上周末，有幸獲得住在雪山的朋友邀請，讓我第一次的雪山生活體驗地點是這可愛的小城鎮 － 聖皮耶爾德沙爾特勒斯 Saint Pierre de Chartreuse。
Saint Pierre de Chartreuse 是法國東南部伊澤爾省 Isère 的一個市鎮，屬於格雷諾布爾區 Grenoble, 從巴黎開車大概要 5 小時的車程。根據維基百科說，該市鎮總面積 80.12 平方公里，2009 年時的人口為 999 人；但我問了當地人，現時就大概剩 760+ 的人口。
Last weekend, I was fortunate enough to be invited to stay at Saint Pierre de Chartreuse, a lovely town where has enriched my first fantastic experience in the Alps.
Saint Pierre de Chartreuse is a town in the Isère department in south-eastern France which is located in the Chartreuse Mountains, to the north of the city of Grenoble. It takes around a 5-hour drive from Paris. According to Wikipedia , the size of the town is 80.12 square kilometres with a population of 999 people in 2009 ; And the current population is around 760+ people, told by the locals.
旅館窗外境色
The mountain view of the lodge
上山沿途風景
The scenery along the way
市中心
Town centre
滑雪用具租用店舖為數不少
There are plenty of choices of ski hire shops
入場證
Entry ticket
來自香港的我們，對纜車應該不會陌生
For those who come from Hong Kong should be familiar with cable cars
The ski resort is not really big, but has lesser people relatively
滑雪場不算大，但相對地人也少一點
來到雪山，滑雪當然是重點，但對我這位初哥來說，體驗山上的生活來得更重要。760+ 人口的小鎮，可以想像當地人的工作，除了自家開店外，其餘的大部份都在滑雪場工作、作滑雪教練。他們滑雪，平穩過我用雙腳走路。早上教滑雪的教練們，晚上就與我們在同一酒吧內暢飲，感覺很是有趣。當地人都很友善，見到我這位唯一的亞洲人都非常歡迎，並很熱情地介紹當地及附近的出產，例如芝士、腸、raclette、芝士火鍋及土產甜酒 Chartreuse。
你會問 raclette 及芝士火鍋不是瑞士菜式嗎？其實正確來就這兩款菜式是法國、瑞士、意大利亞爾卑斯山山上居民的菜式，所以各地山上的居民都有各自的做法，而且同樣正宗；法國式芝士火鍋的芝士底則是白酒、博福特 Beaufort、孔泰 Comté 及愛蒙塔爾 Emmental 芝士；然後配上麵包方塊、火腿及沙律。優質的芝士，實在是芝士火鍋的精髓，我們事前就單獨試了 Beaufort 及 Comté，兩款我最愛的亞爾卑斯山硬質芝士，真的好吃得要流眼淚；那濃馥純正的味道，實在不是能在其他地方可嘗到。
Skiing doubtlessly is the main activity during the stay. However, as for a new learner like me, experiencing the life on the mountain comes far more important. With a population of 760+ residents, you can imagine the working life of the locals - either running their own businesses, or working at the ski resort and being the ski coaches. They all ski steadier than I walk. It was hilarious to see the coaches teaching in the morning and we all then stayed at the same bar in the evening. The locals were very friendly to me, the only Asian, and earnestly introduced me their local products - cheeses, sausages, raclette, fondue and the local spirit Chartreuse.
You may think raclette and fondue are originated in Swiss. The fact is, they are the local dishes of the residents of Swiss, French and Italian Alps. So they have their own recipes which are all authentic. For the French fondue, the cheese foundation is prepared by white wine, Beaufort, Comté and Emmental cheese; and comes with bread cubes, hams and salads. The fine quality cheese is the soul of the fondue. We have tried the French Alps cheese Beaufort and Comté (my two favourite hard cheeses) at a shop at an earlier time and the taste was so good that could make one shed a happy tear. The amazing mouthfeel and incredibly wonderful taste is not something you can find in anywhere else.
你會問 raclette 及芝士火鍋不是瑞士菜式嗎？其實正確來就這兩款菜式是法國、瑞士、意大利亞爾卑斯山山上居民的菜式，所以各地山上的居民都有各自的做法，而且同樣正宗；法國式芝士火鍋的芝士底則是白酒、博福特 Beaufort、孔泰 Comté 及愛蒙塔爾 Emmental 芝士；然後配上麵包方塊、火腿及沙律。優質的芝士，實在是芝士火鍋的精髓，我們事前就單獨試了 Beaufort 及 Comté，兩款我最愛的亞爾卑斯山硬質芝士，真的好吃得要流眼淚；那濃馥純正的味道，實在不是能在其他地方可嘗到。
Skiing doubtlessly is the main activity during the stay. However, as for a new learner like me, experiencing the life on the mountain comes far more important. With a population of 760+ residents, you can imagine the working life of the locals - either running their own businesses, or working at the ski resort and being the ski coaches. They all ski steadier than I walk. It was hilarious to see the coaches teaching in the morning and we all then stayed at the same bar in the evening. The locals were very friendly to me, the only Asian, and earnestly introduced me their local products - cheeses, sausages, raclette, fondue and the local spirit Chartreuse.
You may think raclette and fondue are originated in Swiss. The fact is, they are the local dishes of the residents of Swiss, French and Italian Alps. So they have their own recipes which are all authentic. For the French fondue, the cheese foundation is prepared by white wine, Beaufort, Comté and Emmental cheese; and comes with bread cubes, hams and salads. The fine quality cheese is the soul of the fondue. We have tried the French Alps cheese Beaufort and Comté (my two favourite hard cheeses) at a shop at an earlier time and the taste was so good that could make one shed a happy tear. The amazing mouthfeel and incredibly wonderful taste is not something you can find in anywhere else.
難得來到，怎能不帶些芝士回家？
How can we miss the chance to bring back home some cheeses?
多些! 多些!
More! More!
老闆在親自炮製我們的芝士火鍋
The owner is preparing our fondue
來到最後，為了不要浪費那美味的芝士，將剩下的麵包粒倒進鍋裡，
加一只雞蛋然後攪勻，變成味道超級濃馥的芝士麵包粒。
When it comes to the end, in order not to waste such delicious cheese,
pour all the bread cubes into the pot, add an egg and stir.
Now you can have the rich and tasty cheese bread cubes.
來到 Chartreuse，當然要試同名的土產烈酒蕁麻酒 (Chartreuse)，1605 年由當地修道院的修道士發明的一種黃綠色的甜酒，由 130 種香草、植物及花製成，酒精濃度高達 55%，是那種可點火的酒。它有非常獨特的味道，非常甜，同時也非常辛辣與刺激，那種刺激的感覺就像漱口水般，卻要激烈 3 倍。外來人第一杯都要照以下方法去嚐：將整杯酒倒入口，然後在口裡點火、再含在口裡像漱口般等 30 秒後才吞下。那種刺激度真的令人眼水直標。居民對我已經非常客氣，因為已免了點火那一步驟⋯ 這個酒嘛，試過就好了，由讓它留在本土吧~
In Chartreuse, how can one misses the local spirit Chartreuse, a yellow-green liqueur invented by the local monastery monks in 1605. It is composed of distilled alcohol aged with 130 herbs, plants and flowers with 55% alcohol by volume, means you can ignite it without any problem. Chartreuse has a very strong characteristic taste - very sweet, but also spicy and pungent, like the mouthwash but triple time stronger. As an outsider, one needs to try the first glass in the following way: pour the whole glass into the mouth, ignite the liqueur, then rinse the mouth for 30 seconds before swallowing. All the sensations of the oral cavity are stung by the pungent taste. The locals were very kind to me, as they let me to skip the ignition step... Feeling for this liqueur? Good to try but I don't have any desire to bring it home...
實用連鍵 Useful links:-
Chartreuse Tourisme
Chartreuse Ski Resort
