How Embarrassing!!

'Dad you're so embarrassing'!  'Mom please don't embarrass me'. Bewildered Nancy and I look at each other wondering if perhaps we've grown a second head or a new appendage since arriving in France. We realize that few 9 and 11 year olds view their parents as hip or cool but until recently we couldn't figure out why we were so embarrassing. Ok maybe we aren't the most fashion forward parents with the latest clothes but we know who Lady Gaga and Rianna are. We've tried giving the kids some space by sending them on errands such as buying a loaf of bread unaccompanied or allowing Simona to walk home by herself from school which is about a 20 minute walk. And yet on countless occasions we are scolded for how embarrassing we are. 

Back in the fall Simona along with another girl from her school represented the grade 6s at two cross-country meets. She was adamant that we not show up to cheer her on. In the mornings when we walk her to school (it's dark when we leave the house) she insists we let her walk the last leg on her own lest her friends spot her with us.  Similarly Madeleine was downright irritated when Nancy showed up at the school to ask her teacher about some french grammar lesson she was struggling with. This past week she was reduced to tears when Nancy along with another mother volunteered to accompany the class on an outing to a local gallery. Totally baffled at the reaction we reminded Madeleine how disappointed she was back home when mom wasn't able to participate in many class outings because she often had to work. As it turned out Nancy was on her best behaviour and received a passing grade for not being 'too' embarrassing. 

So what's the cause of all the embarrassment and torture we have inflicted on our 'poor' kids you ask? The way we speak French!! Or as the kids suggest our inability to speak proper French. I must confess there have been more than a few incidents which have justifiably given cause for embarrassment. Take for example last week.   We were having dinner when the phone rings. After a few "pardon, excusez moi, repetez plus lentement si vous plait", I finally make out it's a dad of one of Simona's friends inviting us to dinner on Saturday night.  What should have been a 3 or 4 minute discussion turns into a much longer 'discussion' as I struggle through obligatory pleasantries such as what can we bring and take down the address of where they live etc. I could see Simona, Maddy and to a lesser extent Nancy's faces cringe at my verb conjugation and sentence structure and as our discussion is about to end, instead of au revoir, I blurt out 'ola' just like Dora the Explorer. I could feel the exasperation in the air as I hung up the phone and the girls simultaneously howled hysterically and berated me for how embarrassing I was.  It was indeed embarrassingly hilarious I agreed.  

So after months of living in France and speaking 'french' daily to apartment rental agents, landlords, bank tellers, countless merchants, registering the girls for school, taking the kids to doctors and dealing with the hospital when Simona broke her arm, buying a car and getting insurance, filling out all sorts of forms and the list goes on and on and on, our lovely little darlings can only remind us of how embarrassing we are for not being able to speak French!!  And yet as much as we'd like to wring their little necks at times, we can't help but chuckle at the irony of it. After all it wasn't so long ago that Nancy and I felt equally embarrassed by our immigrant parents who struggled speaking English in Canada. 
Sal

Skiing for the Weekend

With the Clio all packed up we pulled the kids out of school early and off to the hills we went for a long weekend of skiing.  After our one day outing a few weeks ago I got the itch to get out and take advantage of being so close to the Alps to do some more skiing.  As a relative newcomer to the sport and as much as she enjoys skiing, Nancy wasn’t as eager as the kids and I to spend the weekend on the slopes.  Give her credit though, she didn’t spoil the party and off we went. 

Thankfully Nancy told one of the merchants the day before leaving where we were headed and noted how great it was to be able to be in the Alps within 3 hours.  Apparently the direct route we were going to take which I identified on Google Maps involved going through a road that is closed in the winter and had we taken that route I would have had to suffer the wrath of Nancy and the girls for having to turn back and detour through the mountains after getting halfway there.

This sun is blinding

With our re-vectored route established, we headed west towards Aix en Provence then north towards Gap and finally on to Serre Chavalier a 4 and a half hour drive from Nice.  Serre Chevalier is situated on the edge of the Ecrins National Park in the Hautes-Alps approximately 15 kilometers from the Italian border and is made up of a number of ski villages including, Briancon, Chantemerle, Villeneuve and Monetier.   As one of the largest ski resorts in Europe with 103 lifts and 250 kilometers of runs at altitudes ranging from 1200-2800 meters, the skiing promised to be limitless. 

As we approached Serre Chevalier, Nancy and I wondered aloud how much skiing we might actually do.  Apart from the peaks, there didn’t appear to be a lot of snow.  As it turned out Andy the manager of Residence du Temple, the place we stayed at in Briancon, suggested that we head over to Montegenevre (not part of Serre Chevalier but close enough), about a 20 minute drive through the Montegenvre pass towards Italy (as an aside, a leg of the Tour de France often passes through these parts).  In addition to being located at an altitude of 1850 meters and located in a manner that its slopes seem to be awash in sunshine all day, it received about 6-8 centimeters of snow the day before and generally had excellent ski conditions.   

Being about 90 minutes from Torino, Montgenevre is a popular destination for the Torininese many of which own ski chalets in the village.  The skiing was nothing short of spectacular with beautiful vistas of mountain ranges as far as the eyes can see.  We got lucky with two days of spring like skiing, temperatures in the 6-10C each day.  Our bodies exhausted, we called it quits after two days and decided Sunday morning to drive home through Italy stopping in for lunch in Torino.

Sal

In Search of Snow

Having just started skiing a few years ago, I was content with our 1 week of skiing in the Dolomites booked for later this month. We had already been to Auron skiing at peaks of 2500 metres a few weekends back and I was relieved to have made it through that.  But of course that wasn't good enough for Sal who has been skiing since university and Simona and Madeleine who started skiing at 6yrs old. They wanted another weekend of skiing in the bigger and higher French Alps and I was outnumbered. We set off on Thursday afternoon on a 4 and a half hour drive( it was supposed to have taken only 3 hours Sal had assured me) to the  town of Briancon, apparently the highest city in Europe to ski in the Serre Chevalier valley. Thankfully the mountain roads were not too laden with switchbacks which made the long  drive easier for all of us. Briancon is a small picturesque town at 1326 meters surrounded by mountains.  The views from the town were spectacular. 

We quickly learned that the French Alps have been suffering from a lack of snow this winter, and  ski conditions in the Serre Chevalier area were questionable. We were advised to ski in Montgenevre about 15 minutes away right on the border between Italy and France. The majority of the skiers were in fact Italian, from Torino, just 1hr 45 minutes away. We had 2 great days of skiing in sunny, spring like weather with highs between 6 and 10 degrees. I was happy to ski the gentle green and blue runs at my own pace and left Sal and the girls to the reds. By about 2pm each day, I had my fill  and enjoyed sitting in the sun at the bottom of the hills waiting for them to surrender to their exhaustion.

We visited the hot springs, Monetier les Bains, after our last ski day. Water from the hot springs flowing into various sized pools, both indoor and outdoor was a soothing treat.

Italy's First Parliament Building
 in Piazza Castello

We decided to set off early the next morning and visit Torino before heading home, one of the many cities on our list to see.  We were overwhelmed by the beauty of the city which has experienced a rebirth following the Olympics. There were many impressive and well kept piazze and palazzi. Piazza Castello was the largest and most important with Palazzo Reale and Cathedrale San Lorenzo, both spectacular.

Bank of the Po with Gran Madre Church

On this beautiful +13 sunny Sunday the squares and boulevards were packed with people shopping, walking, and lining up for ice cream. 
Our mere 6 hours in the city didn't do it justice and we hope to return as Torino is the city hosting the celebrations commemorating 150 years of the unification of Italy given it was the first capital.

Nancy

Chocolate.... of course!!

Winters As They Were Meant To Be

Lunch on the slopes

What a difference a week makes.  Two weekends ago, temperatures in the 15C-16C range with brilliant sunshine in Aix on Saturday and sitting on the beach and relaxing Sunday.   Fast-forward one week and while the sun continues to shine brilliantly day after day, it’s gotten cooler with morning temperatures as low as 2C-3C and daytime highs of only 10C-12C.  While many brave souls continue to spend a few hours daily basking in the sun on the beach and some braver souls still take daily dips in the sea, for us this is perfect weather for some skiing in the Maritime Alps in the town of Auron just under 2 hours from Nice. 

Nice eh?

The drive to Auron through the Mercantour valley with endless twists and turns and mountains on either side was quite beautiful, even more so given I didn't have to drive.  Poor Nancy and Maddy were nauseous the entire ride but fortunately the gravol did its job!

With Simona’s cast coming off there were no more excuses and no time to waste.  With an all in ticket price of 28 euros per person including lift ticket and return bus trip from Nice, there really was no reason not to get out and do some skiing before our big trip to Val Gardena in the Dolomites in a few weeks.  Nancy didn’t ski at all last year because of her broken foot and with Simona’s arm just barely on the mend, understandably there were some nervous nellies that had to overcome their fear.  After a few tentative runs they both let loose and got into the groove.

Located in the heart of the Mercantour mountains, Auron is a small town resort without the big name draw or prestige of Chamonix-Mont Blanc, Tignes,Val d’Isere etc.  Sitting at about 1200 meters with slopes rising to 2550 meters it certainly makes anything we’ve been on pale in comparison.  It’s a great family resort with more than 130kms of pistes for all levels of skier and certainly is a step up from skiing Blue Mountain at 250 meters!   It felt so great to do runs that last more than 2-3 minutes.  Halfway down one long run Madeleine yelled out to the rest of us “there’s more”?   

At times we felt as though we had the mountain all to ourselves and certainly did not miss having to wait in long lift lines.   For Nancy and I the highlight was sitting in lawn chairs enjoying lunch in the bright warm sunshine.

The past few weeks brings to mind what Patrick, one of my cycling friends, always likes to remind me of when we are out on a ride.  “Il ya la mer, le soliel e la montagne....what else can anyone really ask for"?  Hard to disagree with him as this really is the beauty of being in this part of France.  For anyone who enjoys being outdoors and active year round, the sun, sea and mountains offer no shortage of things to do.   Skiing, cycling and sitting on a beach enjoying the sun all in the month of January is the way winters are intended to be enjoyed.  

  

It’s lunchtime.  Gotta run and pick Maddy up from school for lunch break.  We are off to meet Nancy on the beach and have lunch.  How Nice!!

Sal

  

Culinary Rant!!

We're hungry, where are our frites?

Please forgive me but can someone tell me where we can have a decent (I said decent, not great) meal in France without breaking the bank.  I mean isn't French cuisine world renowned?  Or is this simply a myth?  Ok maybe I’m being a bit harsh but seriously, I’m starting to believe that French cuisine is nothing more than brilliant marketing by the Michelin guys. 

Delightfully delicious

Now before going to far on this rant, I should give credit where credit is due.  The French know how to make some damn good desserts and they know a thing or two about cheese, the smellier the better.  Now some might suggest I forgot to include baguettes to my list and while a French baguette stacks up well to Wonder bread so do many other breads so as far as I’m concerned it doesn’t make the cut.  

Delectably to die for

Last Saturday we went to Aix en Provence for the day and were all geared up for a wonderful lunch.  It was 16C, the sun was beaming and we had the best seats in the house on an outdoor patio.  The place was jam packed and the setting was perfect.   Once again almost 100 euro later and we were so disappointed at how awful our meal was.  Seriously it was just barely digestable.   Maybe it’s just us.  Maybe we just seem to always pick the wrong place or maybe we need to frequent places where a family of 4 has to drop more than 150-200 euro.  

I can’t begin to tell you how many times we’ve been utterly disappointed at eating at restaurants here in France.  Perhaps Parisiens would say that if you want to experience great French cuisine Paris is the place to do it but even in Paris we had meals that were at best ok!  Nancy and I had a similar experience 6 years ago last time we were in Paris.  We were simply not impressed at most if not all the meals we had.  (There was one exception in Aix last time we were there 6 years ago.  We had a memorable meal at a place called Le Formal.  It was closed last week but we will go back as it was excellent even though it cost us a small fortune).   

  

Enjoying Aix en Provence

Back to my rant though.  Seriously, steak and frites ain’t my idea of great cuisine!  The Keg does steak and frites and does it well and yet The Keg isn’t viewed as haute cuisine.  And yet it seems that no matter what restaurant, bistro, brasserie one goes to in France it’s always more or less the same offering.  Meat and frites.   Hey I enjoy a great cut of meat as much as anyone else but seriously sticking a piece of meat on the grill, turning up the heat and smothering it in sauce can’t be deemed great cuisine no matter how good the meat is.   And what’s with the frites as every side dish?  Like seriously get over it.  Find something else to pair the meat with.  We’ve been so underwhelmed at the lack of variety of offerings.  When we were in Paris back in November we ate at 3 restaurants, 2 of which came recommended.  While neither can be classified as Michelin rated, top-notch, haute cuisine restaurants, they weren’t inexpensive greasy spoons either and both set the 4 of us back a pretty penny (sans vin!!).  At best, they were ok and yet again it seemed that beyond the usual canard and foie gras (which I quite enjoy) the menus were littered with different cuts of meat and frites.  Where’s the variety and creativity?  As I said above maybe we just have a habit of picking the wrong restaurants or maybe we need to open the wallets a bit wider and really go upscale but good French food seems to be so elusive.  I look forward to receiving your recommendations.

Yum these frites are pretty good.   Someone please pass the mustard.  :)

Sal

Another Great Weekend

Cours Mirabeau

Realizing we are almost half way through our wonderful year away and still so much more of France we want to see, we decide to take a day trip to Aix en Provence last Saturday.  A beautiful sunny day without a cloud in the sky makes it a perfect day for exploring the city, just under 2 hours away.  Although Sal and I had visited Aix on our last trip to France, it certainly was much more captivating this time around.

Place Albertas

Aix is an elegant, modern, city with narrow streets that open up into beautiful squares.  We enjoyed strolling and shopping on the Cours Mirabeau dubbed the "Champs D'elysee" of the south. The wide tree-lined boulevard was a beehive of activity and the restaurant patios overflowing with patrons enjoying a meal or a drink in the spectacular January sunshine.

The lively vieille ville was a delight to meander through with lovely shopping, cafes and no shortage of street entertainers. It is certainly an alive and youthful city and droves of people were out in full force on this Saturday afternoon.  Place Albertas with its greenery and cobblestone road is one of the more unique and quaint squares we have seen in France. Hotel de Ville (Aix' city hall) was a beautiful and stately looking building overlooking a charming square.  LaRotonde, a large central waterfall and statute seemed to be the hub of the city, from which several roads emanated.  Madeleine got a kick out of seeing Eglise de la Madeleine which incidentally is where Cezanne was baptized. 

We could certainly see why Aix is a favourite destination for ex-pats.  Enjoying the city as we did, we couldn't help but wonder whether we would have preferred to live in Aix instead Nice.  We all agreed that Nice was the right choice for us since we love being so close to the ocean and its proximity to Italy. 

Fun in the sun

Last Sunday reinforced that sentiment, with bright sunshine and16C we decide to spend some time on the beach, as did many others.  It was a great day to enjoy the sun, listen to the waves and just hangout on the beach.  The kids skipped rocks, played cards and dreamed of the day when it would be warm enough to go swimming again.  In fact there were some brave swimmers out there, but for mid-January we were just content to be able to sit out on the beach. There is something so peaceful and relaxing about being close to the ocean.  I am convinced there are definite health benefits to these moderate winter temperatures and abundant sunshine people enjoy here. 

More fun on the beach

With weather like this we often wonder how we will manage another cold snowy Toronto winter.  Fortunately we don't have to worry about that until next winter.  In the meantime, we will continue to enjoy our winter here, where the only snow we see is far off in the Maritime Alps.

Nancy

January sunset in Nice

Tombola

Galette des Rois

Last Friday night we went to an Italian bingo night called tombola with some Italians who we have made friends with and are also living here in Nice.  The evening was at an international school where  the kids spoke only Italian and French and there was no English spoken throughout the whole night, yet I was able to understand both languages.  We had lots of fun and there were many kids. There were lots of prizes, one of the prizes was a big proscuitto.  Unfortunately I didn't win anything, but Simona won a big gift basket from Sephora. 
The event was in celebration of La Befana. The tradition of La Befana started when baby Jesus was born and the three wise man came knocking on an old woman's door asking for directions to see baby Jesus.  The old woman did not understand them, so she wasn't able to help them. Before she closed the door the wise men asked "would you like to come with us?"  She said "No I'm too busy."  After the wise men left the woman realized she had made a mistake and set off in search of the kings.  After searching for a few hours without any luck she stopped each child she saw and presented them with a gift because she felt so bad she had missed the opportunity to see the baby Jesus.
So from then on La Befana is celebrated throughout Italy, with La Befana coming to each child's house on the night of the Epiphany leaving candy for good kids and a lump of coal for those who are naughty.                    

In France, instead of La Befana they celebrate Le fête des Roi and instead getting candy, children get a chance to be king or queen for the day.  Boulangerie windows are filled with "galette des roi", each  come with gold crowns.  Inside each cake there is 1 little figure, like a baby Jesus or a king. Whoever finds the figure in their piece of cake gets to wear the crown and be the king or queen for the day.


Madeleine