New Blog Site....

To everyone who follows this blog at this address....I've started a new blog, still this one really, but with a shortened name so it's easier to remember and to write.


New blog... http://anexpatsadventure.blogspot.com/ 


I hope you'll join the family there and become a follower or sign up for post alerts.  I won't be continuing this one any longer and would hate for you to miss any of the fun.


Thanks for following us on our Expat Adventure!!  The adventure continues.....

Taylor as Tarzan...

Today I went with Taylor's class on their field trip to the Pitchoun Forest in Villeneuve Loubet, just outside of Nice.  This place is so fun!  They have three different parks, all having to do with the outdoors like climbing walkways between the trees, gliding down wires, going through mazes and other cool stuff that makes you remember your small town upbringing.

We went to one of the other parks here, Le Bois des Lutins, in May with my friend and her daughter. You can read about it and see pics in this post.

The kids wear harnesses and go through the course from tree to tree hooked to a wire, so if they lose their footing they don't fall to the ground. Smart! Too bad this one is only for 3-10 year olds.  Those wire glides look really fun.

So here are some pics of T doing his best Tarzan impression. :)

A quick lesson on how to hook on. 

Mastering the course.

Looks like he likes the glides too! Wheeeeeee

See you soon......

The Week in Review...

Well, another busy week full of fun to share...

Monday was a holiday so as you saw by the last post, we spent the day at the beach.  Super fun!!

Tuesday we picked up the car.  YEAH!  The dealership was so sweet, they gave it to us with a completely empty tank of gas.  So, a quick lesson on European fuel prices....for everyone in America who complains about high gas prices, we filled the tank of a small car for...brace yourselves...75 Euros.  That equals $105 dollars at the 1.4 exchange rate!!!  But, as I thought about it, it kind of equals out.  Everything here is 1/4th the distance to get anywhere.  If I went half way across the state of New York, I'd have gone to a whole other country here, maybe two!

And to think...I can get a tasty bottle of champagne, okay, sparkling wine, for 4 Euros ($5.60)!!  I guess it all equals out. :)

We also went to the town Marie (Town Hall) and got info on all that we needed to inscribe Taylor into our local public school.  We like the ABC School, but are thinking he needs to be immersed in French before he hits the equivalent of 1st grade when the real lessons start.

Wednesday we packed up our little car and moved back up the hill.  We were sad to leave the beautiful Port apartment, but Grandpa was coming home the next day.  Our new view...

Not bad, but the balcony isn't big enough for my lounger and the hill is not fun to walk up with groceries or two tired kids. Plus you can't run next door to the market or across the street to the bakery.  (Maybe these are pluses actually, it IS swimsuit season.)

Since nothing can be done in one day here, I took all the paperwork back to the town Marie and in my broken French got the paperwork filled in to then take to the school.

Thursday J worked hard to find a good work space in the tiny apartment and I hung out with Emm downtown for her Gym class, picked up my first paycheck (yeah) in France, and did a bit of window shopping.

Now on our third day for this chore, together we went to the Terra Amata public school down our hill to meet with the Director.  He was nice and lucky for us there was room in Taylor's age group.  The classes go by birth year.  He'll be with all the 2006 births, so he won't necessarily be the youngest in his class anymore.  The bad thing, his class will now be twice the size.  Which means he won't get as much personal attention.  We have to work this summer on teaching him more basic French.  Ok, Daddy will have to work on that with him and me.

Friday after T came home from school we piled into the car and drove along the coast visiting a few of the towns next door.  Villefranche is still one of my favorites!  We drove around St Jean Cap Ferrat, ate in Beaulieu's port, played at a park in Villefranche Sur Mer and came home all in a matter of a few hours.  It's sooo beautiful here.  I feel like I'm on a permanent vacation living here.  Shouldn't life always feel this way?

Villefranche sur Mer

Cap St Jean Ferrat...

Beaulieu...

Saturday Taylor had a "Spectacle" at his school where all the classes performed skits/musical numbers.  I added a video but didn't cut it down.  So don't feel obliged to sit through the whole 6 minutes, although it is awful cute (biased, I know).

Sunday we got back in the car and went all the way to Italy and ate in Ventimiglia.  There was a "little" parade, The Battaglia di Fiori, that had just ended so we hopped in line and walked along with them.  Too bad we didn't get out a wee bit earlier...

Charlie was King of the world. He really had a grip on that window! 

My next car...

Following the band.

These floats were decorated completely with carnations...the town folk compete with the decoration and construction of intricate displays depicting baroque figures for this yearly celebration.

A street in the center of Ventimiglia.

Thanks for hangin' with us.....

Whew, I gotta start making shorter posts. :)

Lounging at the Beach....

Today was a bank holiday here in France so Taylor was out of school.  Since daddy had oodles of work to do I took the kiddies to the beach with my California friend and her daughter.

I aimed us straight for my new favorite place along the bus line (as our money transfer STILL hasn't gone through so we have yet to save our little car from the lot), the Beach club at St Laurent-du-Var.

We took advantage of renting beach chairs on their private beach, felt like such a luxury!  Out here on the East side of the coast you have mostly rocky beaches. If you want nice sandy beaches, you have to go West a few more towns.  So, many restaurants create their own private beaches by bringing in sand to create a little sandy oasis for anyone who wants to pay for it. :)

Here are some pics....

I have to say...I love living here! :)

Our new car....

Okay everyone, thanks for staying tuned and returning for the third and final installment of "Car Shopping".  

The third day was our lucky day!  There, sitting on the lot, was the newest member of our family just waiting for us to arrive and claim her as ours.  She was the ONLY automatic available and she even checked off all our other boxes.

Now, a little game if you don't mind.  I like keeping you in suspense.

Don't look ahead or you'll ruin the big revealing. :)

Can you spot our car in this picture?

How about this picture?

Okay...may we introduce......

Our little Burnt Orange Peugeot. 

Yes, the same company I did the commercial for, and no, I unfortunately did not get a discount. :)


The poor thing had so many cobwebs on her that we just HAD to buy her and give her a loving home.  She may be colorful, but I'll bet we never lose her in a mall parking lot!!  

Although, with all the mom's in Mercedes A Classes at the ABC School, I may not be allowed in the drop-off queue. :)

Car Shopping Day 2...in a minute...

We're really looking forward to taking drives to see the country which makes buying this car our number one priority this week.  So, back to shopping.  

Today we went straight to the dealerships to see a couple types we didn't see yesterday, and one I kind of liked again.  Hoping one of them might have a nice, slightly used, automatic for sale.  I'll tell you, go into a dealership with two young children and they leave you alone to browse! :) 

A little video of our adventure....

Well, it was a short visit in each shop.  As much as I liked the shiny new cars, we were quickly ushered back to the big used lots with all the possibilities in our range, and for J's much desired automatic.

Tomorrow we jump back on the bus.  Fingers crossed we have better luck!

To Do Lists......

TO DO:

1. Buy a car

2. Find a new apartment

3. Learn French

Now that J is back and we've relaxed a bit we've begun working on the "TO DO" List.

This week....buy a car.

We have a list of needs.  J wants an automatic with AC and power everything he can get.  I want 4 doors and room for three in the back seat with plenty of leg room.

J is in love with the Mercedes A Class but we're sticking with a budget of 8,000 euros. Unless we go to Germany to buy our car we probably won't be riding in one anytime soon.

So we looked up used car lots and decided to head there first to see a few different makers and sit in each to narrow down the field.  We also didn't know where to get insurance or what we needed to actually buy a car in a foreign country. We figured we get some info from the salesman.

So, we all jumped on a bus across town and landed at a big lot full of possibilities.

The kids had tons of fun on this adventure.  Hold on you two, those keys will be yours soon enough.

I thought the Fiat Punto had a snazzy enough interior and room in the back.
Even the bright blue exterior wasn't too bad.

Then the Renault Clio snuck in...watching them on the streets I wasn't much of a fan.

Ends up, I like the Renault Clio as well.

Both of these were in our price range, but lacked the one important thing on J's list...they were manuals.  It seems that only about 1 out of every 10 cars in France is an automatic.  Hmmm, seems like this will be a longer search than we thought.

Stay tuned......

Ahhhh.....

My current location......

Certainly not a difficult choice on what to do with my afternoon!  After a week of working I'm spending the afternoon lounging in the sun.  Life is good here (at Grandpa's house) on the Riviera.  

We moved down the hill for a few weeks to Grandpa's apartment.  Safer and as you can see, quite a lovely location!!  Sure hope he decides to stay in Australia for a wee bit longer. :)

Ready, Set, Action.....

James has finally made it to Nice and my 3 and 1/2 weeks of "single mommy-ing" are over.  I bow to all the single parents out there!!  And of course as he arrives I jet off to Lyon to work on a shoot for a company that makes window shades, awnings, shutters, gates, you name it. 

To help James out I hired him a "Daddy's helper" to mind the kids in the afternoon to evening.  Naomi is FABULOUS!  If I could, I'd keep her.  Need to book more jobs for that.....ok, goal is set!

Now....Ahhh, a week away to relax.  I mean, work.

I hopped a train to Lyon, a 4 and 1/2 hour journey and sat back while the beautiful coast and then countryside whisked away next to me. Landing in Lyon a lovely woman met me along with my print husband.  Surprise!!!  It's the same actor as the car commercial.  Ah, reunited once again!  Crazy, both my jobs in France have been with him!!

We headed to our hotel and the shiny vacation suddenly came to a screeching halt.  I walked into a combination of "The Birds" and "Friday the Thirteenth".  Needless to say I will NOT be recommending this hotel to ANYONE.  All night in my camper style room the sounds of the highway fought with the sounds of the crazy birds in the trees outside.  It's amazing I fell asleep.

Sitting on the toilet I can wash my face and my feet at the same time.

But, I did finally fall asleep, and the next morning was transported to a paradise.  The house we're filming in Wednesday till Friday is lovely.  It sits up on a hill and has a very modern but comfortable feel…as you can see.  When not shooting we all sit outside around the pool or table in the shade.  Maybe I should ask the owner if I could stay in their spare room. :)

And we get to work...

Beautiful all lit at night.

Next day we try a hair change....

For the model/actors, once again the work is the same as home, just in a different language.  So, I have to try a little harder to understand my direction and I spend less time gabbing between shooting. :)  The meals are different though.  We have more of a family style sit together type atmosphere and there are courses.  I must remember this so I don't fill up when a lovely cheese and then dessert is presented. And once again, they have beer or wine at meals.  Still, I didn't partake.

I have to admit, here in France I feel a bit like "Pretty Woman" sometimes.  In some situations the customs are a little different than ours and since I don't really understand all that is being said, I kind of watch and copy those around me. Like, waiting for everyone on this smaller set to sit all together before eating. Or...kissing hello and goodbye are big.  Sometimes even with people you're meeting for the first time.  (Maybe that's why the crime is so low.)  As such, I don't think I've made a complete fool out of myself, yet. :)

Moral...when in doubt, follow their lead.

Anyway, back to shooting….when the brochure and ads come out I'll post a few pics.

This New Cyber-World....

I just love this new Cyber-World we live in.  It makes me feel that the world has become so much smaller, more accessible.  I'm not a phone person, don't know why, but I just find it soooo hard to pick up the phone and call someone.  But to throw out an e-mail or text and get one back right away….I love it.  Yes, yes, "but it's making us less social and more solitary", but for me, it's made me keep in contact with people just a bit better. I'm almost more social.

Sooooo, now living in France I see it even more.  Facebook was taboo with me just 6 months ago, now I check it once a day.  (I don't go crazy though and get messages sent to my phone, but I do keep up.)  I feel that I can just let people know I'm thinking of them and care about their lives with one simple "like".  I can also let everyone know something with one "share".  It used to be I had to call a number of people to share any news.  And that takes time.  Sometime you just don't want to take that much time to do something.  Maybe that's why I have a hard time with making a phone call.  It takes time.

I heard someone say once that he was upset that his niece had sent him a condolence over Facebook.  He thought it rude, that she should have called.  Maybe, but she's young and he's not so much anymore, and she's of a new age, he's not so much.  Our worlds and etiquette are a changin'.

Even e-mail, texting, and instant messaging help us all to stay more connected.  I can have a conversation with someone for free basically through all of these, instantaneously, anywhere.  I don't have to wait for them to get home to check their messages.  And it's been awhile since I had to wait for a letter to be delivered and the reply to arrive.  Do we realize that our children will probably never write or receive a handwritten letter? (Although getting one is still super special!)

And Skype, wholly moses how fantastic is that!?!  Since Daddy is stuck in NYC doing work, we've been able to feel like he's right here, within reach.  He even shared bath time (with the kids).  It was like he was there in the room with us.  He even caught T pouring water over Emm's head while I wasn't looking.  Wow, does that mean that cyber babysitting will be next???

The kids getting to chat with Daddy.

Emmerson getting to see an old friend who got left in NYC...soon to be reunited.

So anyway, there are no worries about living a country away when I have the means to stay connected as if I was next door.  And the Grandparents can still have regular visits with the grandchildren and watch them grow.  (Although I may have to make a trip home to help them set up their camera and Skype.)