2008-2009 Our Life in Vail

We had a great time during our five months living in Vail. We kind of parachuted into the USA during the Great Financial Meltdown. Had the accelerating pace of the devastation of our capital occurred before we signed the lease for our Vail Townhouse, we never would have come to such an expensive place. At the end of the ski season, however, we congratulated ourselves on our ability to experience the best of the Vail Valley on the cheap (except for our rent, that is). We met wonderful people and we experienced the consistently fabulous skiing in Vail. Click here to read our post about our skiing in Vail.

It was unusual for us, in our traveling experience, to have an invitation to Thanksgiving Dinner at the home of friends, even before we arrived in the place. In Vail we did! When we were in Puerto Varas, Chile, staying at the Melia we met two couples from the USA.

At Chamaca Inn with Bill Hibbs, Billie Kruger and Mike and Doreen Trucano - 4 Americans with whom we had a great time during their visit to Puerto Varas, Chile

In September 2007, we were already talking about skiing in Vail during the 2008-09 ski season. Bill and Billie then told us that they have a house in Vail and, at first, invited us to a New Year's Eve dinner and then pushed it back to Thanksgiving when they learned that we would be arriving in Vail in November.

That's Bill carving the fabulously delicious turkey that Billie made.

When we arrived in Vail, we did some hiking with Bill and Billie, before the snow started.

Our first hike in Vail with Bill and Billie, before the snow really started.

Through our friend, Wendy Blake Stagg, we were introduced to Bob Boris and his wife Giselle, who have a house in Vail. One of our first days of skiing was with Bob and the snap of him with us on the mountain made it onto our Season's Greeting in 2008!

One of our first days of skiing on Vail with Bob Boris.

We saw an ad in the Vail Daily for the Vail Athletic Club saying that it was having an open house for 2 days in early December when guests could use it for free. Of course, we went and loved it. We learned there was a drawing for a one-month free membership which we entered and won! We were able to split the membership so the two of us could use it for 15 days. It was fabulous (and had we been able to go throughout the winter, we could have eaten more!)

Dimitri enjoying the Jacuzzi at the Vail Athletic Club during our free membership

Speaking of eating more, have a look at our Vail Valley Restaurant Reviews by clicking here. 

And again speaking of eating, we spent wonderfully fun evenings eating dinners at the homes of friends. Being invited to dinner parties was a unique aspect of our social life in Vail. And we think it is unique to the USA. The comfort afforded by the beautiful homes, the delicious home-cooked food, and the great conversations made each evening memorable.

Christmas Eve Dinner at the home of Lynne Gertz and Bruce Anderson in Vail with their family and friends

One day on the gondola we met a couple from Hong Kong and we invited them to our house for a drink because we were planning to Hong Kong during the summer of 2009. We had a great time with them and their two daughters. When we were in Hong Kong they treated us to lunch at a delicious restaurant!

Lunch in Hong Kong with Huanting Timothy and Helen Li who we had to our house in Vail

There were many highlights during our 2008-09 ski season in the Vail Valley. We loved the experiences we had volunteering for the Bon Appetit Culinary & Wine Forum in January and the Taste of Vail in April, as well as the Hold 'em for Hope fundraiser. We hosted Carl and Sharon Blomquist at our home several times during the season, as well as Carl's nephew Michael Palembas.