A Year in Villefranche sur Mer - Moving to France

Day 297 (Saturday) Last night we had a massive electric storm again and the thunder even woke me up. We sat outside and admired it for a while and I think it was the loudest thunder I’ve ever heard – it was quite dramatic. Early this morning it was still a bit cloudy so we had a bit of a lie in. I got an email from Chadwick saying that one of his gym buddies is interested in having English classes so I thanked him and wrote to the potential student, it looks like my work is really picking up now and it’s a great feeling. The weather cleared up by mid-morning and I sat in the sun in a summer dress for a few hours; it was bliss and it was great to see another humming-bird hawk-moth and it was early, it’s March 31 st and according to the following article it’s not due until April! Scientific name:  Macroglossum stellatarum April to December. An immigrant from southern Europe and Africa. Resembles a hummingbird as it flies rapidly between plants and hovers to feed over tub...

Day 296 (Friday) It was lovely to have a whole day off but it wasn’t very sunny today, which was a real shame. I had an email from William at International House School offering me some work with an exam preparation student. I was really chuffed that he hasn’t forgotten about me. He wants me to work every afternoon so I had to tell him that I’ve signed a contract with Languazur until the middle of May so I gave him my availability and he said he would put these hours to the potential student. I hope this works as I love going to that school. We walked into the old town and it was quite chilly so we were gobsmacked to see this idiot snorkelling in the sea. The restaurants and bars in Market Square are due to reopen this weekend for Easter and although the building work isn’t finished the bars were getting ready to open, a real sight for sore eyes. We can’t wait to see Villefranche in full action again. These parasols are new. Did you know that parasols are umbrellas for the su...

Day 295 (Thursday) Had a nice lie in this morning before going to work and when I left it was sunny but there is still a nip in the air. As I was waiting for the bus I saw a couple in their 30s walking towards me with their arms linked. As they approached the bus stop the woman broke away from her partner and walked into the bus stop and she was staring at something behind me making very appreciative noises, with a few oh la-las . I was too polite to turn around to see what she was looking at so I waited for her to walk away. I laughed out loud when I saw what she was on la-la-ing, which was this poster for Paco Rabanne. While I was waiting for Alexia I got my usual warm welcome from the reception staff and I was listening to the general manager switch from English and French with such ease but I couldn’t work out her accent. In the end I asked her where she was from and she said Sweden, so she is tri-lingual, I’m so jealous. Alexia was running late because she was stuck on a tr...

Day 294 (Wednesday) I had a very early start this morning and it was another sunny day. I noticed this sign on a neighbour’s gate and wondered why they didn’t want a pub, but of course it means ‘no publicity’, which means no junk mail thank you. I didn’t have to wait very long for the bus to Nice and the journey felt really short after my trips to Cap d’Ail. I was early so I walked very slowly and bought another multi-trip bus card. My student Jean-Marc, yes I’ve now found out his name, arrived bang on time. Three hours is a long time with one student but he is very nice and it’s not a problem. He has an estate agency Cap d’Ail and invited me to call in after work one day for a glass of wine with him and his wife. He was talking about the business and said that he has sold many properties to Russians but this has recently stopped because Putin is controlling the banks and visas to stop the rich taking their money out of Russia, it seems hard to believe that he still has such p...