The Ferris Wheel

So if you have seen photos of the main square of Nice during the Christmas season, you would have noticed that there is a giant Ferris wheel taking up some room. Today, we decided to FINALLY pay the 5 euros and take 'er for a spin, literally? Also, tomorrow is the last day that it will be running, so we kinda had to.

It was a beautiful day - you couldn't have asked for nicer weather on a January afternoon. Well, it could have been a little warmer, but I wasn't complaining. So we paid our 5 euros and waited in line. Unfortunately for us, there was a group of four Italian men that were right behind us. And when I say right behind us, I mean SURROUNDING us. I don't understand these Europeans. They do NOT know how to line up (or queue as the Brits would say). It's more like, let's all mush together and see how close we can get to each other without someone getting angry.

Well, it's always April and I that are the ones that get angry (but clearly we can't turn around and yell at these crazy folks because they would pretend they don't understand and just push up closer). Instead we speak in very loud English: "Oh my gosh.... it is SO ANNOYING when people have to stand SO CLOSE TO YOU!" over and over again. And sometimes we'll switch it up like "I am going to absolutely FREAK OUT if these people don't BACK UP!!". They just don't catch on.

Oh well!! The Ferris wheel ride was fun - even if the creepy Italian men were trying to talk to us when we were actually moving. They wanted their photo taken. No thanks, I think I'll pass. I've already got my fair share of creepy European men in the background of a lot of my photos.

The photos that I've added to this post are: (1) the token for getting on the Ferris wheel - it reads: "Ticket valable pour 1 personne" - who knew that they would call the token a ticket? Psh! (2) April on the Ferris wheel with the Mediterranean Sea as the backdrop, and (3) ME! on the Ferris wheel with Nice Centre as the background, oh and the mountains (well, part of A mountain) in the background.

This was just what I needed. Love you all and miss you very much!

MY TURN!!

April wrote too many blog posts, so now it's my turn to bombard this site with a bunch of posts (or not). I am typing without my middle finger on my right hand since it's bleeding from a dry cuticle problem I seem to be having.... I didn't realize just how much I use it to type, until now that is. Adjusting is hard work and it takes way too much concentration.

My hope is that it will stop bleeding by the end of this post so that I can write so much more. Here is something that will take up some clotting time:


Luckily in the time that it took me to write this post and take the photo of my hand (trust me on how difficult it is to take a photo with such a heavy camera with the opposite hand.... a little stressful, that's all), my finger stopped bleeding and therefore I am able to finish this post.

Bye!

HAPPY NEW YEARS!

After much humming and hawing about what to do for New Years, we finally decided on card games and nachos at Apes 'n Ju's apartment and then a trip down the the Promenade to watch fireworks and celebrate the new year.

The card games were bogus with everyone picking on ME! Despite this, I kicked both Ryan and Julie's butts at Phase 10, but couldn't quite pull it together for Uno.

The nachos were wonderful (oh how you miss American Appetizers when you can't get them) and then we proceeded to dance. How it started I'm not really sure, but Ryan ended up doing quite the interesting interpretation of Soulja Boy!

Around 11:15pm we decided it was time to head to the Prom, only to discover that the Tram wasn't due for another 15 minutes and that this wouldn't leave us much time before the count down, so we started to walk and walk and walk. During this time Ryan and Julie had a lovely conversation in French, a simple conversation about the fact that Ryan had two ladies on his arm, but one that I kept insisting they have in English, so as not to get us in trouble with the French!

Once we arrived at the Promenade, Ryan decided that we needed to be on the beach where the fireworks were going off! We took some pictures, I got the Champagne ready and when midnight struck Ryan proceeded to spray the Champagne all over the beach, almost hitting a French couple! Laughing my face off, I finally got it away from him and we watched some fireworks. Then Ryan decided that we needed to meet up with the Yacht boys to have a drink. We started walking along the Prom with Ryan and Julie wishing everyone "Bonne Fete" and me trying to keep the group together. We arrived outside Wayne's where the boys were suppose to be a short while later, but because their phones were off, we just chatted to some Frenchmen waiting outside and then proceeded to head home. It's funny how both Ryan and Julie's French improved on this particular evening!

With sore feet (from walking all over the place in my new cute boots) and tired eyes, Julie and I made sure that Ryan was home safely and then proceeded to pass out until 1:30pm New Years Day.

So there you have it ladies and gentlemen...New Years France Style! I wish you all the best in 2009! Julie and I promise to be a little more diligent about posting in the future! No more month long breaks!

Christmas in Nice

CHRISTMAS!!!!
Christmas morning, Julie and I woke up around 9am to discover that we had no internet, no telephone, no TV. Not great for two girls that are away from their families at Christmas for the first time EVER.

Making the best of things however, we got ready and started to open our lovely packages sent from home. We both got some great gifts, and after the living room was full of wrapping paper and empty boxes, we put on Elf and made some lunch. Around this time our internet started working , and with Julie on the phone and me on video chat, we were both able to talk to our families and I was able to watch mine open a few gifts. The internet didn't last long however, and before we knew it, it was down again.

Eventually 4:00 rolled around and we were off to Ryan's family's apartment for a Christmas feast. One of the yachties, Jon, came with us and armed with Champagne, pots, garlic and cookies we arrived in style. Thanks to Ryan's Mom we had a meal filled with potatoes, carrots, peas, baguette and.....the greatest bird EVER - Chapon (also known as a castrated rooster). This was pretty much the greatest Christmas bird of all time, and after eating one I don't know if I'll ever go back to turkey again, especially because there were no sleepy after effects. Then for dessert, we had an authentic French Christmas log- again...FABULOUS!

After everything was cleaned up, we opened lovely stockings from Ryan and his family which consisted of some great Canadian candy and a pair of homemade slippers (mine being purple) that I love and wear all the time. After this, it was over to Jon's boat to show Ryan's family around and have a drink, then back to the apartment once more.

Again, the internet worked for a few minutes and then died. We were both able to talk to our families for a little bit however, and thanks to my mom's calling card, I was able to finish our conversation on the mobile. By 1:30am we were both pooped, and feel asleep dreaming of candy canes, presents and the snow we didn't have!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Both Julie and I wish you a Joyeux Noel and Bonne Annee!

Employed at Last!

December 16, 2008 is officially the day that I became employed in France.

My job? A Nounou.....translation ...Nanny. I'm working for a family with 2 daughters- Alice is 3 1/2 and goes to school 4 days a week, and Sarah is 9 months old and I have her all the time. The father is a Doctor from Nice and the Mom is a Purchaser who's originally from Montreal. Did my Canadian connections help in this situation? More than likely!

The kids are great, and although Alice doesn't speak English, I'm sure the two of us will work things out and hopefully I'll learn some french. My days will be fairly long (7:45ish to 6:30ish, except Wednesdays and Fridays, when I get off much earlier), but I have weekends off and the family lives only a few blocks from the apartment. So all in all, it's a good gig!

My official start date is Monday, but I've been by twice now to meet the kids and learn their routine. Regardless, wish me luck. The 10am wake up of an unemployed woman is much different from the 6:30am wake up of an employed one!

Pixie

Over Christmas, we had a little bit of company.

Meet said company. PIXIE!

Pixie's family went to Dubai for Christmas, and left her with us. BIG MISTAKE! Just kidding, this dog is the laziest thing since Julie. Kidding again! But seriously, she does NOTHING. She goes out twice a day, doesn't like rain and isn't really too fond of walks. She doesn't like collars or leashes, and only ran away on me twice is the first two days; once under a parked car and once into a French shop where the only thing I could say was "Pardon, Pardon, le chien"...stupid dog.

It was great to actually have a dog around again, and although I won't miss having to get up first thing in the morning to take her out, I do miss having a dog snuggled up to me when I'm lounging around. Which is why I've convinced my parents to bring Meeka over when they come visit...right mom? And for those of you who haven't met my puppy Meeka or forget what a cute dog she is, here's a picture! Enjoy!

UPDATES! Skiing.....

SKIING - December 11-14, 2008

First Day Skiing!

Julie, Ryan and I went skiing at Isola 2000 the second week in December with a group of Friends that we met the first couple of weeks we were here. This group, usually known as the "Yachties" consist of Fraser, Chris, Justin, Rudi, Jon, James, Griff, Ria and Ruppert (when he's not on vacation!).

Fraser did a great job of organizing the trip for the group (Thanks Fras!), and it was a nice change to get away and chill. The Chalet we stayed in was awesome, and the skiing conditions were great. We did however, start the trip off with the Chalet manager informing us that because of the amount of snow the area had received, there was NO WAY, we would make it up there. This seemed like a challenge, especially to a group of 8- 20 somethings (and maybe the odd 30 year old!), 4 of which were Canadian. Not knowing if we'd get past the village of Isola, we headed up and after an adventure (and snowbanks at least 5 feet high) we arrived to find our Chalet not quite ready- after all we weren't suppose to make it up there right?

Our Chalet is one of the left ones near the top!

Regardless, we had a great time. Skiing was awesome, especially the first day when there was hardly anyone there and the "powder" was still fresh. Julie learned how to ski, and although she had a few wipe outs, the provided commentary as she was flying and wobbling down the hill gave us all a laugh! I, on the other hand, learned that beginner snowboarding on the Alps is frustrating and the I'm not allowed to just snowplow down the hills when skiing! We also learned that if you don't pay attention, your experienced skiing and boarding friends will drag you down advanced level hills! HAHAHA

Oh and the company wasn't bad either. We ate well, talked lots, and even managed to play an intense game of French Monopoly that ended in two alliances, numerous market share deals, and a little bit of cheating on my part ;) OOPS!

Overall, we had a great time in the French Alps!