice cream until I discovered real French vanilla ice cream.  Very rich and creamy and those tiny bits of vanilla beans give it a distinctive flavor.

The next morning we took the RER train to Charles De Gaulle airport and got checked in for our flight to Miami and then on to San Francisco.  Almost twenty hours later, we arrived at our friends’ house in Marin for a much needed rest before the drive home.

Such a magical trip, even if summer, we discovered that we could have experiences where we could blend into the culture and feel it from the inside out.  I’m so going to miss that “pain au chocolate”each morning.  But there’s always next year!

Read the whole series:

• Part 6: The Most Romantic Village in France
• Part 5: Biking the French Alps
• Part 4: France by Train - Across the French Countryside Aboard the TGV
• Part 3: England to France (subways, trains, and still no automobiles!)
• Part 2: England: Trains, Subways, Bicycles, Feet – and no automobiles
• Part 1: England and France by Trains, Planes, and… No Automobiles!

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Diane Covington
Award Winning Writer and Photographer
American Society of Journalists and Authors
Contributor Best Women’s Travel Writing 2011

Our demi-pension option at the hotel, which includes two meals per day, is very reasonably priced—120 euros for two, including the room, and the food has been excellent. We’re getting very spoiled—walking downstairs to enjoy a four-course dinner on the terrace, as we watch the sun set over the lake.  After a few days, we feel like part of the family ourselves and have gotten to know the staff and some of the other guests.  I get a chance to practice my French, which is always a treat, though they do speak some English.

On the night of Bastille Day, July 14^th, we enjoyed the “feux d’artifice” or fire works show above the lake from Annecy, right from our little balcony.

To get to Annecy, we can take a bus, ride our bikes or take a “water taxi”, which is the most fun option.  Last Friday, July 15, I took the water taxi over to Annecy for the day.  Landon was going on a four-hour grueling bike ride up a mountain. After my bike tour of the lake, I was going to the open market and the spa.

The tiny cobblestone streets of the vielle ville or old part of town were crammed with stalls selling luscious cherries, peaches, nectarines, melons and every sort of fresh vegetable from the region.  Olives, sausages, cheeses, breads, candies–everywhere I turned I was temped with another sort of delectable treat, presented in the crowded bustle of the farmer’s market.

My spa visit, at L’Espace Premium in Annecy, turned out to be better than I could have imagined.  Here in France, they call spa treatments ‘soins’ which translates to ‘care’ and I felt so taken care of for two and a half hours.

I relaxed in a “hammam” or steam room, then was scrubbed with sea salts, then lounged in a bubbling bath, then laid on a table that massaged me up and down.  The ‘piece de resistance’ was a forty-five minute massage.  I was so relaxed that I barely wandered back to the water taxi for the jaunt home.

Since Annecy is such a popular tourist destination, the tourist office offers free guided tours in English several times a week.  There are markets almost every day and lots of cultural events, lake cruises, a casino, good shopping—whatever you’d like to do, it’s right there.  And yes, the spa—such a French wonder, not to be missed.

Our plan to rent bikes and take day trips out of Annecy has turned out to be perfect.  When it rained one day, we waited till late in the day and then went out for a late afternoon ride.  The hills around the lake look like scenes from the Sound Of Music.  We are enjoying our rides together and individually–the terrain around Annecy offers challenges for any level of cyclist.  My partner even did a climb that was a part of the Tour de France a few years ago (and I did a little of it).

We rented from Roul La Poule, where we chose from three different levels of bikes, ending up with the two best.  They were very helpful and friendly, speak some English and came and rescued us once when we had a breakdown—very important! http://www.annecy-location-velo.com

More soon, from Talloires, called the most romantic village in France, just a few kilometers further around the lake!

More in this series:

• Part 4: The French Countryside by Train
• Part 3: England to France (subways, trains, and still no automobiles)
• Part 2: England: Trains, Subways, Bicycles, Feet – and No Automobiles
• Part 1: London and the Advantages of Packing Light

Diane Covington 2011

A Travel Series by Diane Covington

Follow along with Diane as she explores the northern end of the South Island of New Zealand for adventures along the back roads…

Part 4: Catching the updraft above Nelson Lakes National Park, New Zealand

While we were staying at the Alpine Lodge in St. Arnaud, I had the chance to go up in a glider above Nelson Lakes National Park. What an unforgettable experience! Here are my thoughts on that amazing journey through the sky. If you want more information on taking a ride in a glider, check out the online home of the New Zealand gliding clubs.

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The fat brown Jersey cows munched the thick grass, flicking their tails against flies, then moseyed along. They never even glanced over at the light planes that zoomed past on the grassy runway, recently reclaimed from their pasture. The slender gliders raced up and down, landing and taking off, like birds in flight.

To go up in a glider, you get strapped into your seat, then the glider, attached by a cable to a wench, gets towed down the runway till it takes to the air, sort of like launching a kite. You’re taxiing down the runway, then whoosh, up, into the sky. No motor, no sound, just the feel of lifting up fast, carried by the wind. The wench releases, attached to a tiny parachute and billows down to the ground.

Up in the air, the sound of the wind rushing past the wings, a thin Plexiglas cover is all you have between you and the open sky. 1,000 feet above the ground, catching updrafts, lift as they call it, up, then down, circling, just like the ospreys, hawks and vultures, I’ve watched soaring, drifting, circling- -amazing.

I was stunned by the beauty of the perspective, thrilled by the closeness of the treetops, awed by the sensibility of literally “casting our fate to the winds” and depending on the whims of Mother Nature to carry us along.

The sheep and cows below looked like little dots of white cotton or brown fuzz. The sun sparkled off the Plexiglas cover, the clouds danced along the ridges, almost eye level to us now.
It must be one of the most direct experiences of flying that a person could have, except maybe hang gliding. I was reminded of the myth of Icarus who fulfilled his dream of flying but soared too close to the sun and melted the wax holding his wings together and fell to his death.

I’ve had dreams of flying and this felt pretty close. I can see why my friend who was piloting the glider has logged over 600 hours, feeling out the air currents, riding them and soaring through the sky.

How could I have missed this for all these years? Where was I that I didn’t know this wonder?

It felt gentle somehow, like we were riding Mother Nature, in some sync with her moods and fancies, flowing, natural like a bird. It felt like she smiled at us in a playful way, played with us a bit, a game of hide and seek, hiding the currents—catch me if you can—down, down, down, then up, up, up, over, always gliding, soaring, falling, then soaring again.

I thought about life–where are the updrafts, the places where I can soar with ease and grace, the wind beneath my wings, carried by something larger than myself, but which I am a part of?
And saw that gliding and life both require that you pay close attention to what is happening, moment by moment. Looking for the gifts, like the updrafts, the lift, which will carry you on.

Diane Covington 2010

A Travel Series by Diane Covington

Follow along with Diane as she explores the northern end of the south island of New Zealand for adventures along the back roads…

Part 3: Nelson Lakes National Park

It was a three-hour drive from the ocean at Golden Bay to Nelson Lakes National Park, up in the mountains.

We chose the small village of St. Arnaud, right on the shore of the sparkling waters of Lake Rotoiti. There is so much outdoor fun available here, it’s hard to know what to do first.

On the lake, you can kayak, windsurf, water-ski, canoe and swim. Or try your hand at fly-fishing in the nearby rivers, for some of the best brown and rainbow trout fishing in New Zealand. Or kayak or raft down the river.

There are hiking trails all over the park, with an extensive network of tracks and huts for overnight stays for backpackers.

I spent my days bike riding and then jumping in the lake to cool off.

We found a gem of a lodge, the Alpine Lodge, a five-minute walk from the lake.

The lodge is a perfect place if you want to be outside and active all day, then come back to a clean and comfortable room, shower and have a gourmet dinner. We enjoyed delicious entrees such as Chicken Curry, a Vegetarian Burrito and an amazing Burger in their bar at the Lodge.

Just next door, their café serves breakfast and lunch. I had a delectable chocolate and berry muffin for breakfast and for lunch, a bacon, cheese and vegetable quiche. All their breads and baked goods are made from scratch. They buy local produce and support local businesses, including serving beers brewed in nearby Nelson and of course, New Zealand wines.

Owner Alexandra Unterberger, who runs the lodge with her fiancée Leighton Marshall, comes from a family with over 300 years history in the hotel and restaurant business. They really go out of their way to make guests feel welcome.

“We’re here every night with the guests. We enjoy having that personal touch,” Alexandra said.

The Alpine Lodge and St Arnaud are centrally located for sightseeing day trips. It’s one hour to Nelson, for arts and crafts and Blenheim for wine tasting. Or the West coast for dramatic coastal scenery, including blowholes.

We had a two-story studio with a view of the creek and felt at home during our three-day stay.

“We want to provide clean rooms, good service and good food,” Alexandra said.

And they did. We’ll go back for sure.

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Diane Covington 2010