A Year in Villefranche sur Mer - Moving to France

Day 1117 ( Tues day) 30 th June 2020 I love my little walk to the station every morning   In International house there was only one classroom full and all the students were wearing masks but the teacher wasn’t. The kids were a bit late so I had the chance to do some photocopying for the start of next week’s summer school. The two hours with the kids were relatively painless although they did play fight for a while but I have found a new weapon; if they are not behaving I tell them we won’t play Pictionary at the end of the class and it works. Two days down, three to go. On the walk back up to Nice station I saw yet another brilliant example of French parking – you’ve got to love them.   At the station I got confused again as they’d moved the entrance since yesterday but I found it eventually. On the platform the rules are still really strict and most people obey them but when the train arrived all the rules went straight out of the window and a young kid...

Day 1116 ( Mon day) 29 th June 2020 I think the canicule (heatwave) is coming – just as I go back to work. The beach was pretty empty but it was only 9.30. The train was on time and not too full and everybody was wearing their masks so it wasn’t too bad. Nice station wasn’t too crowded either but it took me a while to find the exit because they’ve moved everything around to keep people distancing. I was a little early so I thoroughly enjoyed sitting in Parc Mozart.   I wore my mask into school and there were just two office staff and two teachers. William wasn’t there because he is in Brittany spreading his brother’s ashes into the sea because he was a yachtsman. I met my new students with their mother and her English was excellent. She was speaking to the kids in a language that I had no idea what it was. She explained that she was speaking Serbian as that is where she is from. Her husband is French so the kids speak Serbian and French fluently so now she wan...

Day 1115 ( Sun day) 28 th June 2020 We had another gloriously lazy day again today and I am thoroughly enjoying Bill Bryson’s ‘I’m a stranger here myself.’ I had to email the owner of the villa to send some before and after photos of the work we’ve done and looking at this dining area reminded me of my first visit to the south of France many, many years ago. My neighbour Paul Thomas in Llanelli was four years older than me but we were great friends. While I was still in school he was studying French in university and he spent a year in Toulon and he invited me for a free holiday. We drove all the way, stopping in La Rochelle on the way and when we got to Toulon we had a big apartment for free. The owner had a house in La Rochelle and she was staying there for the summer. He had made a lot of friends during his year and he introduced me to many of them, including a real gigolo. I was only 17 so everything shocked, surprised and impressed me and I’m sure Paul thoroughly en...

Day 1114 ( Satur day) 27 th June 2020 We had a lovely lazy day today sunbathing and reading and I did some prep for work next week with the little monsters. (None of the following photos are mine) Which parts of France will French holidaymakers head to this summer? After being confined to their homes for two months during the coronavirus health crisis the French can move around freely again. With travel abroad still complicated for many the French are set to stay at home en masse. So where will they be going? In France, like most countries,  les grandes vacances  (the big holidays) is an important annual event. Every summer, the French take weeks off work in July or August to head away on holiday. But this year the coronavirus pandemic jeopardised people's holiday plans by bringing international travel to a standstill for several months. As a result, the holiday season will be slightly different this year with most opting to holiday in France. Some parts o...