What's Up Monaco...

Hello everyone.  It's been AGES since I last wrote.  But I've been busy with a little project.

Introducing...

I created an on-line show about what to do in and around Monaco for families and kids.  When I moved here, I had the hardest time deciphering the signs or simply finding what to do with the kids and always wished someone had put it together for me.  In English.  So I could navigate my way.

Well, I decided to put my own talents to work and not wait anymore.

You can view the videos on Facebook @ "What's Up Monaco" or check out the website...


http://whatsupmonaco.wix.com/whats-up-monaco



I'm still working on parts of the website and eventually the site will be simply... www.whatsupmonaco.com

But, one thing checked off the list at a time.  I'm still trying to decipher information for the next show!  Two major problems with the "French Way", no info given unless asked specifically for it.  Seriously, there are signs for events going on without the time, place, fee, you name it!  And there isn't just one place to go to see all the events going on in town.  Geez, how's anyone supposed to get along around here?

Anyway, here it is.  Hope you like it!

Thank you Super Mall...

Just on the outskirts of Nice there's a big mall called Cap 3000.  It's really big and has the one and only Starbucks in the South of France (that is until the Monaco one opens in a month!!! YEAH!!!-but that's not what this post is about, I digress)

Btw...this is how packed this place is ALL the time!  Hint hint.  (wake up France!)

Anyway, I thank the lovely Client that is the Cap 3000 for making my teenage dreams of being a fashion model come true and hiring me to do their Winter Magazine shoot last week.  They do a magazine highlighling different outfits made up from stores found in the mall.

I do love to work and there isn't very much here, so when the opportunity comes along I get a bit giddy.

Here are some snaps I grabbed as the photog viewed the work.

 

I was told that it's the last magazine they're going to be making, so I'm even more excited that I'm in their "Swan Song" issue.  When the magazine comes out I'll post what pics made it in. :)  Stay tuned...

UPDATE:  December 2013

Here are the winning shots for the Cap 3000 magazine....

Super cool, I'm the cover!

And there you have it.  I must say it's kinda cool having people I know here in Monaco, moms of school kids and the coffee guy at my local stop, ask me if that's me.  They didn't know what I did for a living.  My fifteen minutes. :)

Jake's Diner, Cap D'Ail,and a little pink princess...

This post is a bit of a mixture.  A few things I want to share, but none big enough really for a whole post on their own, so here's a few tid bits for you to enjoy.

I jetted off to America last week to do a quick print job for a big furniture company.  While I was in North Carolina I took the opportunity to shop at Target-of course (it is my favorite American store) and have some good ole American diner fare.  YUM!!!

Eggs, bacon, pancakes, and a southern gem...biscuits and gravy.  One thing Europe is sadly missing is a good breakfast meal diner-style!  Maybe I'll open one up....

Yeah, it was tough job.

Speaking of furniture, FINALLY our last pieces of furniture were delivered and the home is complete.  The table came just in time for us to have Thanksgiving dinner on it! Whew.  

Be aware when you buy something here that's not right off the shelf, it may take three months or more to get it!  3 months for the couch, 3.5 months for our table and buffet set, luckily IKEA was only two weeks for the big chairs.  Gave us something to sit on while we waited. :)

Recently I was informed about a beautiful walk to take just at the edge of Monaco.  It's along the coast just leaving Monaco and going into Cap D'Ail.  One big plus about living on the coast of France/Monaco/Italy, it's BEAUTIFUL!  Really helps you relax and clear a foggy (or annoyed) head when needed.  Charlie joined me...

We started at this beach.... 

and ended at this beach.

This was in between...

walking along this walkway.

 And to leave you with a little more beauty....my pink princess.  She's REALLY into a pink and sparkly phase.

Obviously my child, loves her take-away coffee.   Ahhh,
no worries, it's just juice.  You have to be at least 4 for coffee over here.

See you soon...

A Little Grace...

Here's how I've been spending the past couple weeks.....

That's our local film studio in Nice.

Hollywood is making an appearance here in the South of France and I have answered the call of duty.  I applied and was chosen to be an extra in the film "Grace of Monaco."  I thought it fitting that since I've made Monaco my new home I should do my duty and donate my time to be a Monegasque in the 1960s.  With the pay for extras around here I practically am donating!

We shot the first of my two nights on this old boat in Nice's Port.
In the background is my old apartment!

This was my costume on the boat...

and hairstyle.  Whew! That's some BIG hair.
Lots of hair teasing going on around here!!

Another five days of shooting the "Red Cross Ball" for the film.

A little more elegant this time around.

I was even in the local paper!

It stars Nicole Kidman and Tim Roth.  Yes, we're all best friends now, of course.  At any rate, it's been fun and I've met some lovely ladies in the process.  When the film finally comes out in 2014, look really close and you might catch a glimpse of the top of my big hair or the back of my dress. :)

Working Girls...

Ahhh, another job has come my way.  And to make it even sweeter, E was also hired. We both worked on different days for Europcar.  She got to work all on her own and did a fantastic job.

E testing the twirl effect of her wardrobe.

Seems satisfied.

I have to admit I was a little worried as she can be a bit timid with strangers and there for awhile had not been happy with the photo shoot environment.  And when I say "not happy", I mean... screams of bloody murder when she saw a big camera set up.  That's all behind her, but the weariness with new people is still there.  But, the stylist won her over and took charge.

I know, funny huh?!?  Apparently they have 

a dress code for the set crew.

She was supposed to be in a car seat and sleeping on a blow up ball of the globe.  Funny enough, she actually did fall asleep in the position they wanted for the pic.  E tells me she got to have candy; I have to wonder just what candy the stylist was giving her coz I may have to get some of that magic sleeping candy.  :)

OK, in the car.  Fingers crossed...

Such a lovely place to spend a work day!

In the end they got what they wanted and there were no breakdowns.  You just never know with a three year old how it will go.  I admit, I was nervous.

Congrats little E!!!

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.

Zen, Monet and a few carrots...

Hi folks!  I just had a few minutes and thought I'd fill you in on a few moments in our life that I didn't write about yet.  Do a little catch up on the Nice goings on.

I got the lovely chance to work again in February, yes, I'm really behind, and this time it was for the kind of store I LOVE!!, Leroy Merlin.  It's like our Home Depot.  I can get lost in those shops and not be seen for days.  My husband has to send in a search party and they usually find me somewhere between the power tools and the bits and bobbles.  I should have been a construction worker.

Anyway....it was a super short shoot, 3 hours, at Le Manor de L'Etang, a chateau that Monet lived in once upon a time.  It's just outside of Nice and is now a small hotel with a lovely view of the countryside.

There's actually snow on the ground!

One of the sets, not mine.  This only required feet
and for those who know me, I don't have the prettiest. :)

The set up was in the gardens of me walking through my "Zen" garden all happy sipping my coffee and of me sitting all Zen in my yard meditating.  I was waiting to find the pics so I could add them, but I haven't.  But when I do, I'll post them.  If they're good that is.

Next, my lovely husband decided for Valentine's Day we would spend the weekend in the next town at a lovely spa.  We left the kids with our trusted kid-sitter and went from La Reserve in Nice to.....La Reserve in Beaulieu. :)

Who could be stressed with that view?!?!

If it's good enough for Clark.

Beaulieu's port.  We ate here each night.

Ahhhhh, heated pool. 

Emm got her second hair cut.  Her hair is taking it's sweet time, but I have to say it's better than fighting the daily brushing if she had lots of it.  But she wears her cropped do quite well.  

Walking back down the hill from the grocery store this is my view of my house and the port.  I love living here, it's so pretty.  Now, if I could just put up with some of the French differences!  That's another post...

Then Easter came.....James had to spend a week in NYC for a job and returned on Easter Sunday.  These are the baskets the bunny left for the kids, super cute, and that's the table full of all the Target goods. I miss Target!!  And lastly, rather than just chocolates, the Easter bunny left me some carrots, I mean carats.  Thanks Easter Bunny!  You really know how to get to a girl's heart!

We went to an Easter Egg hunt at Parc Phoenix, an educational park here with animals and fish and outdoor learning stuff, where they made a hunt for the older kids and they also had the kids learn to pot a plant.  Later in the day we went to a friend's pizza party and egg hunt.  Needless to say those small baskets the bunny left were now over flowing with additions.  

Their prize for finding all the clues.

On to the pizza party/egg hunt....Besides the great international mix of friends, we love going to the pizza party house because it has this huge yard and pool and the first thing the kids do is run.  It makes us think of moving to the suburbs.  Only thinking at the moment. :)

They have an outdoor pizza oven so we make our own pizzas. T's masterpeice. 

On the hunt....

Our Easter cake.  They do fun cakes here.

And for the finale, we hung out on a Sunday afternoon with our Portland expats at a super park here, Castel de deux Rois.

So there you go.  I think I've got you up to speed on things.  Next post will be all about the new things coming....the suspense is almost over. :)

Thanks for haning in there.