Chez de Boysson

Hey there.

Have you missed me in the past few days? Adjusting to my new life in Fontainebleau has taken a while. Sorry for my absence.

Last Wednesday, 15th March, it was Henry's, Thomas and Mariam's 28th birthday. So why not spending a long weekend skiing in Chamonix? Guess what: Henry's family, the De Boyssons, own three chalets in Argentière, Chamonix. Three incredible chalets, by the way. And what's the best use for two of those chalets during his birthday weekend? Definitely hosting his INSEAD crew: over 30 of us!

Between Wednesday and Saturday morning, Henry, Thomas, Mariana, João VB, Stef, João J, Zé, Miguel, Helena, Chantal, Marcelo, Vlad, Tony, Shai, Molly, Dimitri, Rodrigo, Paulo, Laurent, Joe, Laura and a friend, Alessandro, Consti, Gesa, Gerasimos, Robert, Jean Jacques, Mariam, Gorda, and me drove to Argentière. At some point, Henry's parents and one of his sisters came as well. Imagine how big and comfortable two of the chalets had to be in order to host all these people...! Each chalet had an incredible living room with fireplace, a modern open kitchen, plenty of bedrooms and toilets, a cinema room, sauna, and storage for skis and boots. Gorda and I, the only engaged couple in the group, got the master bedroom of the second house. Henry's parents got the one of the main house. Not a bad deal, uh?

So what was the weekend all about?

The first dinner was cooked by... me (at least partially)! I did the first fondue of my life, following Paulo's and Henry's instructions. Thankfully, the guys had already grated, and all I had to do was dosing the garlic, butter and wine, carefully melt the cheese, and add kirsch. Doing that for over 20 people was quite a challenge, but a successful one. The fondue was accompanied and followed by quite a few bottles of wine, nice music and some dancing around the couches and fireplace. Needless to say that Gorda was there as if he's spent the entire year with all my INSEAD friends. My life is so much easier because he is such an extrovert...!

Friday was our first ski day in one year. The crew had plenty of good skiers, the sun was out, the snow in the morning was unexpectedly good. Could not complain about anything! After a late lunch still at the slopes, we barely skied. The snow was starting to melt and the food at lunch was too good. Also, we could not get to the après ski too late and I still wanted to workout. By 6 pm, after going grocery shopping for the 30 of us, we went to Chambre 9. Chambre 9 is a really fun and crazy bar in Chamonix. We danced on the tables, Helena danced on the crowds, Laurent kissed a girl after all of us shouted at him to do so ("Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!), Gorda publicly proposed to me for the second time, Henry made a speech... Oh man, we had fun! Even more so, the dinner after that was hilarious. There was almost 40 of us, as some friends met us there, and we were all in a tiny private room at a burger place (or should I call it a cave?). I had to do the order for everyone myself as the waitress was too confused - Momma Marta, they call me. I don't think I had ever had a dinner with so much singing, shouting and laughing. Thanks Zé for leading all of that.

On Saturday, the weather was pretty bad but we had booked a place in the famous cabin up Les Grand Montets for 10 am, so we decided to try to ski anyways. What happened was that we did a good black slope, full of bumps and fresh snow, without seeing much more than 2 meters in front of us. That slope is famous for its view but the only thing we managed to see was the black sticks signaling the way. Guess what? By 11 am we were having coffee at a restaurant, and we only did one more slope before going back home. The chalets were so nice that no one really bothered to spend some time at home. I worked out, went out with gorda for an unhealthy lunch and some rugby watching on TV, and then we chilled for the rest of the afternoon. It is recruitment season at INSEAD, so us (consultants) have been spending quite some time helping others out. Between reviewing cover letters and CVs, giving tips for interviews and doing a few assignments, it was time to cook dinner for the group. Again, dinner was great (now with Maman, Papa, and soeur de Boysson), and drinks were fun. Again as well, Gorda played a main role entertaining the crowds.

On Sunday, we had a lovely last day of skiing. We managed to ski Les Grand Montets with visibility this time. Such a nice slope...! At some point, Gorda had to leave to Geneva, where he would catch his plane back home, and I went with Miguel to Chamonix to meet two Portuguese friends for a late lunch. After that, we had a quick shower, packed, and started a long trip back to Fontainebleau.

Everyday, we (my group at INSEAD) are more of a family. I definitely imagine each of us organizing reunions in the future and hosting each other as happily as Henry did. What a smart decision to have come to INSEAD. And how lucky I have been in ending up in a group of such cool kiddos. Merci Henry. Vive la France!

Oh Bali

All of a sudden, P3 was over and my flight back to Portugal on the 2nd of March was non-changeable and non-refundable. As soon as I realized I would have to pay at least €800 to arrive home a few days earlier, I decided to spend such days (and part of such money) in Bali instead. What a bright idea I had...

On Saturday, the day after classes and exams were over, Laura, Stefania, Iuliana and I took the 10 am flight to Bali. We could hardly be more aligned. All we wanted to do was to chill, enjoy a few last sunny days before moving to the forest, eat well, and detox from the Singy INSEAD bohemian life. We even had a rule that prohibited us to make plans, have schedules or impose anything to each other.

The four of us rented a nice villa in Canggu - in our opinion Bali's coolest spot. Canggu is a hipster surfer's village, between two beaches, by the sea, still with no traffic, and packed with the coolest cafes, healthy restaurants, hip stores and surfers. It's hard to describe how cool Canggu's vibe is. And it's incredibly easy to be happy there.

Two friends of ours, Nar and Rob, both from my P1-P2 study group, travelled to Bali too. They stayed in Seminyak - not too close nor too far from us - which enabled us to have independent lives but still enjoy dinner together. Oh man, those dinners... Nar is Indonesian - a quite well acquainted Indonesian btw - and he took us to some of Bali's best places: Bamboo, Kilo, La Laguna... <3

So, what was our life in Canggu all about? Every day started with an early workout led by me, followed by a dream breakfast in one of Canggu's unforgettable cafes, and by a few hours of work/ study/ chill by the pool. There was some shopping, there was some beach, some walking around, an healthy snack in the afternoon, sometimes a second workout later in the day, and a fancy-ish dinner late in the evening. We laughed and bonded a lot too. Among the cafes, we tried Crate, Avocado, and Canteen. Among beach clubs, we checked Echo Beach, One Man's, and La Laguna. Among restaurants, we went to Bambu and Kilo in Seminyak, and The Slow in Canggu. All super duper yummy, and incredibly healthy. Now that I think about it, this was quite a foodie trip...

 

On Tuesday, Stef and Iuli moved back to Singapore to pack their lives before going back to Europe, and Laura and I moved to Ubud. Ubud was very different but great too.

Throughout the past 6 months, Anandita, Nar's fiancé and a it-girl in Indonesia, became my friend. Her family - the Makes - manages, among other things, an Indonesian chain of hotels called Plantaran. Laura and I decided to book a room at Dita's hotel as it seemed quite nice, well located and not too expensive. Dita, hearing that we were staying there, was kind enough to give us not only the best suite of the hotel at the cost of its cheapest room, but also a complementary 1-hour massage each, as well as attributing us a personal assistant during our stay. The hotel was very good, extremely well decorated - simple, modern, and typically Indonesian as it should be -, and had hardly any customers, which allowed us to enjoy two incredibly peaceful days there.

We ended up spending quite a lot of time at the hotel, between long workouts, work by (or even inside) the pool, and more hours of sleep than usual. We took one day to explore the region. We loved both the rice fields and the coffee production site. We walked around, and, again, ate in very good places suggested by Nar and Dita. Heads up to Spices and to Lazy Cats Caffe. Yum!

We are now about to move to Europe with our hearts full, our body detoxified, and impressed with the Indonesian people and culture. I definitely want to come back to Bali one day. What a way of closing the Asian chapter of my life... Time to go closer to home now. See you (literally) soon!