Stowe Flakes

Last weekend Le Mari and I went to Stowe, Vt. It was his Christmas gift. He loves to ski and I know he rarely has the opportunity to do it on real snow so I booked us a trip. I, on the other hand, have not skied since I was about twelve, when I realized that my chances of skiing on something other than ice and not freezing my back end off regularly was slim to none. I gave it up. This was a truly selfless gift, except for the fact that Vermont was on my list of places to see in the North East.

I proceeded to get sick the Thursday before and was coughing the entire time. Poor Le Mari, I barely complained but he knew I was in pain. I stayed in the lodge by the fire, reading a book while he skied. This was the original plan all along but I must say I was a bit envious. The mountain was beautiful and there were more slopes than you could possibly imagine.

The village of Stowe was quaint and lovely. Tiny shops and restaurants, letting off warm glows from windows, dotted the streets. The river, almost frozen over, made it even more of a wonderland.

Each restaurant we went to was excellent, including the one in our hotel, Mr. Pickwick's. It was true English cuisine. I had escargot in puff pastry with a rich, chocolaty brown sauce and beef wellington. There is nothing like forcing your husband to eat something and and then preceding to inform him that it was fattened goose liver (fois gras). YUM! Well, I enjoyed it anyway! He had quail, which was tasty as well. They have over a hundred foreign beers on tap which made for an interesting evening as well!

One day, when it was bitter cold, too cold for skiing, so we drove 45 minutes to Burlington, a small city perfectly clean with everything you could ever want. There were a few colleges there and lots of places to eat and shop. There were a few blocks closed off to cars, with only shopping and restaurants, which I loved. I noticed people wearing their ski pants in places other than the slopes, making me realize that their winters were so cold that this has actually become the fashion up here!

All in all, with coughing and later, sneezing, and a six hour car ride, it was worth every minute. I would love to go in the summer and see it then, it is a beautiful state.