WICKED NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY

There comes a time when you have to take a break and just go for it

THE INVITATION - An innocuous looking piece of paper that led us a merry dance across the English Channel, through Paris and on, and on, until we finally reached the other side of the country that is famous for wine, cheese and garlic.

High up in the French Alps a party was organised by a crazy bunch of snowboarding guys from London and Gap.  Several DJs contributed to a loud evening of alternative music and dance to celebrate the New Year of 2007. It was a cold clear night, ideal weather for a drive up the mountains over a twisty rock strewn course wending a path to a considerable altitude, thinner air and the fresh smell of sub zero temperatures.

ACROSS THE CHANNEL - Time to disembark, and a long - no - make that a very long drive in shifts across France, and there are toll roads where they measure your average speed. You must be mad. Yup, we were. We both nodded off at the wheel at least once. On the return leg a wheel bearing failed, and we were late for the ferry. Now that was fun. We were in a rather dilapidated Golf in Strasbourg, the famous location of the Human Rights chambers. The knackered out Golf was not mine. Mine was fine. It was hers! Women only service cars when something falls off. I'd fly if I did this again and maybe plan out the trip a bit more. We just left home on a whim. I think I remembered to turn off the lights.

TOM TOM - Having driven across France from Dieppe to Gap, it was of course dark. We only had a scrap of paper with an address on it and a TomTom. So there we were blindly following directions from the voice of John Cleese, until the little electronic box said: "You have reached your destination." Really! We were in the middle of nowhere in pitch black. But, we had reached our hosts lovely cottage just on the outskirts of Gap. We didn't believe it until we got out to stretch our legs and almost fell over the postbox with our host's name on it. In the morning we took this picture. TomTom went up in our estimation. That's nothing. The return trip through Paris went without a hitch. A minor miracle for someone not used to driving on the right. Try that in London and see where you end up.

A BIT ABOUT GAP

Oh yes. A fabulous town with plenty of decent restaurants. We'd driven clean across France stopping whenever an eatery looked presentable and not one of the pit stops yielded a decent repast. Gap was different. Here there was one restaurant where the desert equaled banoffee. But is was pears and some kind of heaven in a bowl. Pears? I don't like pears. Apparently, French pear desert (I never caught the name) is sublime. Tastes nothing like pears.

The commune of Gap is almost entirely located in the Sillon de Gap [Gap trench], a wide valley bottom located about 735 metres (2,411 ft) above sea level and including the western slopes almost 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) (Charance mountain and pic de Gleize).

The highest point of the municipality is however outside this great valley, on another watershed slope, the Raz de Bec, at 2,385 metres (7,825 ft), is within the limits of the commune, and was in the former commune of Chaudun, which merged with Gap in the 19th century.

Gap (French: [ɡap]; Occitan: Gap) is in southeastern France, the capital and largest town of the Hautes-Alpes department. At 750 m above sea level before you start climbing mountains, it is France's highest prefecture.

Together with other Alpine towns, Gap engages in the Alpine Town of the Year Association for the implementation of the Alpine Convention to achieve sustainable development in the Alpine Arc.

Gap was awarded Alpine Town of the Year in 2002. In 2013 Gap was named the sportiest city in France by the national sports newspaper L'Équipe.

Gap is now the main town in the Southern Alps, and also bishop and prefecture of the Hautes-Alpes, where the Christian life is closely linked to the nearby Shrine of Notre-Dame du Laus. Above the village of Saint-Étienne-le-Laus, in May 1664, the Virgin Mary appeared to a shepherd. May 4, 2008, was proclaimed the official recognition of the Marian apparitions of Notre-Dame du Laus, in the presence of thirty cardinals and bishops from around the world, marking the importance of this event for the Church.

Crisp and cold. There is something about that Alpine air, you don't feel cold even trudging in slush from so much foot traffic.

The party lasted all night as expected, until about 5:00 am, when things started winding down and people began making their way home.  What an experience.  The mixture of French and English party makers were among the friendliest we've ever experienced.  Thanks YesBoss, and thanks also to everyone who made it to the event to make the night so memorable - some of whom are pictured herein. Lastly, a very special thankyou to Jon (Jonathan) and Michelle, for inviting us into their home in Gap, and for making us feel so welcome. The fresh cakes in the morning were fabulous. NK

This website is Copyright © 1999 & 2017.   The bird logos and name Solar Navigator are trademarks. All rights reserved.  All other trademarks are hereby acknowledged.       Max Energy Limited is an educational charity working for world peace.