A Year in Villefranche sur Mer - Moving to France

  Day 2452 (Saturday) 24 th February 2024 This is Nice near La Reserve and this is Villa and Gardens Ephrussi on Saint-Jean Cap-Ferrat. Huw went up to the apartment to do some work and I stayed home – the weather wasn’t too bad but not nice enough to go anywhere and besides there’s rugby on this afternoon. I found this article in The Local France… France to keep crown as world's most-visited tourist destination The beach at Arcachon, southwestern France. Photo by Thibaud MORITZ / AFP Latest data on visitor numbers reveals that France will be the most-visited destination in the world in 2023, a title it has held (excluding the pandemic years) since 2014. The World Travel & Tourism Council says that France is on course to be named 'most visited tourist destination in the world' for 2023, while the UN's World Tourism Organisation  says that France's tourist numbers  rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, with 99 percent of the visitor numbers seen in 2019.  France was ...

  Day 2451 (Friday) 23 rd February 2024 This is Beaulieu  and this is Eze bord de Mer. It was quite cloudy this morning but it soon brightened up and we had a nice afternoon. We both went up to the apartment and Huw did some more prep and I painted the skirting boards of the third bedroom. We can soon rebuild the bedrooms and then it’s just the huge living room to do. 7 Fun Facts about Nice France 1. Nice was not always French A fact that not many people are aware of, Nice was not always French.  Originally, the district of Nice belonged to the House of Savoy, which was the ruling family of the Kingdom of Sardinia. Only in the year 1860, Nizza became a part of France.   This happened after Italy reluctantly gave it up to repay France for helping them to defend themselves against the Austrians.  This is also the reason why Nice represents itself as a composition of Italy and France. Be it in architecture, cuisine, or lifestyle. 2. A Cannon Shot for Lunch I ...

  Day 2450 (Thursday) 22 nd February 2024 This is Rue du Poilu (our street) back in the day, it doesn’t look very different but I see that they had shops back then – there are hardly any these days.    As promised by the weather forecast yesterday today was grey and wet but we had a bit of excitement – there were two dolphins playing in the bay. I wish they’d come closer but it was still exciting. Huw also took this short video. Huw went up to the apartment to do some work, I was meant to go with him but it was too wet. It brightened up slightly in the afternoon but not much. There was an announcement made by the mayor today…I don’t think it will affect us but… The threat of Airbnb to local towns - More and more towns on the Côte d'Azur are at war with Airbnb in an attempt to save long-term rentals. Coastal communities are increasingly tightening regulations to limit furnished tourist accommodation. Among them, is Villefranche-sur-Mer which according to local reports has...