Monaco Week 1...

There we are, our first week in Monaco has passed and everyone is in love with our new home.  T, E, and I all moved in on Sunday eve, sleeping on a blow up bed (how very posh), so we would make sure to get to the first day of school on time.

My lovely new kitchen. :)

Furniture shopping was exhausting.  Taking a siesta in
Maison du Monde's textiles department.

The kids timidly entered their new schools on Monday morning, and in the afternoon I was met with smiles and "I had a great day" speeches.  As I was in T's new class visiting with the teacher, I was worried when I saw T on his playground standing all by himself.  He was a little timid about the new space.  But he was all smiles when I picked him up.

The entry to the park that's between their two schools.

First day of school pic.

Had to get that pic fast, we were next to the stinky bush.  Even Monaco
has stinky bushes.

T got to hang out with E as his re-entry was a little later in the morning.

All on his own, but I do see he's hanging close to the girls. Smart boy. :)

Looks like it was a good day!

I've met a little group of expat women who all have kids in the same schools as mine and we spend an hour or so after school in the cafe next to the kid's park and chat while the kids run off their post-school day energy.  The three of us have found our stride pretty fast and are feeling quite happy with our new village.

J is still spending most of the time in Nice working, as his VO booth doesn't come for another week or so.  He makes the occasional trip with a car full of stuff and to hang with us for dinner.  The furniture is trickling in little by little and by the end of the month we will have places to sit, sleep and eat.  My hands are currently aching from putting together all the kids furniture.  (Thanks IKEA)  We bought things from several different stores and by the end of October all will be delivered and we should be all settled.

I think the thing I like about Monaco as opposed to Nice is the international mix of people.  (Besides the point it's extremely clean and well policed!)  It feels a bit like NYC to me where there are different cultures all living together.  Albeit a VERY SMALL NYC, did you know you can fit two Monaco's into Central Park?!?!  But, it's great because the schools for the kids are all French, French culture is still very prominent, and I have to still work on my French because in many instances I need it, but we all also have a lot of English around us so we feel a bit more at home in our new surroundings.

I think we're gonna like it here!!!

Back to School Sale...

It's September, and that means....school supplies lists.  And lucky me, it's in French.  

So, yesterday I spent the day roaming the aisles in Carrefour hoping the items I needed would just leap off the shelves into my cart so I wouldn't have to keep deciphering the list and asking every mom who looked nice enough what the heck each item was.   

A "porte-vue personnalisable" or a "chemise avec rabats"?  Help!  Well, after some hair pulling and a lot of asking, I finally filled my cart and headed home.  Now to label everything...some jobs are never done. :)  At least this year they informed me to buy pre-formed plastic covers for the books and notebooks so I didn't have to sit for hours making them out of plastic sheets like last year.  Thanks Monaco. :)

Finding Happiness...

A year ago I moved from my home in NYC to live in the paradise of the Cote d'Azur.  I was keen on the idea, welcoming the change.  I had been doing well in my career but was open to finding a new passion to pursue.  And getting away from the winters to live along the sea was a big sell!

Well, during this year, I've been struggling a lot with finding my new happiness.  In such a paradise I feel I have no reason to feel unhappy, but I do.  Doing a little forum searching I see it's not uncommon for Expats to go through a bit of unsettling, a little depression, some confusion, etc., while finding their feet in the new environment.  With the language barrier, the customs barrier, the lack of familiarity, the distance of family and long standing friendships, and the lack of career fulfillment, life can be tougher than one perceives it will be.

I feel like I've been contemplating the "new" me for months.  But, I've finally started to really feel like I'm making a list of things I want to include in my life, from possible professional activities, exercise and sports interests, cultural activities to pursue, even volunteering opportunities.  The list is currently in pencil and gets rearranged, erased, and added to from time to time.

The main problem I run up against, or maybe that's my excuse, is the language barrier.  Say I decide I want to return to school and become a child psychologist.  Well, I'd have to be really fluent in french to be able to communicate with the children well.  To understand the nuances of what they were saying and to speak back to them with such nuances to say what I want in a way that isn't so direct. The way good psychologists talk in circles, questioning and directing you without you realizing.  This darn language issue even keeps me from pursuing a true love of mine, horse back riding lessons.  I'm afraid they'll only speak French and I'll constantly be lost.  Again, most likely just an excuse, but it keeps me from diving in all the same.  None of this would be the case if we had moved to London.  But it rains there alllll the time.  Heck, right now as we're sunny and 90ish, they're cloudy, rainy, and 65ish.

And then there's the realization that some of my sadness is because I don't have my "wine therapy" friends.  Those friends that you can sit on the couch with or go to a good margarita bar with and spill all and vent and feel comfortable with doing so.  You support each other and let each other have a good cry when it's needed without any judging.   The ones that know your crabby side and still love you.  Let you take two weeks to finally get around to returning their call and still love you.  I miss you girls!

Anyway, my list keeps getting worked on and soon I hope I'll be brave enough to start tackling it in reality.  And maybe I'll find a "wine therapy" friend here, someone who actually stays living here longer than six months, and feel a little more at home.  It's not as easy as I thought to start a new life in a place so different than the one I've know for over forty years.  But I'm still willing to give it a try.

We'll look back on this post in a year and see where I've gotten to....

(all pics taken from my terrace by me, and maybe the husband)

***After writing this I found an article I would like to share....http://www.mondaymorningmemo.com/newsletters/read/1981, it's sort of about finding your passion or better yet, doing something about it.  Enjoy.

Tidbits....

Well, lots of little things have been happening.  So I thought I'd put all the tidbits together for you.  Life in France... 


First, Emm....she became potty trained this week using the Pee Pee Poopy chart.  I found that when she didn't have a diaper on she would use the toilet when she felt the urge.  Figured this meant she was finally ready.  So...after school we (she more specifically) would go au naturel and when she did something in the toilet she got a treat.  


Weeelllllllll, she's VERY treat oriented and thus found that the more she went the more she got.  Sooooo, in order to save her teeth, the chart was made and when she reached the red star she got her treat.  Now, at the end of the week she doesn't even keep track.  Success!

Way to go E!!

Then, I've been itching to try to make a quiche.  So the other night I went for it.  The tomato is my piece, no one else likes toms in their food but me.  Came out great.  I had always had it in my mind that it would be difficult and it's actually a lot easier than I thought.  Not a very exciting thing to share, but it looked so pretty I just had to. :)

Way to go S!

Next, T has really amazed us all with his progress in French.  I was blown away the first time I witnessed him jump back and forth from English to French.  Now he speaks to his friends in French as well as people he meets if they speak to him in French. (even if he knows they speak English too)   

His comprehension is really doing well and he answers in full sentences.  Now, he isn't fluent yet of course, and he doesn't always understand every word of the sentences being said to him (more of an overall gist sometimes) but I'm proud of him for just getting in there and speaking.  I was worried in the beginning that it may make him less extroverted...not our Taylor. :) 

Way to go T!

Rounding out the team, Daddy had his first experience with running out of dishwasher soap and substituting dish soap.  Ooops!  Hahaha... 

Finally, mommy got an early Christmas pressie so she could make her cafe coffee at home.  Love my new machine!!  A DeLonghi by Nespresso.  Makes espresso, cappuchino, and lattes all by the push of a button! (fresh milk, not the powdered in the capsule kind)  Ahhh, I'm so pampered. :) Either that or J is thinking in the long run he'll save money since a cafe cream is about 3-5 euros at the cafes ($4-$6!).


George Clooney is the spokesperson for Nespresso here in France so fingers crossed he'll drop by for coffee one morning. A girl can dream. :)

The team putting together the capsule holder.

Say hello to my new best friend!

And then we end our days with this...

So there you go.  Just because we live in the lovely South of France, life can still be pretty normal.  The views are just better and the champagne cheaper. :)

English Spoken Here....

Ahhh, just what the doctored ordered.  A short trip to London, a country that speaks my language. :)

I have to admit, simply stepping up to the check-in counter at the airport felt very refreshing as I could now understand all that was being said around me.  I felt a slight exhale now that I didn't have to think about every word I wanted to say and find that I couldn't locate any of those words (en Francais) in my poor, tired little brain.  Even Taylor was happy.  He kept correcting Emm back into English when she would say "Merci" to someone.  I think his brain was happy for the rest, too.  J was on the feel good wagon as well and said it felt really good to be there.  Every corner contained a memory from his childhood and he had fun showing his family where he grew up.


BUT, the problem with London, of course, is the weather!  We just don't like being cold, so living there isn't likely to be in the future for us.  We were lucky though that after the first day of overcast skies, the sun came out for us.  Like a shining beacon in the English skies.


We made the trip to see family that came in from Australia, J's brother and his family, and to cuddle their new baby. Here's a little glimse of our travels.....

Just landed...

Perfect that this was our cab from the airport.

Just a crazy Smart car covered in astroturf.

Ahhhhhh, finally!

The world's tallest man at "Ripley's Believe It Or Not Odditorium".

One of T's cousins, this one, was born two days after him.

J's brother and his two sons.

Sooooo many lovely parks.  London is so green!

A trip to London isn't complete without a stroll through Harrods!

The amazing food halls.....

We walked 10 feet away from the counter, tucked into a corner, and devoured our chocolates!

YUM! The city (country) of pot pies!!

The beauty of Harrods...

Daddy's old school uniform (available in Harrods), hasn't changed...

Daddy's old grade school.

She just loved holding her new cousin.

An old fashioned #9 bus sits outside T's school in Nice and London had just brought 
some of the old buses out of retirement...

So we had to take a ride in it!

 Well, there are plans to return to London, quite often if it's up to me.  There are so many more things to see and do and I'm pretty sure I'll need some English therapy here and there!!