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  Day 3235 (Friday) 17 th April 2026 This is Eze Village and this is Monaco.   It was another lovely sunny day, there is still a chilly wind blowing but we went out for lunch in the square and I wore cotton trousers and a blouse and Huw wore a T-shirt – finally spring is here. Town was pretty busy with lots of shops and restaurants re-opening for the season. Which French figure has the most streets named after them? The clue to this sign's location is in the name. (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP) In French town after French town, you’ll see famous names from history honoured on street signs - but who wins the prize for the biggest number of streets, avenues and boulevards bearing their name? Some street names are, of course, pretty generic and geographically meaningful - you know what you expect to find on a Rue de l’Église, or in a Place de la Mairie, whichever town you’re visiting.  Some are more fanciful - Paris' famous Champs-Elysées literally means 'heavenly fields'...
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  Day 3234 (Thursday) 16 th April 2026 This is Villefranche and this is the palace in Monaco.   You might be living in France if… (18 signs you’re a true-blue Francophile) You might be living in France if… 1. There’s nothing low-fat in your refrigerator. It’s not that nothing low-fat exists in France, but you’ll find very few items at the supermarket that carry that distinction. Yogurt and milk are two of the biggies, but beyond that, I’m hard-pressed to think of anything else we eat on a regular basis. Mostly, the idea is to eat everything in moderation – full-fat cheeses, creams, crackers, cookies, bread, etc.  2. You’ve lost 5 pounds. Eat what you want and somehow, miraculously, lose weight… Well, I’m not talking 10lbs here or that my body changed completely when I moved to France, but I did shed about 5 lbs. within the first year. The secret to all this craziness? Well, it all goes back to #1, eat everything in moderation and above all, no snacking. The French a...
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  Day 3233 (Wednesday) 15 th April 2026 This statue is on the ramparts in Antibes and this is Cap Esterel near Saint-Raphaël. Huw had to wait for a delivery today so we stayed at home. Huw did quite a bit of pottering and I sunbathed for a few hours, it was lovely. I think that it was the warmest day so far. The tourist boat came bang on time and it’s good to see there are more and more tourists every day. The Old Town was pretty busy too… We were really gutted when Huw got a message at around 3.30 saying that the delivery has been delayed until tomorrow – we could have gone out after all. Humble jambon beurre sandwich rises up Parisian social standings A sandwich at the counter of Le Petit Vendome cafe bistrot in Paris. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP) From bistro counters to luxury hotels, the humble Parisian ham sandwich, or jambon beurre, has undergone a dramatic luxury makeover. Once the no-frills lunch of hurried, cash-strapped workers, the humble ham and butter baguette has i...
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