A Year in Villefranche sur Mer - Moving to France

  Day 1907 (Sunday) 28 th August 2022 It wasn’t quite so hot today, only 36 degrees on the balcony. At sunset last night we thoroughly enjoyed some champagne, which tasted even better than it should because it was free. Some difficult American guests in the big apartment left it behind when  they left, so we kept it for today. Huw Googled the name of the champagne and discovered that it was £49 a bottle in Waitrose. Pol Roger was known to be Churchill’s favourite fizz, and it’s also the Champagne of choice for royal weddings. 33 metres below street level, Pol Roger’s cellars are three degrees cooler than other cellars in the region – a tiny variation which makes all the difference. It slows the fermentation right down, which intensifies flavours and creates extra-fine, elegant bubbles. After four years of ageing, this Brut Réserve is well worth the wait. You’ll find aromas of pear, mango and honeysuckle, with ripe and developed flavours of quince, apricot and toasty brioche. ...

  Day 1906 (Saturday) 27 th August 2022 Happy birthday to me! Badger bit me out of bed this morning wanting to play…this was him last night being lovely and cuddly, a rare occurrence indeed. Last night Suzanne called round to give me a birthday present and it was wonderful! A few weeks ago she asked Huw for our favourite photos of Badger and he sent her this one. She met an artist through the new gallery in town and got this done for me. This is her dog Isla It was 42 degrees on the balcony this morning and Huw had made me coffee and presented me with my presents. Badger had helped him wrap them last night and they had great fun.   He bought me two books about France, some wonderful pens from Muji, a great Villefranche sur Mer mug and some of my favourite Provencal soaps. I’ve never seen round ones before and they are gorgeous. We went up to the Saturday morning market and it was as lovely as ever. I will put the other photos of the market in the following article. We also bo...

  Day 1905 (Friday) 26 th August 2022 It was super-hot again this morning and only one cruise ship today. Badger has found a new place to hide and sleep, in a paper bag. Ten bizarre stories from France that aren’t April Fools Here are ten of the weirdest stories The Local France has covered, which you might be surprised to learn were  not  published on April 1 st . “Women are better off without bras” says French scientist A French scientist insisting women would be much better off if they ditched their bras sounds like a classic April Fools’ story, but he wasn’t winding anyone up. The happiest academic in the world is still carrying out further research, measuring hundreds of breasts to confirm his theory. French drug dealers offer loyalty cards A local resident said he thought he was “hallucinating” when an enterprising drug dealer offered him a reward card for regular custom. But the business venture, giving loyal clients a 10€ discount once all ten boxes on the card h...