The Vacation that Almost Was

A few days after we arrived in Nice, our friend from San Francisco, Linda Wolfe, came to stay with us for a three-week vacation. Linda stayed for just shy of a week, as she had hurt her back prior to the trip. Even though she shortened her stay, we made the most of our time together.

Linda and I took the train to Menton, where we strolled the beach and stopped for a refreshing beverage. Later, Linda treated me to lunch, magret de canard avec fruits rouges -- duck breast with red fruits.


We both went to the beach a couple of times, where the sun was hot and the water was “heavenly,” as Linda said. And although she wasn’t feeling super, Linda was (as always) wonderful company.

St. Augustine of Hippo said, "The world is a great book, of which they that never stir from home read only a page." It's one of my favorite quotes. Of course, Augie also said, "Love the sinner and hate the sin" — one of my least favorite quotes.

At any rate, I'm glad Linda was able to share a "page" of the Cote d'Azur with Honey, Vince and me.

'Summer' as a Verb

[Note: This post includes a mess of links, as I find myself with a dearth of pictures to share. Rest assured, there is no (paid) product placement, and future posts will be more pictorial. I'm even considering video-blogging. Oh, I still love writing, but my fingers get tired of typing. And a picture/video is worth at least 999 words. Roughly.]

Vince, Honey and I packed up a couple of odds and ends for the return to our 'second home' in Nice. I've always (not-so-secretly) envied/admired/wanted to be one of the folks who has a second home, especially one who flits about the globe seasonally and peppers his conversations by using 'summer' as a verb without one iota of haughtiness or noblesse oblige. Imagine being someone who can blithely dash off on a whim -- at a moment's notice with nary a care or constraint.

OK, reality check: There was a bit of luggage involved (even though we left nearly everything we'd brought for our trip last year at our place in Nice). We had to lug a lot of electronic devices for our summer sojourn: 2 US cell phones, 2 French cell phones, a MacBook, Lenovo laptop, iPad 2, Kindle, Nikon Coolpix camera, and all the related cords, chargers, adapters and batteries. Luckily, I have a full-time freelance gig (that I like) to keep me busy and to pay the bills. And we had to pack the passports, tickets, dog-umentation (Honey requires reams of paperwork for international travel), along with a frilly frock or five. One must bring a few seasonal items for a summer by the sea, of course... But after check-in, we had only a small carry-on, a shoulder bag/murse, and one wee pup in a papoose.


The trip was uneventful, although our bums (and backs and necks) are still sore from the hideously uncomfortable ride from San Francisco to Munich. The seats on Lufthansa's airbus seem to be configured for contortionists. As we are short, we don't require much leg-room, but when the passenger in front of you reclines, you must do the same or get bopped in the noggin with a headrest. Ow. And said passengers were grumpy (OK, belligerent) when we kindly requested that they return their seats to the upright position during meal service. And we asked very nicely. When did 'polite' go out of style? Le sigh... The (lower level) lavatories were large and comfy, though. We'll check into getting seat assignments in the lav for our flight home in September.

Honey, of course, could teach the world a few lessons about good manners and a positive outlook. She logged 6,264 miles in a rather stylish Sherpa bag, under (cramped) airplane seats, without a pee break (at just under 18 hours from door to door). What a trooper.


The flight from Munich to Nice was on a much smaller (and far more comfy) plane, and we were greeted at the airport by our friends and neighbors Myriam and Andre. They whisked us back to 8 boulevard Victor Hugo with ease, catching us up on the gossip at Le Metropole, and welcoming us back home with much affection. They are so dear...

Not much has changed in our 'second home' since we were last in Nice. Our landlady, Christine, made a couple of quite tasteful decorative changes (love the chair) and ensured all was in order for our arrival (thanks ever so for the bottle of wine, Christine!). It was a treat to return to such familiar, welcoming surroundings.


Despite waves of jet-lag (Honey and Vince more than me -- thanks, Wal-Som), we're settling back in quite nicely. Today, I bought a set of digital scales (still shedding the weight I gained during our last stay in Nice), strolled around town, got some sun on the terrace, took a dip in the sea, and capped it all off with the perfect Negroni. Vince served a yummy salade Nicoise (nothing says 'Bienvenue a Nice' quite like a salade Nicoise) on the terrace. At this point, a warm bath seems in order. And I will take one, as soon as Vince finishes soaking his jet-lagged bones.

Life is good. And it's so good to be summering in Nice. Home, sweet (second) home.

Orange You Glad...?

Things start hopping again in the South of France when spring begins to bloom. While Nice goes mad for carnaval at this time of year, the very quiet and stately town of Menton celebrates all things citrus with La Fete du Citron.

A few weeks ago, I strolled through the dazzlingly festooned Casino Gardens. This year's theme was "Grand Civilizations," providing visitors with an unusual trip through various epochs around the globe. All rendered in citrus fruits and flowers. And campy mannequins. It was wacky, whimsical, fun -- and unabashedly cheesy.

Enjoy the short video below. You can also view a larger rendering of the video on YouTube.

Blooming Crazy

As part of the Carnaval de Nice celebrations, the Bataille de Fleurs (Flower Parade) is a colorful, festive highlight. Our Swedish friends Gittan and Jolle were in Nice a few days ago, and went to the parade; they took some great snapshots that they shared with us. I made a video of the pictures (under my nom-de-anagram, Ace Wrangle), so I could share the fun with my tens of faithful blog readers. Many thanks to G&J for documenting the event so superbly.

To see a larger rendering of the video, click here for the YouTube version.

How Swede It Is!

One of the best things about being a sometimes-expat is meeting up with old friends. We last saw Jolle and Gittan (below, L-R) when we dashed to Sweden and Denmark for a few days during our 2008 stay in France. They invited us for a lovely lunch at their home on the sea in Åsa, Sweden.

As it happened, they came to Nice for a few days, so Honey suggested we get together so she could meet them while we all caught up. Our friends arrived with a pretty bouquet:

And lots of love (and breadsticks) for their new friend, Honey:


We headed out to a cozy restaurant in Old Nice that's become our favorite, Bistrot d'Antoine.

On the way home, we took in the nighttime sights, including some of the Carnaval festivities.

Earlier in the day, Gittan and Jolle went to the Parade of Flowers, and shared some dynamite pictures of the spectacle. Stay tuned for those pictures in an upcoming post. (In fact, it was Jolle who snapped the final image in the above series, as I was too short to peer over the barricade surrounding the main square. Thanks for capturing the moment, Jolle. And for being tall!)

Put a Spring in Your Step!

No big news here, but the three of us decided it was time to shake off the cobwebs and get ready for spring with a "clip, clip here, clip, clip there...and couple of tra-la-las" -- so we cleaned up our act. Vince and I went to the barber for a trim, and Honey went to Angel's Toilettage for a grooming. Honey always leaves looking like a million euros, and she loves to see her groomer, Laurie.

Before (avant)

After (apres)

I like my new look, but Honey is still prettier than I am ; )

So, Where Did January Go?

January 2011 has come and nearly gone. When did that happen? And I haven't blogged all month? Truth is, I have no adventure stories and I have little news. I simply must get out of the house from time to time!

Nevertheless, all is well: We are happy, healthy and have been enjoying our fourth full month in Nice. I suppose we have gotten into a routine of sorts. I have been working steadily as an associate editor for Focus.com, and was recently contacted by an associate who needs another set of eyes for a travel book she has written. Five (sometimes more) days per week toiling on my computers may not be the path to adventure, but it does keep my bank account in the black. As any freelancer will tell you, it's an absolute thrill to be busy! And Vince is making daily sojourns around town, running errands, taking exquisite care of me and Honey (and devouring novels on his Kindle and in the old-fashioned, 'analog' format as well).

The big highlight since my last blog post on New Year's: I turned 45 on January 19th. Quietly. Carefully. One should tread lightly into what the French call "moyen age" (middle age). N'est-ce pas? Our friends Sonia and Olivier stopped by for champagne and nibbles, and we all raised a few glasses together -- good times.

They are wonderful company, and so thoughtful. They brought some beautiful roses that still look terrific after two weeks. Honey likes them too.

So, I have nothing earth-shattering to share, no madcap misadventures to report. We have decided that we will be returning to SF at the start of April, and are making plans to return to Nice from mid-July to mid-October. And we hope to spend a full year in Nice in 2012, with trips back to the US sprinkled throughout the year. That's the plan for now.

Meanwhile, we are very much looking forward to Carnaval de Nice. It's less than three weeks away, and parade bleachers are being put in place throughout town.

I'll certainly have plenty to share about Carnaval, and a post or two before then.