Okay, so I was wrong about the snow...

Look at how my garden looks this morning!



Perhaps they switched off the under-floor heating last night!

Winter in Amsterdam

I love snow. It must be a throwback to childhood or something, but as soon as I see a few white flakes drift by the window I'm compelled to sit with my nose pressed up against the glass for hours, just watching. Even better, I love the crunch of it under my feet.

Sadly, snow in Amsterdam just doesn't work like that. No matter how cold it gets and regardless of how many fat flakes fall, they seem to disappear the instant they touch the ground. It's like they've installed city-wide underfloor heating. All week we've been getting these big snow storms which promise to instantly transform the city into a winter paradise. If you walk away from the window for 2 minutes to get your camera you return to blue skies, green trees and dry grey pavement again. It's weird.

Regardless of the frustrating weather changes, you can ice skate outdoors in this city all through the winter. Museum Plein has it's own outdoor rink that everyone is welcome to use. It's great to watch little kids with strap-on ice skates slide around with the ice-skating equivalent of a zimmer frame to lean onto - a wooden chair.

Trying to be a Snowboard Dudette

Me and my colleague Lisa organised a long weekend trip to Valloire in the French Alps for 44 colleagues last month. Peter joined us, and as it was his first winter sports holiday he decided to prepare for the trip by tackling a long-overdue ambition - learning to snowboard. I (for my sins) decided to join him. Having always skied, I previously saw snowboarders as those annoying people who cut you up on the slopes, but was curious to find out more.

You may be wondering how one learns to snowboard in a country with no mountains. The Dutch have come up with the perfect solution - revolving carpet. Actually the term 'perfect' is a bit off the mark, because trying to stand up on a giant white (soaking wet) treadmill while both feet are strapped to a board isn't the standard interpretation of perfection. Once you manage it (we were told) then snow will be a piece of cake. Still, it gave us a taste for the real thing and before we knew it we were turning, gliding (and, of course) falling with ease.

After a course of six lessons we couldn't wait to see a mountain. The big weekend arrived and the only thing that stood between us and some deep fresh powder was the fact that it hadn't snowed over the Alps in a month and the sun was shining gloriously over the resort. Still, thanks to the snow cannons, the nursery slopes were white enough for us!

My word of warning to any first-time snowboarder - pack knee pads and wrist guards (and possibly a cushion to stuff down the back of your trousers). If your experiences are anything like mine, you'll love boarding but your knees/wrists/bum won't. I actually lay in the snow on my stomach at one point and pummelled the ground with my fists out of pure frustration (much to the amusement of the passing line of immaculately-controlled six year olds). After two days of falling over, however, things finally 'clicked' and I was off! Unfortunately by the time this happened we had to go back to Holland. Luckily we're going back to the Alps for a whole week next month (and perhaps the bruises will be healed by then).