A Year in Villefranche sur Mer - Moving to France

Day 813 (Saturday) 31 st August 2019 Today wasn’t the best day we’ve had since we’ve been here. Due to a misunderstanding regarding check out time at the big apartment we weren’t able to get ready yesterday as we had planned so we made a start on it this morning but we didn’t have time to finish it as we had an 11am check out at Cactus Roc and then a check-in. The guests had left the place in good condition and we soon got cracking. The new arrivals asked if they could drop their bags off at around midday and we agreed – what else can you say? They were lovely people, a granddad and granddaughter who are staying for a month because they have enrolled to study French for three weeks at the Institut de Francais here in Villefranche. They went off for lunch and we finished up. We missed the national anthems for the Wales v Ireland game and then sat through the most boring game of rugby ever and we lost and to make matters worse we watched the game with three Irish people!...

Day 812 (Friday) 30 th August 2019 Our Italian dinner with Andy last night was a great success; Huw’s risotto was delicious, which was followed by ice cream and raspberries and rounded off with a glass of Limoncello, a coffee in our snazzy new cups, biscotti and delicious babas. Biscotti, known also as cantucci, are Italian almond biscuits that originated in the city of Prato. They are twice-baked, oblong-shaped, dry, crunchy, and may be dipped in a drink, traditionally Vin Santo. Main ingredients :  Flour, sugar, eggs and almonds or pine  nuts Place of origin :  Italy Region or state :  Tuscany , the town of  Prato  in particular Alternative names :  Biscotti di Prato Amalfi Babas in lemon liqueur cream The babà is a typical dessert of the Campania tradition, a soft dessert with a pleasant taste and a light sweetish and slightly alcoholic note of its bagna. Rather than presenting it in its classic rum version, we...

Day 811 (Thursday) 29 th August 2019 Yet another beautiful day and I caught the train to Nice to teach for an hour and a half again but this was the last day with this student so other than looking after the apartments I should be having at least a week off before the adults come back – finally some time off in the sunshine, it’s been a long time coming. I had another relaxing afternoon reading in the sun while Huw did some work so I haven’t taken many beautiful photos today so I will use my spares and as I did very little today I found some French jokes – they’re not laugh out loud funny but they are quite entertaining. The French jokes that will let you have a laugh with the locals When it comes to jokes, the French don't have a reputation for being particularly hilarious, but in fact most people are fond of a good joke - especially ones that revolve around a play on words or some kindly mockery of other people. If you want to get involved with jo...