The Regal Rules for Girls (32 page)
head
: toilet (“loo”!) on a boat
buoy
: an anchored flotation ball used to mark a position in the water
capsize
: when the boat turns over ninety degrees and everyone falls out
A
VOIDING
S
EA
S
ICKNESS
It can happen to even the most experienced sailing girls, so here are some tips for negating any bouts of nautical nausea.
Avoid going below deck any longer than you have to.
Do not attempt to read books, magazines, maps, emails, or text messages while onboard.
Fresh air definitely helps, so keep the wind in your face and take deep breaths.
Focus your attention on a fixed point on the horizon.
Ask if you can help steer the boat (also a good way to flirt with the skipper).
Drink plenty of water—dehydration can make you feel dizzy.
Eat light meals and avoid getting hungry—hunger pains can make you feel dizzy.
Take a motion sickness pill (like Dramamine)
before
you get sick (they are not effective if taken afterward).
Skiing
You definitely don’t want to go after any English guy who spends less than a week a year in the Alps.
If you’re a good skier, you’ll easily be able to impress him with your US-honed powder skills (the snow on American slopes is much better than in Europe, where they are accustomed to skiing on virtual ice). But if you’re a terrible skier it doesn’t really matter—in the Alps, the emphasis is more about eating and drinking
(mainly drinking) in the fresh mountain air than it is about actual skiing. It’s about renting a big mountain cabin (called a “chalet”) with a group of friends, having breakfast and dinner cooked for you every day by a pretty “chalet girl,” and drinking yourself into oblivion.
Whereas American resorts wouldn’t dream of putting nightclubs on their ski slopes and inviting the lawsuits that are sure to result by allowing skiers to do shots of Jägermeister before their black diamond runs, Europe is much more laid back about such things. If you want to ride the last lift to the top of the mountain, drink yourself silly at a slope-side bar, then ski back down in the pitch-black night with nothing but a handheld fire torch to guide you (this actually happens)—go for it!
Après skiing festivities (“after” skiing festivities) are a big deal, and there is a princely party going on somewhere every single night. So grab a group of girls and book your chalet at any of the following:
Klosters (Switzerland)
Who goes:
The King and Queen of Sweden, Prince Andrew, Prince Harry, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. (In 2004, Klosters was the setting of Kate and Will’s first public kiss.) Klosters is also famous for being the favorite resort of Prince Charles.
Where to stay:
The Walserhof hotel, which boasts a Michelin-starred restaurant.
www.walserhof.ch
Verbier (Switzerland)
Verbier is
the
place to be for the young jet set. When William and Harry go on family vacations, they go to Klosters, but when they go to party with friends, they go to Verbier.
Who goes there:
Prince Harry, William and Kate, The Duchess of York, Hugh Grant, James Blunt, and Jamie Oliver. Princess Eugenie met her boyfriend Jack Brooksbank here when she was celebrating her father, Prince Andrew’s fiftieth birthday.
