Jul/092
Asian Supermarket Food Box
Some of my favourite food comes from South East Asia, especially in the summer. It could be because the time I mispent in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and India was always very hot, so when it's hot in Europe I suddenly feel like eating noodles, chillies and stir fried green vegetables.
There's only one place in within a hundred km from where I live where you can buy the right ingredients. That would be the Angkor Store in Bonneville. It caters mostly to the region's few and far between Asian restaurants.
I loved the way the packing was done. Such a sustainable method. I'd bought a box o' stuff, and the lovely lady (whose mum and dad run the shop) packed it up so expertly. As she was running my jars through the till she asked me if I knew what my jar of Pickled Gouramy Fish was for. It was obviously the most disgusting thing in the world to her, but her dad explained to me that it's OK with vegetables, but I'd probably hate it. In fact he didn't even want me to buy it. But I bought it anyway. Along with all this other great stuff. And all this for EUR 40!
Asian Supermarket Box from Listingslab Productions on Vimeo.
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Apr/091
Heading South
There's no point denying it - the ski season is over. The snow has melted and even if the lifts are still running, it's just not much fun.
So we're off for a short break on the south coast before whatever comes next. Saint Raphael in fact. I've got a couple of dives booked with my mate Alex from Diamond Diving. A couple of days in a nice hotel with some sun and seafood feels like just the ticket right now.
So we're heading off in the morning, driving south through France. Grenoble, Gap, Grasse. We'll drive till we find somewhere nice to stop and camp for a night & arrive in St Raph in the morning. I'm diving that afternoon and the next and then we'll make our way back the other way - through Italy. Camp again, perhaps in Finali or somewhere like that.
Nov/081
So THAT's how France works!
So I mentioned in another post that I was dreading moving my broadband account with France Telecom. Perhaps I'm just more used to how France works these days, or perhaps the company has got much better, but either way I've got internet in my new place, and it was easy.
My friend Mimi came over to help be making the initial call last week. She has perfect French (she's French Canadian) & also works for a company called Chamonix ten80. Ten80 is a property management company here in the valley and they have a lot of clients for whom they have to sort out France Telecom business. So when they finally came across someone who could actually get the job done they begged, pleaded and bribed with a case ofChampagne the France Telecom lady to give them her personal number.
So one phone call in clear, concise French outlining exactly what was required and sure enough, the next day I got 4 or 5 calls from various people explaining to me what they were doing. Difficult to know exactly what they were telling me, but it was an opportunity to say... "Oui", "Ca marche" & "Tres Bien" quite a lot. The final call was to say it was done. The accounts would be transferred within the week. To which I gushed my best French and wished the lovely lady (who actually liked me despite my Englishness by then) un bon weekend.
And sure enough I got a text message to let me know the process was complete and my account was active. And it was. Amazing. And very, very welcome. France is easy if you know how, but don't expect anyone to help you learn how.
Nov/080
The art of moving
I'm slowly moving into the new place in Le Tour. I've had time to think about it and tried to work out what exactly it is about moving house that makes it such a pain in the arse. I was an Air Force kid, so moving house is something I've had a lot of experience in. I decided that the worst thing is to do everything all at once - clearing your old place, shifting all the boxes to the new and then finding yourself exhausted, sat on a garden chair in your new living room looking around you at the carnage of boxes & bags, dreading the unpacking.
Of course, sometimes there's no choice and that's how it is. But not for me on this one. I'm taking it really slowly. Every couple of days I'm taking half a van load up the valley, carrying it up to the chalet and then spending an hour or so unpacking and finding a place for everything. It's giving me a chance to get a feel for the space before deciding where to put what.
Tomorrow is the last trip down the valley to the lockup I rented this summer to get the last of the furniture from Germany. While I'm down there, I'll go and buy the white-goods: Freezer, dishwasher, washing machine and a cooker. Hopefully delivered. Bosh. And with a little luck I'll be able to convince a plumber friend of mine to come and plumb them in.
It's the broadband which will define when I really move. I've got to try to convince those assholes at France Telecom to move my account from my office to Le Tour. It should be possible to do that without hassle and within a working week, but I'm not holding my breath. France Telecom are famous for being one of the most difficult companies in France to deal with. And here in France, that bar is quite high.