Carte de Sally

One year on...

2009-10-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

We've been in France a year...and well nothing much has changed. To be honest it's been a rough ride and I think at times we've both wondered what would happen, but we're happy enough and we're just about to celebrate our 3rd anniversary with a cheese fest.

We went to see little Hayden last night, Hans and Sara's new baby boy, and it seems this morning we were a little the worse for wear - happily highlighted by the repeats on the shopping list. It seems we really do like coriander!! Wetting the baby's head sure is fun!

Cannes Film Festival

2009-05-22T02:11:00.000-07:00

This weekend is a long weekend in France. My favourites even though I'm not working, it just means I get to see more of eveyone and everyone is in a great mood.

Yesterday we went over to Cannes for the festival and strolled the prom, we did our best to hunt down the celebrities but they are a wily lot and we saw zero famous folk. I'll just have to wait to see the photos in Hello!, OK magazine and The Enquirer.

All the stars' boats

The only star we saw was a robot!

The weekend has got off to a great start with more than a few drinks at Smarties and Deux Freres bar, and being invited for a bbq on Sunday to watch the grand prix in Monaco on Sunday. Yippeee, and hopefully making a new friend. We did try to make a few more, but obviously shouting across from your balcony saying, "Are you English... do you fancy going for a drink?" does not work here in the Cote d'Azur and should be best left to Ibiza or Fuertuventura. We were a bit disappointed that they didn't come out but I did like the way Dan put it: "They've missed out on some great friends!"

Dan at Smarties bar

And that pound I've been trying to shed has finally come off whooooohooo.

Health eating

2009-05-17T06:19:00.001-07:00

This week has all been about trying to eat healthily and hopefully lose some weight along the way. To be fair I think I was getting there until Saturday and a killer hangover made me resort to my last bottle of Lucozade packed with about a thousand calories. I really wish I hadn't as the 1lb I did lose has gone straight back on, but I do have until Wednesday weigh in day to re-lose my pound.

What have we eaten:

From Ainsley Harriott's low fat meals in minutes we tried the following
Lemon garlic chicken with coriander - tasted amazing
Roasted onion, rocket and percino salad - yum, yum
Grilled peaches and mint feta cheese salad - hmmm, I think I put too much lemon juice in the salad dressing

From Channel 4's healthy food site we tried:
Feta and pomegranate salad
Chicken with mango salad, this seemed to be Dan's favourite although I'm not keen on Mango and the day had been a bit ofa Mango disaster which put me off but it was nice.

Chicken Fu-Yung - wow, simple chinese cookbook
Fattoush - a middle eastern cookbook

Turkish Chopped Salad - defiantely a winner from the 2nd Moro Cookbook

As for next week I haven't decided what to cook yet, but it will definately be on the same lines and I might just try doing a run or two and see if that helps shed a few pounds...

Brownie Points...

2009-05-14T05:52:00.000-07:00

Finally I have finished my CELTA in Paris and passed so although I'm looking for a job, I have time again to start blogging. And yes, for those of you thinking about doing your CELTA it is hell! Yes, I am now a fully qualified English teacher.

For those of you stuck in England, I just have to tell you I had to leave the beach early today as it was so windy; but what I really want to talk about is my wonderful boyfriend...

What did he do to gain all those brownie points?

For passing my CELTA he took me back to rainy Manchester to see Razorlight, which was fantastic and then on to Sankey's after. Although the whole weekend was brilliant as we managed to meet up with a few folk, it got off to an impressive start with him booking a room for the night at the Palace Hotel in Manchester - both of us had big grins!! However the hotel was a bit of a disapointment as it was freezing and our room was above the bus stop on Oxford road...but he still gets brownie points for effort and surprise.

Villefranche Merde

2009-02-07T11:09:00.000-08:00

After reading one of our Christmas presents, we decided to go on a walk today; up and over the top of Mount Boron and down into Villefranche. The views are pretty amazing but I think Dan was more concernced with counting dog poo's, I believe he managed to count 31! And although I was tempted to take a picture of one and post it below, luckily for you I restrained myself and took pictures of the view instead.

Well I wonder what the rest of the day has in store, I've attempted some of my French homework and have decided blogging is much more interesting and a lot easier. We can't really do much tonight as we're off skiing Valberg tomorrow. My mission for tomorrow is to get Dan on a red slope. Wish me good luck!

Last Night

2009-02-05T11:39:00.000-08:00

I suspect most couples have the same argument as we do, when we go to bed. Although maybe what I really mean is I hope most couples have this argument. Most nights when we tuck ourselves into bed we go through an almost ritualistic argument, over who has the most space. Last night though Dan took action, and before we had got into our FSPs (final sleeping positions) a piece of string had been stratgetically placed down the center of the bed!

A Weekend away from the Slopes

2009-02-01T06:47:00.000-08:00

This weekend we've torn ourselves way away from the slopes.

We've tried to go to the cinema, twice, and managed to miss the showing twice. We've made a new friend in the English book section in FNAC, yet failed to find a Harry Potter French audiobook, and ended up with the Jungle Book in english and french.

So this weekend has been spent with friends. Friday, was out with my French class. And Saturday was out to Sarah & Hans' flat for a few drinks; and now I'm writing this I've realised I forgot to take round their Christmas presents, 2 delicious creme eggs. I did buy them twelve but I have been a little hungry since we got back from the UK and I accidently ate the others which I do feel ever so slightly (very, Very) guilty about. Leo the German Spitz was on top form and insisted on Dan bonding with him by jumping up and kissing his neck, although Dan would hate to admit it I think he rather enjoyed it.

I think we've decided on having another party in February but haven't managed to nail down a date. This time round it might be a better idea to use a book that we don't use very much for a light prop rather than the French Dictionary and Nigella Lawson cookbook, as it was rather embarressing asking folks whether they had seen a 26.4 x 20.2 x 6.6 cm dictionary go walking out the door!

Skiing

2009-01-27T07:49:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I last blogged. I guess I haven't really been in the mood; probably because things seem to be going well in France. It's been nearly four weeks since Project Goddess started and I have lost four pounds! Still a long way to go, till I get anywhere near a size 0, but at least it's a start. I'm just looking forward to fitting into my own jeans again! Rather than Dan's and I think secretly Dan is too, as it means he can have his jeans back and he won't have to lie when I scream "Does my bum look big in this?".

We've been out to Auron with my little bro teaching Dan how to snowboard, and then out to Isola 2000 last Sunday which was great at the weather was fantastic and Dan and I managed to ski all day together, and he even managed a red slope so I'm pretty proud of him right now and I'm so glad he seems to have got the skiing/snowboarding bug.

My French lessons have been pretty hard ever since I got back from Christmas and today was no exception with the realisation bought home with a test. I spent all day revising yesterday only to have revised something that wasn't even in the test...grrr. I think I'll get the results tomorrow but I'm not looking forward to it.

Tomorrow I have to go job hunting as I've put it off as long as I can, and I have to start pulling my wait around here. To tell the truth, the thought of having to go and get a job in France is a bit daunting, just because of the language barrier so tonight I'll have to sit down with Dan and practise what I might want to say. Wish me good luck, and I'll promise I'll try and blog more...

Day 2 of Project Goddess

2009-01-06T12:34:00.000-08:00

It's day two of Project Goddess aka getting trim and slim for the summer and so far I'm on a roll, having made it out rollerblading last night and swimming today. In fact things can't be as bad as all that, as I did manage to get chatted up in the swimming pool to my surprise. Or was he just practising his English!

Last day of school or/ou Dernier jour d'école...

2008-12-19T08:50:00.001-08:00

I've just had a phone call reminding me that I haven't blogged in 10 days and demanding that I do so! So, a quick apology to those I've let down for not writing. It's not that I don't think about writing, it's just that sometimes I can't quite figure out how to say whatever I have in my head in an interesting enough way to blog about.

Today was the last day of French school before Christmas so for your pleasure I have managed to get a picture of my class, even if we do all look a little stunned!

Alayna, Nailya, Daniel, Eran, Marissa, Sylvie, Me & Catherine

And as I'm a little nervous about forgetting everything I've learnt I decided to head to the bookshop and get something to read over Christmas in French of course! Although now I'm starting to think I've bitten off more than I can chew with "Le Diable s'habille en Prada". So I might have to watch the film again.

Under the Weather

2008-12-09T02:02:00.001-08:00

I've been meaning to post since Friday with little success as I've got a cold. Woe is me...

We did have a fantastic weekend though and that's probably why I'm suffering so much today. It was Dan's birthday on Thursday so a party was held to celebrate on Saturday with our new friends. I'm not quite sure when everyone left as I apparently snuck to bed sometime near the end and I do seem to have quite a lot of gaps in what actually happened so I'll let the photo's talk for themselves.

Dan the Birthday Boy

Peek a Boo Sally

Pierrick: "Homme Des Femmes"

Pulling Faces

Malcolm the Head

Dan's Birthday...

2008-12-05T07:26:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was Dan's birthday, and although we're officially celebrating on Saturday with a bit of a party we thought we'd head out anyway.

First stop was the Negressco Hotel for some cocktails and unfortunately for us, they don't do proper cocktails so I settled for a chocolate milkshake and Dan plumped for the lemon sorbet in Vodka!! (which was very nice).

Onto a place called Queenies by the seafront, and then on to our final destination Un Gesu (Gesu should have an accent on the u) a great little pizza place in the Vieux Nice where we ended up speaking Franglo and stuffing ourselves silly. Whilst the waiters brushed busily by.

Merry from the wine we stumbled out onto the wet street. Yes, it does rain here! And headed off to end the evening playing air guitar with some French folk in a pub on Cours Saleya.

Christmas is a coming...

2008-12-02T13:30:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, Dan and I took a couple of pictures of the Christmas market being put up. I tried to get them up yesterday but technology failed me.

It starts on Saturday, and I can't wait to have a nose. The picture below reminds me of Where's Wally as the guy spraying the fake snow is pretty hard to see.

Arghhhhh passwords

2008-12-02T13:01:00.000-08:00

I've just spent 30mins trying to upload some new photo's, and failed miserably as everytime I do go to reset my password for flickr it times out...with any luck it will work tomorrow.

Dreaming Drunk French

2008-11-29T03:06:00.000-08:00

I've had one week of French, at Alliance Francaise and now I'm dreaming French verbs! Last night hopping into bed slightly drunk I was trying to speak French and then my dreams where of ipod coloured letters swirling around like candles on a cake into the French verbs that I'd been taught in class all week, and then gently disappearing in a flourish of glitter...as the next verb came in.

I usually dream of things when I've been doing them too much, but it's usually of an excel spreadsheet with complicated formulas in grey! I think French verbs are much better, and I can't wait to be able to speak French.

Monday

2008-11-24T09:09:00.000-08:00

So it's Monday, and I've had a fantastic day. I've finally joined my new French class with a few people in it and they all seem pretty nice, and I was quite shocked to find that I was the only Brit. Luckily for me there are a couple of American girls so that makes it a bit easier if I don't understand something. Plus my afternoon has been spent looking at gorgeous guys in Speedos, although I think the reality is somewhat different...

Who's got you by the balls?

2008-11-24T07:53:00.000-08:00

You wouldn't catch most blokes in the UK in any type of Speedo, and so I've always wondered why people in France and Italy always seem to be sporting the David Hasselhoff look.

My question was answered yesterday, when Dan and I went off to the local pool for a swim and he was refused entry by the lifeguard for his trunks being too long! Funny at first until we realised he was serious, and then even funnier when both Dan and I realised that he would have to go and buy some Speedos (at this point Dan's face began to turn a whiter shade of pale and he decided to watch from the sidelines). It seems that this is a rule for most pools in France and so for poor old Dan he will have to bite the bullet.

So I have decided to make Dan's job of choosing the perfect Speedo's easier by doing some research...Roar

Gis a Job...

2008-11-21T05:22:00.001-08:00

If your wondering about moving to Nice or have just arrived below is a list of a few places that might help you settle in. I haven't managed to get round all of them yet, but I'll get there slowly.

ANPE based in Valbonne
APEC based in Nice
GRETA French for Foreigners
Adapt in France
AVF
AHPSA
And if you need passport sized photo's you can get them at Nice Trainstation 5euro's for 5

I'm not sure why everything has to begin with an A??

I'll probably add to this list as time goes on.

While since I blogged...

2008-11-21T05:00:00.000-08:00

It's a while since I've blogged, and although a lot has happened I haven't really been in the mood. Over the last few weeks, I've sprained my ankle (still not healed), we've had our first guests Catherine and Adam stay and most things in our lovely flat seem to be falling apart, and no before you ask I still haven't found a job! Oh and best of all I have had a photo shortlisted for something called Schmap I'm not really sure what you get if you win but I just like the idea that someones enjoying my photos.

Yet we have made a couple of friends and I have joined a vino-gossip group although I haven't been out for any yet. And believe it or not I am going to head out and meet a woman that I met on a bus! Oh and the best news is that we finally have proper internet.

Failed Housewife...

2008-10-31T00:44:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm afraid so. Yesterday, I managed to fail all my new duties miserably. These are just some of the things I forgot:

1. To take the washing out, so now have to put the wash on again.
2. To get either Dan or my breakfasts for this morning.
3. And to clean the house.
4. Unpack anything.

And the list goes on...

I did however manage to get one thing done and that was to buy some flowers, but then I didn't expect to fail at that.

Chocolate OR Scales

2008-10-29T12:59:00.001-07:00

This morning I'd like to say we woke up excited that our stuff was turning up but instead we had moans of tiredness. When I asked Dan what he was most looking forward to arriving he exclaimed CHOCOLATE YUM, and I declared that I couldn't wait till the scales turned up...oh what a different world we live in! And boy oh boy I wish the scales hadn't arrived.

Dan Unpacking

Me Unpacking

So now we have all our stuff, we decided to head off and get me a French mobile number so I can start applying for jobs. And somehow we ended up going to the mjc http://www.mjcagora.com now I don't really understand what they do, but it wasn't quite what I expected...but I have signed up for French lessons in the afternoon on Mondays on top of all the other French lessons I have.

Pumpkins

2008-10-29T12:37:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to post all day, as I had so much to say this morning, but now I'm not sure whether I'll get it all out.

Yesterday most of the French people in the supermarket including the checkout girl were highly amused at my purchases: two huge pumpkins and a mop and bucket, but I didn't care, well not until I got on the tram later and got laughed at again...anyhoo Leo the dog seemed to like the pumpkin probably cause it smelt good.

Last night was interesting even if I might say somewhat disturbed! To start off with, it was "Il pleut des chats et des chiens", whilst we played like children making Jack O Lanterns to put on the balcony, both admitting that we'd like to throw pumpkin over each other. Oh I wish we didn't have carpet! Then after we went to bed, disturbing things began to happen... people, some may say "youths", began to holler and scream in the street and once they had finally dispersed (why the hell didn't someone call the police) the shutters started to rattle. I was convinced that someone was trying to break in - stupid I know as we're on the fourth floor...

Looking Up!

2008-10-28T02:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first Monday I've actually felt like I wasn't going up the wall, so I can only presume that things are starting to look up. Not that anythings changed at all, it's just that in my head I now have a firm idea of how I'm going to look for a job and what I need to get one.

Malky has decided to leave Nice and head down to Antibes, so he doesn't have to get up so early plus he'll have a pool where he's staying and you can't argue with that. And we should be far more settled in the next few days with all our belongings turning up tomorrow and the internet man coming round on Thursday.

Plus last night we realised we may be double booked on Friday, which is a sure fire way of feeling at home. This weekend it's Halloween and it seems that although it goes by hardly noticed in England it looks like things go off with a bang here. Probably something to do with all the expats. The Irish believing that it was them who created Halloween although I thought it was an American thing.

Two restaurants to rave about in Vieux Nice
Du Gesu - absolutely amazing pizza's and Pasta Basta wow what a Bolognese I thought that nothing could beat my Mum's but I'm sorry Mum finally a restaurant has trumped you.

New Flat

2008-10-27T05:34:00.000-07:00

Voila...We have finally moved into our new flat. Which is fantastic. Still no job, although I have been walking a dog called Leo for an American girl.

We celebrated with a magnum of champagne and lunch with Malky on the new balcony.

Well since I last posted we've been to Monaco, refused entry to the casino for a pee and found a German bar with men in lederhosen. Found a new bar which is a bit like a preclub bar, and been refused entry to a club called High and ended up in gay club called Le Klub and hopefully made a new French friend. But best of all we spent yesterday sunbathing on the beach just a 10 minute walk away from the new flat.

Lonely!

2008-10-15T02:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I expected to be a lot of things out here but I didn't expect to be quite as lonely as I am. Fed up off being by myself all day applying for jobs or traipsing the streets looking for SIM cards or trying to find associations that your not really sure you want to belong to in the first place. I'm sure it's not easy for Dan either but at least he has a purpose to be out here and people to talk to all day. Most days seem to start like this at the moment, they then generally get a little better in the afternoon and complete despair returns usually at about 5ish.

I guess I best go for my daily walk.

Je voudrais ou Je m'appelle?

2008-10-10T01:27:00.000-07:00

It's Friday. Yehaa!! I've been really looking forward to today as the weekend means I don't have to spend all day by myself hoping a tourist will take pity and chat to me. And this weekend it looks like I'll have my boy all to myself, the current plan is that he's going to pick up les patins so we can go rollerskating together, and the rest of the weekend we'll spend exploring villages that you can't get to by train?? Oh and maybe head to the waterpark - sounds like we have a lot to do this weekend!

So this week, I've been to three interviews and got offered one that I decided to turn down, and apart from that I've been exploring Nice; I've found that the Gallerie Layfette does not have free toilets pah, nor does it sell books. And just when I thought I had Je voudrais down and was starting to feel confident in one of my only sentences, disaster struck and I said "Je m'appelle un sandwich jambon?" Followed a couple of hours later in the bakery by me asking for Champagne rather than some sort of bread which may be spelt the same but is pronounced completely different. What else have I been up to? I've been chatted up in the laundrette, I've bought some baby books that Dan is currently reading me before bed and I've walked up the Chateau and I've bought a couple of postcards but failed to buy stamps.

Todays objective is to go and get a headset, buy some stamps and post some more pictures.

2nd Day in Nice

2008-10-06T06:11:00.001-07:00

So, it's been a while since I've managed to update the blog and so much has happened in the last couple of weeks. I've given up my job and am now looking for another one, the house has all been packed up and mostly in storage at a location unknown, we went and stayed at the loft suite at Marmadukes http://www.marmadukeshotels.co.uk/ a rather wonderful hotel and well worth the visit. And then back to cleaning the house before friends came to drop us off at the airport and Au Revoir!

Its' our 2nd full day in Nice now, and the Sun is already out and Dan has gone to work albeit a little nervous. We spent yesterday exploring our new city and taking a few photo's, starting off with breakfast by the sea. And today I'm going to try and make it to Monaco and back all by myself, tricky because of my limited French. Maybe I'll just go for a walk...

Engagement Party

2008-09-15T22:50:00.000-07:00

Wowee what a great weekend we all had. The weather was fantastic, the location perfect and all our friends and family around us. Just sitting here trying to write my first blog before we move to France and can't help thinking what a fantastic time we've had living in Manchester and how many people we will miss.