Zara's first bath
Congrats Andre and Pegah!
We love and miss you!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Zara Bella Grossi is Here!
My brother Andre and his wife Pegah welcomed baby Zara on Sunday, June 27, 2010! I am so happy and excited for them! I know how long they've been waiting for her! Here is a clip of her first bath!
Zara's first bath
Congrats Andre and Pegah!
We love and miss you!
Zara's first bath
Congrats Andre and Pegah!
We love and miss you!
Saturday, June 26, 2010
I'm in LOVE!
Matt and I have decided that over the weekends we need to do as much exploring as we can. Again, we are here for a year....we hope to be here longer but we're not sure...so, we are trying to see as much as we can.
Our adventure today was Sisteron. Sisteron is about 45 minutes North of us. It is the most beautiful city we've seen so far! The Citadelle, originally built in the 12th century, dominates this town and provides the most amazing views of the town and Durance.
See for yourself!
Seneca feeding a donkey on the way to Sisteron
Tour de France is coming to Sisteron
Our adventure today was Sisteron. Sisteron is about 45 minutes North of us. It is the most beautiful city we've seen so far! The Citadelle, originally built in the 12th century, dominates this town and provides the most amazing views of the town and Durance.
See for yourself!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Mostly Furnished Home
We are almost furnished...I say almost because we are going to receive a TV next week and need to purchase a stand for it...other than that, we are furnished. We have the necessities and feel finally settled. We are still working on internet, cable and phone...which takes about 4-6 weeks to hook up....who knows why...anyway, enough about that here are some pictures of our place with furniture.
Forcalquier
On Monday, Seneca and I headed to Forcalquier. This town is about 30 minutes West of us. There is a Coffee and Tea House in this small village that will be starting French lessons so I wanted to meet the gal and learn more about the program. To our surprise the town was having their weekly market. It was awesome! Very large and what a variety of things....
We saw these sheep on the way home
Small village: Mane
On the way home, we also saw cows...
View of Manosque from the locale Mountain/hills
What a beautiful drive!
What a beautiful drive!
Le Lavandou
This past weekend Matt, Seneca and I went to visit my mamie and papie. They live about two hours from us. It was the first time we had been together without any translators. To our surprise we did pretty well communicating. Here are some fun pictures of the weekend.
We went to Saint Claire beach...absolutely beautiful!
Seneca getting assistance from dad. (first time with sand toys)
Seneca, me and mamie. We were putting cherries on our ears for earrings...we look hot!
We went to Saint Claire beach...absolutely beautiful!
Seneca, me and mamie. We were putting cherries on our ears for earrings...we look hot!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
la vie en france
With the exception of briefly posting pictures on our blog, I really haven't had the time to fully express my thoughts about moving here. So, here goes!
When Matt told me about a possible position here in France I was extremely excited! Selfishly excited because this is where my dad was born and raised. I have a few relatives that still live here in Southern France. So the thought of learning the language and getting better acquainted with my family was something I have always wanted to do. So, when Matt accepted the position and we prepared to leave I had no idea how difficult a process it would be. In our particular situation Matt was hired on as a consultant; which means we had to figure out how to get here, and get established without any help from his organization, etc...etc... and without really knowing the language it has been a challenge. My three years of French in school was not enough...ha..ha! Gratefully the people in our particular area have been very helpful.
Here are some things I love about where we live and things that are very very interesting:
Love
1. Grocery stores have a HUGE assortment of cheeses
2. Many wonderful boulangeries in the area
3. What an invention...you put a coin in the grocery cart to release it from being locked up and in order to get your coin back you HAVE to put it back...genius!
4. Love you have to recycle your bags when shopping.
5. Only fast-food in town is McDonalds which is not enticing in any way...except for the playground. I love that you don't have fast-food here.
6. Walking distance to the town.
7. People say "bonjour" all of the time
8. Love that the shops close for two hours each day (12pm-2pm) and all day on Sundays
Things not so lovely
1. Smoking everywhere!
2. PDA everyone....lot's of making out! he...he..
3. People here walk across the street and THEN look...very irritating.
4. They drive freaking nuts!
5. Takes two weeks or more to set up phone/internet/cable
6. You have to schedule an appointment to see someone at the bank. In our case it took two weeks. Still waiting on bank cards...they are efficient!
7. Definitely no urgency to work...
8. I returned a light bulb that was the wrong size. The gal said "non" because it was opened. So I had her hold it at the counter while I shopped. When I came back to get it, she slid it across the counter and it landed on the floor and broke. So I then asked...now can I get a new one? :)
9. Trying to find a place to live in the month of May was almost nearly impossible. They have so many holidays in this month it is ridiculous. Not only do they take the day off for the holiday but a few days afterward....crazy!
I know there is more...but that is it for now. I've really enjoyed the time thus far. We are finally settled and that makes me feel good. We've had a couple of years of unsettledness (if that is a word). So, this is good. I've also mat some wonderful friends through Matt's work and the international school here. I've been practicing my french and slowing making process. I find I understand more and more each day, but having trouble putting my sentences together. Hopefully soon it will flow. I meet with a group each week to practice. I'm also exchanging French for English each week as well and will be starting classes in the fall. So, wish me luck!
Bon après-midi
When Matt told me about a possible position here in France I was extremely excited! Selfishly excited because this is where my dad was born and raised. I have a few relatives that still live here in Southern France. So the thought of learning the language and getting better acquainted with my family was something I have always wanted to do. So, when Matt accepted the position and we prepared to leave I had no idea how difficult a process it would be. In our particular situation Matt was hired on as a consultant; which means we had to figure out how to get here, and get established without any help from his organization, etc...etc... and without really knowing the language it has been a challenge. My three years of French in school was not enough...ha..ha! Gratefully the people in our particular area have been very helpful.
Here are some things I love about where we live and things that are very very interesting:
Love
1. Grocery stores have a HUGE assortment of cheeses
2. Many wonderful boulangeries in the area
3. What an invention...you put a coin in the grocery cart to release it from being locked up and in order to get your coin back you HAVE to put it back...genius!
4. Love you have to recycle your bags when shopping.
5. Only fast-food in town is McDonalds which is not enticing in any way...except for the playground. I love that you don't have fast-food here.
6. Walking distance to the town.
7. People say "bonjour" all of the time
8. Love that the shops close for two hours each day (12pm-2pm) and all day on Sundays
Things not so lovely
1. Smoking everywhere!
2. PDA everyone....lot's of making out! he...he..
3. People here walk across the street and THEN look...very irritating.
4. They drive freaking nuts!
5. Takes two weeks or more to set up phone/internet/cable
6. You have to schedule an appointment to see someone at the bank. In our case it took two weeks. Still waiting on bank cards...they are efficient!
7. Definitely no urgency to work...
8. I returned a light bulb that was the wrong size. The gal said "non" because it was opened. So I had her hold it at the counter while I shopped. When I came back to get it, she slid it across the counter and it landed on the floor and broke. So I then asked...now can I get a new one? :)
9. Trying to find a place to live in the month of May was almost nearly impossible. They have so many holidays in this month it is ridiculous. Not only do they take the day off for the holiday but a few days afterward....crazy!
I know there is more...but that is it for now. I've really enjoyed the time thus far. We are finally settled and that makes me feel good. We've had a couple of years of unsettledness (if that is a word). So, this is good. I've also mat some wonderful friends through Matt's work and the international school here. I've been practicing my french and slowing making process. I find I understand more and more each day, but having trouble putting my sentences together. Hopefully soon it will flow. I meet with a group each week to practice. I'm also exchanging French for English each week as well and will be starting classes in the fall. So, wish me luck!
Bon après-midi
Marseille
This past weekend we spent the day in Marseille. We have a wonderful time! It was the first real exploration day without having to run any errands. We decided to explore Chateau d'If and the Iles du Frioul. Here are the pictures.
This was the boat ride out to the Iles with our friends, the Popes.
Chateau d'If. This is where they filmed Monte Cristo, Man in the Iron Mask...etc.
Views from the top of Chateau d'If
Photographs of the Iles du Frioul; our next stop
We were waiting for our boat ride back to Marseille when Seneca decided to sit with a bunch of school aged children. They were playing Charades with their teacher. The teacher was passing out candy...you can see Seneca was very into it.
C'est tout!
Photographs of the Iles du Frioul; our next stop
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