We did a quick trip to Porte Puymorens in the French Pyrenees for my birthday, by flying into Barcelona and renting a car (though later we found out that flying into Toulouse would have been easier).
Porte Puymorens is surprisingly great for snowboarders after a fresh dump of snow. Short runs, but it doesn't take much effort to hit run after run of freshies. And there was a rock field that provided endless opportunities to do small jumps and spins along the way.
Our quirky hotel was ski-in, ski-out, but hardly what you'd call luxurious. It looked like every stick was built by hand, including all the furniture inside. There was an old microwave oven built next to the main entrance, which the hotel used for collecting mail. The town below offered no nightlife, so we spent every night eating dinner at the hotel restaurant and then shooting a few games of billiards in the hotel bar.
The boys and I spent half of our lunch break trying to figure out how to take a photo with all of our reflections appearing in my friend's ski goggles.
The other thing I remember vividly about this trip is the Sandwich American. It was basically a giant steak and french-fry submarine sandwich. Yes, they put the french fries in the sandwich. Once again, I was confronted with the funny ideas Europeans have about Americans!
All in all, a relaxing and fun getaway long weekend.
We found some great off-piste runs in Meribel, even though it hadn't snowed in a few days.
Les Menuires through rose-colored goggles!
I couldn't stop laughing when we did this as a group activity one night -- about 40 of us, taking off at once, and careening into side walls and each other.
Hahahahahahaha!
My fantastic flatmates: Alex, Brian, and JJ.
What I love about this photo: that the shower rod was rigged with a broomstick (before that, every time we showered, the water went everywhere) and that Brian actually brought a brand-new shower curtain with him on a snowboarding trip. Zomaar. So random.
WRONG! This French breakfast treat was in the cupboard of our flat when we arrived. It seemed to go along perfectly with the motto for the week: "Too much sick for your head." We finally gave it a try on the 4th or 5th day of the trip; turns out that it tastes like a very rich thick hot chocolate.
And a few other good memories of Les Menuires (among many): fresh bread and croissants every morning, the picnic table jam, talking about music and Dutch/American culture, "wil jij een ei?", and learning that goggles in Dutch is "google" and singular as in "my google is fogged". 
