Surprise care package...

 

The other day, I received a phone call from a guy at FedEx saying he had something for me. I, chalking it up to the fact that I only have about 5 people call my cell phone in conjunction with no one knowing our address over her yet, told him it was the wrong number and hung up on him. Being a glutton for punishment, he called back and I took the time to put on my 'speaking French on the phone' hat for the 2nd call. (FYI, talking on the phone in French still proves challenging for me since I can't actually watch their lips move. I find myself limiting in person conversations with Frenchies to 10 minutes because as we speak, I inch closer and I would hate to actually kiss someone in a lip reading mix-up. So 10 minutes is where I draw the line, because at that point, I can walk away just labeled a 'close-talker' and not 'the weird girl who kisses people'.) So back to the FedEx guy, he stood by the fact that he had a delivery for Nikki Fein, and that he did. With spider monkey-like speed, I ripped open the package to see 2 boxes of Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies that our dear friends, The Martins, had sent. Now, I don't know the girl on the front of the box but I was sure happy to see her. We love care packages, did I say that slow enough for everyone to hear, no? Ok, again, we love care packages. Yes, we are pretty French in our eating habits but there are times when we need to represent the good ol' US of A with things like Ranch dressing, buffalo wings and girl scout cookies. Being in such a tourist city, we are able to find many things but never have we seen Thin Mints. So I would like to thank the Martins for my sweet minty breath, sugar highs and the little black crumbs that have made their way into every nook and cranny in our couch. You guys are the best!! And no I am not sharing because 1- Shaun doesn't really crave things like cookies so why waste a good thing on someone who would not appreciate it and 2- I am an only child. The end.

Frenching it up

I giggle all the time when I hear Shaun speak French. I don't know why, maybe because most of the time we look to each other in search of words, and during this video I see him looking up to someone for help. Also, he does the stereotypical guttural French 'ughhh' while searching for his next word. In case you didn't know, that is the sign you have officially made it over here. (Now if I could only get him to rock a 'banana hammock' we would be 100% French). Don't get me wrong, we speak pretty well, but there is always a part of us that is a little self-conscious speaking in front of others. I am sure there are many 'we go tomorrows' or 'we go yesterdays' that creep into our conversations but all in all, pretty happy with our language skills. With this video, most of you won't understand what is being said but it is just your run of the mill interview questions...introduce yourself, when did you start playing basketball, what teams have you played for (which Shaun used to hold the record for Frenchies but since he stayed at Toulon for 2 years, he has since lost his title), style of play, strong points of team, weak points etc.... And FYI, that is not a black 'beater' he is wearing, it's his practice jersey.

Portrait Shaun Fein from Antibes Basket on Vimeo.

While the cats away...

{Backyard view}

     My motto has always been, 'I do my best shopping when Shaun is on the road" and yesterday was no exception. That might sound sneaky, but it's not. Shaun is well aware that this is true and he embraces it. Unlike those rare men that love to shop and browse all day, Shaun detests shopping. It is as fun for him to be dragged from store to store as it is for me to be 'the dragger'. We figured out a long time ago, it was beneficial for both of us to not force the issue. So yesterday while the guys were on the road, I heading to Nice to do some retail therapy with my friend Muriel. Fyi, Muriel is a fellow bball wife whose parents have a place in Nice. Now while we did find some new gems in the stores, the best part was meeting Muriel's family, who by the way, doesn't have a 'place' in Nice. They have a fabulous home overlooking the Mediterranean and are awesome hosts. We drank homemade grape juice (squeezed from the grapes dangling from their arbor), had an aperitif over looking the sea and later ate the most amazing meal accompanied by rose, wine and music. Talk about knowing how to entertain!!! What was only supposed to be a meet n' greet turned into a 5 hour dinning experience that I can't wait to do again. Oh, and the evening was capped off with 15 minutes of unexpected fireworks off the coast in front of their house. This might be the type of shopping and dinning Shaun might want to re-think about sitting out.

{More backyard pics}

{The cliffs below the house}

{Path carved out in the cliffs}

{Even saw some crazy kids cliff jumping}

{Even though it doesn't look like this jump ended well ( can you say...belly flop), the kid turned it around at the last minute and totally redeemed himself}

A Day in Town

{Antibes port}

    With camera in hand, I decided to walk through Antibes this morning while Shaun was at practice. I wanted to check out the market (Marche Provencal) that I've heard so much about and just wander the streets with no plan in mind. No shopping, no eating, just walking and taking in the sights. Ok, I did stop for coffee (it was 9am after all) and nearly bought some shoes but I didn't, very proud moment indeed. (I did mark the spot on my map so I can go back to pick them up though). Sadly, I was underwhelmed by the market. I don't know if it was an off day or my expectations were a little too high but I plan on giving it another chance to impress in the near future. It was smaller than I expected but the positive was that it gave me more time to explore other things. But wait, I almost forgot, I could of heard the best conversation of all time by a Frenchman trying to impart his wisdom on a British couple seated near me at a cafe. The man leaned over and asked the couple if they noticed that they were bouncing their legs (jittering) and sending off vibes of stress while sitting and enjoying coffee. To which the British couple said, " yes, we know. We have A.D.D. so we are hyper-active." Then, here comes the best part, the Frenchman said, "well, for me if I concentrate and breath and think really hard, I can make myself stop doing things like that." Forehead smack....why hadn't I thought of that before? And more importantly, why hadn't doctors thought of that? Imagine all the money people could save on therapy. I didn't know what was more impressive, the audacity of the Frenchman to suggest that, or the British couple indulging him and continuing the conversation after such a statement. I was thrilled because it gave me a little entertainment while finishing up my coffee. I don't know, I may just have to make that cafe a regular stop. After all, it is only just a block down from the shoe store I need to go back to...

{Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-la-Platea d'Antibes}

{The view from the side of the Cathedral}

{A few of the many yachts anchored in Antibes} 

{Marche provencal}

{Guess if you are going to have bars on your windows, might as well make them cute}

Juan les Pins

     To say we live in Antibes might not be 100% correct. We live in Juan les Pins/Antibes and to be honest, I don't really know the difference. But our address says Juan les Pins so I will go with that. Before 3 weeks ago, I had never heard of Juan les Pins. I saw the exit off the highway sandwiched in between Cannes and Nice but never thought anything of it. Come to find out, Juan les Pins is a hot spot for vacationers looking for sandy beaches and an abundant nightlife. When we tell people we live here, they shake their head and say it is too touristy, too loud and too 'popular'. But we are tourists, maybe for 10 months, but still, we are tourists. And when has being too 'popular' ever been a bad thing? Yes, popular and crowded do go hand in hand but for the last week or so, it seems most of the tourists have packed up and returned to their 'normal' life, where ever that may be. For us, this is the best time. The weather is still beautiful, the beach is still the place to be and outdoor dining is in it's prime. Often times, there are reasons that a place becomes touristy, mostly positive ones at that. So we'll be tourists here anytime. Hey, if it's good enough for Jay-Z and Beyonce (who have been vacationing on a yacht here for the last few days), it's good enough for little ol' Shaun and Nikki.

{One of the many outdoor restaurants on the beach}

{Juan les Pins center}

     And these last few pics are definitely peaking my diy interest. I am thinking some major DIY's are on the horizon.

Google Translate

 
      I don't know why I waited so long to do this since most of the readers of this blog are French. But you will notice a new Google Translate button on the right hand side of the screen just above recent posts that will translate the blog into many different languages. Also, I still am bucking the Facebook trend (can we really call it a trend when it has been around for a good bit and it's not going anywhere??) but I do enjoy Pinterest and Instagram, so those buttons are located on the right hand side as well. Enjoy!!

Our new home

{Water off Antibes}

     So the last few weeks have been a whirlwind. For one, we picked up and moved back to the South of France, (Antibes to be exact ) and two, we had to get settled back into the European lifestyle. To some that may not seem to be a lot, and we would have to agree. But there is a little time needed to adapt to the 'slow' way of life here, more specifically, having to wait 2 weeks for internet and phone. (Still don't know how those Americans do it having that all set up in, gasp, 1 day. They must tell others their secret.) Anywhoo, we took that time of being disconnected to all things electronic to discover our new area and enjoy getting to know Shaun's new teammates. Fortunately for us, we live in a place with limitless possibilities of things to do and all of Shaun's teammates have an 'up for anything attitude'. So far in the short 2 weeks, there has been lots of memorable moments with a few being some quotes that one would hear in any Vince Vaughn movie i.e. 'I'll throw up, I don't care. I'll do it' or after finishing a drink, one murmurs to himself, 'I am not going to remember this night tomorrow.' I am betting on Frank the Tank coming out, and most likely often, so stay tuned. We've gone to a salsa bar to learn how to dance, wandered the streets of Juan Les Pins enjoying the atmosphere, and even met some new American/Australian/Canadian friends at a local British bar, whew that was a mouth-full. It seems like every time we go to a new place it becomes our 'favorite' until we go to the next, each one surpassing the last. So bear with us if we are a little slow on the blog, we are out exploring...

{Ramparts in Antibes}

{Little bistro table outside a cupcake shop in a small alley in Antibes}

{Adorable store front}

{Fresh ravioli}

{Pretty desserts that the French are known for}

     With Nice being only 10 minutes away by highway or 20 by the ocean route, we can head over there for dinner or to just soak up the atmosphere there. So last week, we decided to eat out in Nice and enjoy the sunset over the promenade.