Concierge Blog
A busy weekend lies in front of the Concierge. Finally, he is back in his element. In compliance with the safety rules for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic all the guests staying at the hotel this weekend are professional athletes or otherwise involved with the upcoming bike race in Nals.
All participants and accompanying personnel have to undergo regular tests.
The Concierge is keeping busy. Expensive bikes have to be safely stored and athletes need tending to, so that they may prepare for the upcoming race.
Mainly young cyclists are staying at the hotel but also some more experienced riders. The race itself is divided into various groups:
Women - rookies and juniors
Beginners 1 & 2
Cadets 1 & 2
Even while the athletes rest, the Concierge’s efforts continue. Vans loaded with mountain bikes are pulling into the parking lot. The van drivers are asking for a garden hose, which the Concierge of course provides. He wonders: will 50 meters suffice? And, what for exactly?
Quite boringly, the hose is used to clean the bikes. But the bikes are far from boring, professional mountain bikes, the Concierge couldn’t even guess how much one of these would go for… He watches with interest as they are washed, checked and adjusted. The parking lot is transformed into an improvised bicycle workshop. The bikes flashing clean in the sunlight. For now at least, mountain bikes don’t tend to stay clean for long.
Not only participants of the race stay at the hotel. On one hand the Concierge welcomes the teams with their athletes, mechanics, van drivers, a sports doctor and the athletes parents, and on the other hand a group of race technicians, commentators, journalists and photographers are staying the weekend.
A big thank you to Michele Mondini, who is not also one of the event’s photographers, but also the organizer behind the race.
Congratulations to the winners and all other participants of this year’s edition.
One of the winners spent the night here at the hotel. Of course, the Concierge asked for a picture.
© Michele Mondini
Not even two weeks ago, we recommended our guests to enjoy their Sunday brunch on our terrace.
In the meantime snow has fallen, and not just a little bit, we haven't seen this much snow in years!
So outdoor activities unfortunately fall flat for those of us who prefer to stay dry.
Inside, the concierge tries to make himself useful.
He finds what he was looking for inside our cold storage rooms. Lemons, oranges and bergamots are just waiting to be processed. Nothing easier than that!
What was our recipe for jam again…?
And lo and behold, some time later, fresh jam is ready and waiting to be filled into jars and due to be enjoyed by our guests.
Still not satisfied the concierge continues on his quest through the cold storage rooms… what do we have here? Ah, cookie dough gifted to us by Chef Michele. More precisely “Julkakor” dough.
The original recipe, however, comes from another chef with whom Chef Michele and the concierge have worked. Chef Erik, former Executive Chef of the Swedish American Line cruise ship M/S Gripsholm. It was with Erik that the concierge completed his apprenticeship while Michele cooked under Erik as Chef de Cuisine.
Every year at Christmas time Erik baked cookies. This tradition was picked up by Michele, who kindly shared his dough with us.
And so the concierge set about baking. He might not be as naturally gifted as Erik or Michele, but the outcome is still something to be proud of.
In the late afternoon our neighbor came by and helped us clear the parking lot of about 35 cm of snow. As much as the concierge was looking for something to do that day, he preferred to leave the hard work to the professionals…
As a thank you, our neighbor received freshly baked cookies. Maybe they’ll bring us all some luck.
For now, let’s just hope there won’t be too much more snow.
Stay tuned...!
In the face of #Iorestoacasa, or #stayathome, the concierge had the opportunity to take his "old" camera, a Canon EOS 400D, out of the closet and deliver these quick shots to you. Even though the camera is heavy, and the memory card has the size and weight of the latest generation of mobile phones, the photos are still impressive.
Don't worry. These pictures won’t be the last ones you see from here.
Apples, apples, apples. Apples everywhere. Speaking of apples: Since there are no guests around these days, the apples, which are usually given as small presents, have to be processed.
What do you do with apples? Strudel? No, the apples have to be eaten immediately. Apple fritters? No, they're only really delicious when they're hot. Apple juice? No, our neighbour’s been making apple juice for quite some time now and better than we will ever be at it.
What to do with so many apples?
Stay tuned!!!
