We made it to Nice! After and ten hour flight to London, a four hour wait and then another 90 minute flight to Nice we got ourselves and our 16 bags to our destination. Here are a few pictures of our neighbourhood. You can see that our neighbourhood is made up of individual buildings but further in the distance we are surrounded by large apartment blocks. Most of these blocks are inhabited by immigrants of various origins. We noticed soon after our arrival that French is only one of many languages of the people in this part of Nice. We hear a lot of Arabic and other African dialects spoken by those living near by. Our first visit to the weekly market reminded us more of life in North Africa than France. The sights, sounds and smells brought back many memories!

Living in this neighbourhood it’s hard to believe that we are minutes away from one of the most expensive real estate markets in Europe. People come from the whole world to Nice to experience the beauty of the French Riviera. The various bays are filled with million dollar yachts and the airport tarmac is line with the personal jets of the rich and famous. Much to the delight of our boys they’ve already spotted the latest Porsche and Mercedes Benz models along with Bentleys and Ferraris… but not in our neighbourhood.

A big surprise for us has been the cost of living in France. We’ve found that the sticker price of most items is similar to that of Edmonton, however we must now multiply the price in Euros by 1.6 to get its value in Canadian dollars. We will have to become bargain hunters to survive!

Our first week was spent getting our bags unpacked and organized. Our apartments not huge so it will take time to find the ideal way of positioning things so we have the most room. The first night I awoke to the thought that we still have belongings in transit that we will have to find room for… I wasn’t sure if I should laugh or cry!

Our second week is being spent visiting our family. It was exciting  for all of us to board the train destined for “home”. It’s been five years since we last visited so there has been a lot to share and  discover once again.

Week One was an exhausting week but we feel like we’ve recovered from the international travel now. We look forward to the remainder of our visit with family and friends, it’s been a long time and there’s a lot of catching up to do.

We hope you’re having a great summer. Drop us a note to let us know what you’ve been up to and what your favourite summer memories are from this year.