Posts Tagged ‘Living Abroad’

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!

31st December
2013
written by bob

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our readers!

Christmas this year is being spent in the southern French Alps at the Isola 2000 ski resort. Spending the week here for Christmas, we’re hoping for some great skiing and lots of fun in the snow. I was a bit worried the week leading up to our departure as there wasn’t much for new snow (for the past 2 weeks). Isola only had a base of 65cm. Not bad, but certainly not great. We were booked Saturday to Saturday and, unlike our last couple of local ski trips (Valberg & Auron), this time we drove rather than take the bus. The weather was perfect for driving and we arrived after a quick 2 hr trip.

This was probably the first real weekend for skiing since there hadn’t been too many snowfalls prior to this weekend. Where to stay? We were booked in the New Chastillon Hotel. Over the last 8 months, it has been completely renovated into a more modern hotel. It’s prior history did not have very good reviews. However with a new look, our first impression was that it appeared quite nice although they seemed to be still scrambling to get things in order upon our check-in; which incidentally took probably 45 minutes. Not a good start; especially if you want to improve your public perception and online reviews! (More on this in a future post.)

Miss G's Chateau Neige.

Miss G’s Chateau Neige.

Sunday was a day full of super-fun stuff to do! A fresh blanket of the “perfect packing snow” had fallen last night and awaited Miss G’s plans for a snowman! We ventured outside to explore the hotel surroundings. While I went to get G’s new, blue sled, G and Mommy rolled a few large snowballs for G’s first snowman. It was about as tall as her. We found a small hill for Miss G to sled down and after a few trips down the hill, we explored more of the area around the SkiPass Ticket building. G found some fresh, un-trampled snow where she could lay in the snow and create a couple of snow angels. Then, it happened. A family snowball fight! At first, it was every person for them self although G was taking the brunt of the flying snowballs. On the downside of a hill, G and I took cover from mommy. We stamped the snow for a floor and build a small wall to keep hidden from mommy’s barrage. Initially what was supposed to only provided cover, turned into 2 hours of snow engineering to produce a LARGE snow fort for Miss G. As time passed, the walls continued to be reinforced and built higher. Once complete, our “Chateau Neige” incorporated a lookout, an ammunition (snowball reloading) hole, and an underside entrance. People started to walk over, observe, and compliment us on our masterpiece. It had especially caught the eye of 2 younger boys that were nearby though they never came over. One gentleman, even went so far as to ask us if were going to build a roof for it? Ummm, not today! That 2 hours created quite the appetite!

Christmas Eve 2013 at Isola ski resort.

Christmas Eve 2013 at Isola ski resort.

After lunch, it was time to go collect our ski rental equipment. Miss G informed us that she wanted to attend ski school for 5 days this trip. Now enrolled, we need to go get her gear at InterSports. The shop was pretty much beside our hotel and following a quick 2 minute walk, we met Jean and his staff. With G taken care of we discussed a small problem we had with Katherine’s equipment. In the flurry leading up to our departure, we accidentally booked Katherine’s skis from the Auron store and not Isola. After 2 emails to InterSports to correct and clear up this honest error, no one replied to help us out (not surprising). At this point, we just figured that talk to the people a InterSports was the best solution. That was when we met Jean, the manager of the InterSports shop in Isola. Jean listen attentively to our situation and explained that it could be an issue since we paid for the equipment online and the money was with the Auron store. Ouch! However, Jean told us to sit tight and he would see what he could do. He would call the “big” boss and explain what happened. Ummmm, what? Actual customer service in France!? True story.

After a few minutes, Jean came back and informed us that it would not be a problem to collect Katherine’s equipment in Isola. Jean and his boss would work out getting the money from the Auron shop. Wow! We were amazed. In all the time we have spent in France, no one has gone out of their way like that before. Most shops/people we have dealt with would have just said, “too bad” and we would have had to double rent with no chance of refund on the mistaken gear. That is the typical French way. Jean and his staff are great! We HIGHLY recommend Jean and renting from InterSports when you visit Isola! Jean will take the greatest care of you when you aren’t expecting it! Merci beaucoup Jean.

Au revior, mes amis!

31st December
2012
written by bob

So during Christmas 2011, we missed out on an amazing Christmas deal; to take a helicopter ride via HeliAir Monaco and tour the city of Monte-Carlo from above. In 2011, it was sold out, however, not in 2012 though! We contacted our very good friends and asked them if they would be interested in a tour of Monaco as well. Carlos, Rita, and Bea happily obliged! At 30€ per person, what GREAT deal and an awesome way to close out 2012 with only a couple of days to go!

If you have seen Madagascar 3, you might pick up a small glimpse of what this helicopter ride was like. Albeit, the movie does a fantastic job of rendering Monte-Carlo in it’s present day form; pretty much to a “T”. However, nothing beats the real thing.

Enjoy the slideshow of Monaco – from above!

Au revoir, mes amis!

6th January
2013
written by bob

So this past weekend was the last weekend of our Christmas holidays coming to an end, Katherine and I decided on a ski weekend in Valberg. Located in the southrn French Alps this quaint and scenic town was quite impressive.

Booking such a trip at the last minute, especially, during school holidays, we were lucky to find a place to stay. However, after some painful (day long) internet searching we were able to locate a place the had accommodation with room that could sleep more than 2 people. Hotel Le Chatellan was a great little place to stay. This family-owned and run hotel was a perfect getaway retreat. The family is very nice and extremely helpful in providing an all-around excellent experience. From a “welcome” smile at reception to dinner in the main room complete with large fireplace to holding your luggage and ski equipment even AFTER checkout, our stay was great!

Getting to Valberg is quite easy. We opted not to drive ourselves and take the bus although we met a few people that drove themselves. Either way, it’s about a 2-hr trip from Nice. We got up before dawn on Friday 0500h, caught the 0624h train from Antibes to Nice Ville station. Once here we boarded the #770 Snow Bus, operated by Lignes d’Azur, departed for Valberg at 0715h, and arrived in Valberg around 0930h. Train tickets and bus tickets were under 40€ total. There is no way that we could drive our car, find parking for 3 days, and return home for that price! No driving worries for us was perfect!

Valberg from the top; Miss G ready for her first ski lesson; G lovin the snow!

Valberg from the top; Miss G ready for her first ski lesson; G lovin the snow!

Settling in we found the local shop to sign Miss G up for ski school. Then it was off for rental skis, boots, and a helmet. Check. Now time for lunch at Hotel Chalet Suisse. We tried to book this place to stay but unfortunately it had no vacancy. At lunch we were greeted warmly by Christophe; who was also our waiter on a subsequent lunch on Sunday. Christophe was an excellent waiter and understands customer service. His attention to customers is what I’d expect when dining in a restaurant. We highly recommend visiting him for lunch when in Valberg; he will take great care of you. As for the food at Hotel Chalet Suisse, it was delicious and there was a good variety of choices. All too often in this region you see menus that are always geared towards tourists where they are all basically the same. Not the case here. The food was excellent but, honestly, what made our dining experience most pleasant was Christophe’s service. It goes without saying that he wasn’t French…but South African. Quite frankly after our “service” conversation, it was clear he didn’t understand the French’s lack of customer service either.

Let me provide an example. Across the street was another restaurant/bar called “G”. On Saturday evening while Miss G wanted to play in the snow, we decided to sit on the outside patio and relax with a drink. After sitting for 20 mins, I decided to go into the bar for drinks. Once I ordered and only then did the staff offer to bring the drinks to us. Ummm really? Haven’t I done most of the work at this point? Then they asked me where we were sitting and when I informed them, they told me they couldn’t serve me there. Quoi? I was told to go to the restaurant area to be served. REALLY? I have $$ in my pocket and I choose to spend it at “G” bar, they don’t want it, and tell me to go buy drinks somewhere else? I kid you not, true story.

Ski school was very successful for G. By the end of the 2-hr class, Miss G was ski down the small slope all on her own. She did amazing! Saturday wasn’t so successful for ski school as G decided right at class time, she didn’t want to attend. Oh well…maybe another time but she did have lots of fun the day before. All three days, we rented a toboggan sled, you know…the kind with the pull-handle brakes? Miss G enjoyed being pulled up the hill and sent down by herself. While she didn’t know how to use the brakes (except when being pulled up hill), Mommy & Daddy became the crash pads at the bottom of the short hill. As for being in the snow, Guilliana LOVED it! It’s not the first time G has seen snow but living in Arizona and now the Cote d’Azur snow makes a very rare appearance.

Our weekend wasn’t quite so full of skiing but that’s okay. Getting G taken care of and ready to ski is a bigger deal. Katherine and I love to ski & snowboard! I we would like it to if Miss G would join us on the slopes. So far, all indications are looking in that direction. Yeah, baby! All in all, we had a great 3-day trip and where Miss G was bit by the ski bug. Now to catch that snow bus, provided by Lignes d’Azur, let leave the driving to someone else!

Au revoir, mes amis!

20th August
2012
written by bob

Over the past few weeks, G and Daddy have ventured out into the lively Bangkok streets and managed to discover one of the largest malls in Bangkok, Central World. Let’s just say NINE STORIES of shopping! WHAT? It was crazy, awesome! Each floor is for someone or something different. Floor 1 is Jewelers, watches, some clothes, etc where, say, floor 2 and 3 is women’s shopping and men’s shopping, respectively. Floor 4 was more my speed with electronics whereas floor 6 was more G’s thing with kid’s clothes and play areas, or as G likes to say, “play or-eas”. Back by the Toys ‘R Us there is a huge play area and kids zone where kids can run around and jump, play, go on rides, and just be kids. There are also lots of shops for things like kids painting, a clay store, tutoring, and, well what mall wouldn’t be complete without a “Build-A-Bear” store?

Sid is now born!

Another great attraction for kids is the Dusit Zoo. What a great place to see some amazing animals! On the cab ride over we travelled past the Royal Palace where the Queen of Thailand and her family resides. We also saw the Thai Parliament buildings in the same viscinity. It was fairly “hot & humid” the day we decided to head to take in the zoo but, then again, everyday has been like that so far while here. Upon entry to the zoo, there was a tram that we could ride around the entire campus and jump on and off as desired to visit and take in the different sights and areas. First up, the giraffes and zebras. Then we were off to see the monkeys, penguins, hippos, and the “big” cats (bobcat, lion, tigers – bengals and white bengals, cheetah, leopard). We saw camels, bears, crocs, and other reptiles. Toward the end of the day, it began to rain but that didn’t stop us from feeding the elephants, visiting the lemur & squirrel monkeys, and finally seeing some parrots and flamingos to end our FUN day!

Another new day and new adventure. This day we decided to check a place called the “Fun-Aruim”. It was very similar to Boomiland and Fun City back in the Cote d’Azur. These are a two of G’s favourite places! It was a total kids’ playland and G took full advantage of an unbusy afternoon of kids. She played for 3+ hours with a half hour lunch break staggered in there! One of the coolest things Miss G found was a ball pit where you can feed balls into 2 tubes (hooked up to a giant vacuum-like device) that suck them up to a plastic holding box overhead. Once a substantial amount of balls are collected, the vacuum will shut off and the balls will dump out all over the kids. Everytime this occurred, G would laugh her head off! I got a good chuckle out of the kids that, instead of putting balls in the tubes to be sucked up, sat there and allowed their hair to be sucked into the tubes. Of course, the kids themselves thought this was quite hilarious too! Despite this place not being as big as Fun City in France, i have to say that I was quite impressed with the quality of food in the restaurant. For the fact that France takes their food so seriously, I’m quite sure that the Thai’s took this category hands down!

Traffic in Bangkok is a little crazy to say in the least. Then again, I thought that of France when we moved there too! However, today we ended up heading back to the hotel during rush hour traffic. Definitely NOT ideal! In the end it turned out that our taxi driver didn’t really know exactly where our hotel was. Seriously, isn’t that why I hired you? Good thing I paid attention to the route we took to get to Fun-Arium and had a “rough” idea of how to get home and after an hour in the cab, we were back at the hotel. Safe and sound.

Here is a picture slideshow of our adventure out. Click to enjoy!

Dusit Zoo in Bangkok, Thailand

Au revoir, mes amis!

7th August
2012
written by bob

After a LONG couple of days of travel, we arrived in Bangkok, Thailand! Wow, what an amazing place so far although we have only been here 2 days. We are looking forward to exploring this amazing city over the next month! Yes, that’s right 1 “entire” month. Personally, I have never had 4 weeks of vacation but I’m certainly not going to turn it down! While Katherine’s time here is work and vacation, Miss G and myself will be on 100% vacation trekking through the city locating the zoo & aquarium for starters. First observation is that Bangkok is pretty Westernized; good and bad. Albeit, it’s nice to see a few familiar things when out and about!

BKK, here we come!

Upon arrival at BKK, it was literally impossible NOT to notice the politeness, courtesy, and the superior level of customer service that the Thai people provide! UNBELIEVABLE! France, you REALLY need to take some lessons in Customer Service from the Thai. The Thai are extremely willing to help you. We were greeted as soon as we stepped off the airplane and with radio in hand, a BKK rep tried to get G’s stroller up from baggage hold. Too bad we she was unsuccessful BUT it was due to fact that one load of bags had already been sent to Baggage Claim. Talk about fast! Shit, when we left France we were on a “restricted airspace delay” due to ground workers being on roving strike. Not all, just some. And, who knows, they were probably striking because their coffee machine was broken or had been removed from their breakroom! WTF is that? (no further comment.)

While filling out our visa card for entry to Thailand, a second BKK rep approached us and directed us to use the priority lane since we had a toddler traveller with us. REALLY? We don’t have to wait in that LONG-ASS line with the other 2000 people that just arrived?!? Thank you, sir for pointing that out! After a little bit of a wait in the priority line where we think the one and only Mr. Grumpy “Thai” dude was working, we finally had our visas processed. Not one smile from this gentleman nor did he speak during the entire process; he just pointed to what he wanted or wanted us to do. BUT alas, Miss G made Mr. Grumpy smile! As we were processed through and on our way to pick up our bags, G stopped to tell him, “thank you” and he leaned over where G promptly offered up a “high five” and proceeded on her way! He smiled and chuckled. We are pretty sure Miss G “made” his day!

Bags claimed. Now transportation needed which was pre-arranged with our hotel. Unfortunately, the hotel wasn’t there at the time BUT another hotel driver offered to call our hotel and let them know we were ready for pick-up. Unheard of! We don’t even think we get that kind of service in North America! Within 5 minutes our driver arrived. Just when we thought that was all, Mr. Non-Hotel-Driver took all our bags to the van AND assisted our driver with loading them. WHAT? Unbelievable customer service, AGAIN!

Asia, I know we just arrived but…we think we love you!. More to come BUT we’ll leave you with our first Bangkok gallery of pics. Enjoy the slideshow by clicking this pic below!

BKK Airport

Au revoir, mes amis!

1st July
2012
written by bob

Wow…what an incredible day! No cars, no clouds, hot and sunny, and a beach on an island. Does it get any better?

Yesterday we decided to make a new play date with one of Miss G’s classmates, Bia. They are like two peas in a pod and are so cute together! We, along with Bia’s parents, Carlos and Rita, planned a play date on the beaches at Ile Sainte-Marguerite; famous for where the Man in the Iron Mask was imprisoned and where the Hollywood movie was partially filmed.

According to Wikipedia

“The Île Sainte-Marguerite is the largest of the Lérins Islands, about half a mile off shore from the French Riviera town of Cannes. The island is approximately 3 km in length (East to West) and 900m across.

The island is most famous for its fortress prison (the Fort Royal), in which the so-called Man in the Iron Mask was held in the 17th century.”

G & Bia holding hands and waiting for the ferry to Ile Sainte-Marguerite.

While this trip wasn’t about touring Fort Royal (for another day), it was about languishing in the sun, enjoying a bottle or two of rosé wine, and great conversation with Carlos & Rita, who recently relocated to the Cote d’Azur from Portugal. Like us, they are enjoying the area and weather in the French Riviera and we all have so many things in common. It’s so great to meet new friends that are in the same place as ourselves; new parents, new country to live, etc. We have met so many fabulous people in the past year from all over the world. We are so blessed!

The Cote d’Azur is an amazing place to live and such a great opportunity for the kids! We are glad that Miss G has become great friends with Bia and now has yet another close friend to enjoy planned outings with. G and Bia walked hand-in-hand pretty much the entire way from the ferry to the beach! They get along so well and it’s so cute to see them having a conversation amongst themselves playing in the sand and floating with their water-wings in the water. Now, I think we just have to get all our other “France” friends together and have a “grande” time on the beach one day this summer! Hmmm, maybe a beach picnic is in store soon.

Here are some pics from our day on Ile Sainte-Marguerite! As always, click the pic below to enjoy the slideshow!

Fort Royal on Ile Sainte-Marguerite.

Au revoir, mes amis!

30th May
2012
written by bob

Have you heard…bobandkatherine.com is now available in your native language!

Parlez-vous francais? Oui!

Si parla italiano? Sì.

Habla usted español? Sí.

あなたは日本語を話せますか?はい。

With english being our first language with french as a distant second, we obviously compose all our blogs in english. HOWEVER now, you can have our blog translated to your language of choice. Pretty sweet, EH? HAHA! Yes, that’s my Canadian in me coming out. HEY, wait a second…I didn’t see “Canadian” in this language lists?!? WHAT THE…?

Translate our site to your language of choice.

Also, don’t forget you can subscribe to our RSS Feed. That way all new posts will be delivered automatically to your inbox or favourite RSS reader. What’s that? You need the steps to subscribe. Glad you asked. You will find them here from a -> past post.

Au revoir, mes amis!

29th May
2012
written by bob

After a couple of LOOOOONG flights for a recent trip back to North America to visit family, we decided we needed something a little less scheduled. Plans for a train trip to La Rochelle fell through due to train scheduling so we opted for a trip to Corsica. It sounds like a great set up for a relaxing trip, right? A ferry ride to the island, a rented bungalow/cabin a stone-throw from the beach, my beautiful wife and amazing daughter…perfect!

The view from our Corsican beach.

It was Miss G’s first time on a passenger/car ferry. We put on her psi-bands in the morning prior to getting in the car. You see, Miss G doesn’t do too well in the car driving in France. Can you blame her though? All those twisty-turny roundabouts. Heck, who doesn’t want to puke? As we were unsure of how she would do on the boat, we figured we’d stay on the safe side. I have to say though, so far, when using the psi-bands Miss G has not gotten sick (especially since she got sick on both flights on our trip to North America).

After arriving in Corsica late on a Saturday evening due to a delayed ferry departure, it took us a bit to find our rented bungalow at Cala Bianca Residences. The Cala Bianca property is only a short 11km drive from the port in Bastia and boasts quite large number of bungalows with about 150 or so!

Checking out our pine cone collecting.

Our bungalow was the perfect home away from home; a two bedroom place with a full kitchen with open living room, and a semi-private patio for late afternoon sun. It had everything we needed.

The next morning was quite wet. The clouds were abundant and dark in hue with brief periods of dryness. The rain stopped long enough for us to take a walk to the main clubhouse and check the grounds out. We went down to the beach despite the wet sand and gloomy weather. We met a very friendly Frenchman at the Cafe where we stopped for “un cafe, une verre de vin rose, et jus d’pomme”. Due to the weather, I think we were his only customers that day.

The next day the sun beamed bright and it was a beach day! Following breakfast, we were beach-bound to soak up some sun. Despite the day being a bit breezy, we managed to enjoy a few hours on the beach. With only a few other people on the beach, we pretty much had the sand all to ourselves. Building sand castles, dipping our toes in the cool water, and collecting sea-washed shells was so much fun with Miss G. She LOVED it! Later, we had an old-fashioned, charcoal bbq of burgers, grilled asparagus with red peppers, potatoes, and for dessert grilled pineapple. Delicious!

A welcomed email informing us of another late departure from Bastia back to Nice meant that we didn’t have to get up at 530am to catch a 7am ferry. A 1.5 hour delay meant that all three of us could get a little bit more sleep prior to heading back home from a short but relaxing getaway in Corsica.

Click the picture here for the slideshow of Corsica in pictures! (…be patient though as the slideshow loads.)

Corsica Getaway

Au revoir, mes amis!

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