Day 659 (Friday) 29^th March 2019

I caught the bus into Nice this morning and noticed this wisteria growing on our street.

The two hours with Benny at the café flew by as always and then I walked over to International House where I ate my lunch in Parc Mozart in the glorious sunshine.

As always Paloma was on time and we had a very interesting lesson comparing American and British English, she finds this fascinating because her sister lives in America and her daughter lives in London. She is giving us a desk and today she gave me the measurements and it’s perfect. She is a tourist guide and a mine of information and she told me that when the president of China visited last week it cost France an absolute fortune. He booked two floors of the five-star Negresco hotel and brought his own bed; the roads were closed between Nice and Monaco for two days and he actually spent just five hours in Nice. He had lunch in the Kerylos villa in Beaulieu and spoke to the prince of Monaco for an hour or so – who the hell does he think he is and why did France agree to it all?

Huw picked me up at 2pm on Kisbee and we finally found the second hand shop Troc that everybody has been raving about. It’s in a dodgy suburban area of Nice and it’s enormous.

 

We saw a few possibilities – a sofa

and a unit we can use in the very small kitchen

We didn’t buy it because we hadn’t measured the gap next to the freezer but we’re hoping it’ll work. We went to the big Carrefour in Nice Riquier and found a possible combination cooker/microwave; a hoover and we bought an iron.

As usual on a Friday we walked down to the old town and took some of our paintings and a few odds and ends to the new flat – we take something every time we go down so that when we finally move we can hopefully do it in one trip.

Iain and Nancy are back from America and it was so wonderful to see them in Le Phare again. We had a lovely reunion with them and Kevin and Angie were there as well. It was a full house tonight with a great deal of fun and laughter.

Today’s French phrase is…

21. Je ne peux pas manger… – “I can’t eat…”

This doesn't apply to everybody, but for those to whom it does apply, it's very important: informing the waiter about your dietary restrictions.

The simplest way to do this is to say “je ne peux pas manger X” – “I can't eat X”. Here are some of the more common ways to fill in the blank:

les cacahuètes – peanuts

les noix – nuts

le gluten – gluten

les fruits de mer – shellfish

les œufs – eggs

le poisson – fish

les produits laitiers – dairy products

le soja – soy

la viande – meat

If you're vegetarian, say so with “je suis végétarien” (for men) or “végétarienne” (for women.)

A vegan is a “végétalien(ne)“, although végan/végane is sometimes used too. You could also explain “je ne consomme pas de produits animaux.” – “I don't consume animal products”