Archive for April, 2014

22nd April
2014
written by bob

We recently passed our 3 year anniversary of living on the Cote d’Azur this past March. To be quite honest, I still remember the day we arrived and all the excitement and anxiety that went with it. Our lives have changes immensely since that day and I have to say we are better people for it and we are stronger because of it.

And…so the time has come that we have to make another important decision in our lives. Our time in France will end soon and we have to decide our next stop. About 1.5 years ago, the potential list of a next city to move was: Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Bangkok. Neither of us have spent much time in Asia. In fact my first trip was when we lived in Bangkok for an entire month in 2012 that included a few side trips; don’t miss our unforgetable ferry ride from Phi Phi Island to Phuket!. The global company we both work for is currently conducts an extensive amount of work with companies in Asia and, thus, they have a need for more representation in this part of the world.

Our current opportunity presented? Singapore…just named the most expensive city in the world to live for 2014. Hell, I would say that the Cote d’Azur is just as expensive so I wouldn’t say this is a concern! You certainly pay for the beautiful scenery in this area while living on the Mediterranean Sea. Don’t forget, this is France and let’s just say you are taxed out your wah-zoo here. However, I can assure you, living on the Cote d’Azur is truly AMAZING! It’s not called the Cote d’Azur for nothing. Travel here and you will soon realize what I’m talking about.

Nice, France on the Cote d'Azur.

Nice, France on the Cote d’Azur.

On the other hand, we also have the possibility to returning to the US; in particular, Denver, Colorado. Denver has been at the top of our list of US cities to move. We love Colorado. We were married on top of Aspen mountain. There are few places in the world that you can live that are truly desirable for many reasons. I really believe that Arizona, Colorado, and the Cote d’Azur share a common link, sunlight; 300 days a year of it! All 3 have quite amazing weather.

Decisions are upon us. Where will we go from here? We aren’t exactly sure yet however, we are quite sure this will be our last summer in the Cote d’Azur. It has been an incredible experience to live abroad, embrace a new culture, learn a new language, and explore a new continent (or 2). While everything has it’s pros and cons, we wouldn’t change a thing. All 3 of us are richer people from everything we’ve gained during our time abroad.

Stay tuned to find out where we decide to take our travels next. Right now, it’s decision time.

Au revoir, mes amis!

15th April
2014
written by bob

This post is long overdue. Yep, my bad…AGAIN. I’ve been slacking…

Over Christmas we enjoyed a family vacation in the southern French Alps. We have skied 2 of the other ski resorts, Auron and Valberg, in the 2hr drive from Cannes. The last one of the 3 we have not skied, Isola 2000, was our destination of choice for this Christmas ski trip. As we were heading there for a week, Miss G requested to go to ski school for every day. GREAT IDEA, G!

For skiing & snowboarding is something that we LOVE (almost as much as hockey for this Canadian)! We want Miss G to learn to ski as quick as possible. Family ski trips are the one thing that we look forward to and we have started G early with ski lessons. She had her first lesson when she was 3. Technically, she “should” have been 4 yrs old BUT since she was as bigger than most 5 yr olds in France, no one questioned it. Miss G enjoyed her week of ski school and improved to being able to use the tow rope and perform “pizza” braking. Two steps closer!

Christmas Day in Isola 2000.

Christmas Day in Isola 2000.

On Christmas eve, we had dinner at one of the local restaurants. Dinner continued into tobogganing for Miss G outside the restaurant. The conditions were perfect; lightly snowing with a healthy blanket of fresh snow already covering the ground. As it was Christmas eve, Santa was scheduled to make a stop-over in Isola “apres le Decente de Flambeaux”. Neither Katherine nor I have ever seen this event but it looked incredible! And just then, at 19h30-20h00 in the dark of the winter night, a line of torches from the right side of the mountain began descending from the top. The line grew longer and longer. It was quite amazing to see! Then, all of a sudden, a second line of torches were ignited and began a second descent from the left. As they descended further and further down the mountain, they were getting closer and closer and eventually joined into one line to become one super-long line. From mid-mountain onward, the line of torches lit the trail all the way to centerville. It was absolutely AMAZING to see and experience this “Decente de Flambeaux”!

Following closely behind at the end of the “decente” was Père Noël. Miss G was soooo excited to see Santa that she began shouting loudly, “Père Noël, Père Noël”! Within the large crowd around Santa and Miss G on my shoulders, all of a sudden candy was flying in every direction. I bent down and managed to grab a couple pieces from the snow while G balanced on my shoulders; quite well I might add.

Enjoy the video of the Christmas 2013 Decente de Flambeaux in Isola 2000.

Au revoir, mes amis!