Mon Tremblant, Quebec, Canada

This was our first year going away for February break and it was hugely successful.  The trek to Mont Tremblant is about a 6 hour car ride - a little longer with stops.  And while most trips to Canada feel like USA-lite, this trip felt like we were, in fact, in a different country.

Luke and Matt were on the slopes everyday by 8:30 to snowboard and would meet us at the conclusion of Adrienne's ski school at 3:00 pm.  They found different parts of the mountain they liked better than others but with the wealth of trails this place had, that wasn't surprising.  Adrienne really enjoyed her ski school instructor who was about 70 years old and french.  She did very well and is now a "real skier."  Matt and Luke were able to find her a few times on the trails or lifts during the week.  For our part, Coco and spent a lot of time eating and shopping our way through the pedestrian village.  Every person in the family had to pick up some extra snow gear while there so we had fun checking out the ski shops.  Coco and I found that we enjoyed the creperie and the poutinerie the best - no surprise there.  The kids and I also really loved the maple pops - there was a cute little shop where they would pour hot maple syrup onto a barrel filled with snow and while it was gelling, you would use a small wooden stick to roll it into a lolly-pop.  There were very good and tasted more like caramel than maple to me.

At the end of each day, we would leave the pedestrian village and drive about five minutes done the Monte Ryan to the town house we were staying at.  There we enjoyed time by the fire while chain watching old episodes of Friends.  The townhouse also had a jacuzzi tub which the kids loved.

Coco, Ade and I also had the chance to enjoy the indoor water park in the pedestrian village.  While these kinds of places normally drive me nuts, this one didn't.  It was clean and had a family hot tub which was really more of a warm tub but it was warm enough for even me to enjoy.  I also used the adult hot tub which was located outside.  So while sitting in the hot tub, my hair would freeze, while I gazed at the people flying overhead on the cabriolet or the skiers winding down through the village.

Mont Tremblant is definitely a dreamy place and one that we hope to return to next year!  It may have turned us into one of those ski vacation families :-)