Our Journey is the story of a family who sold everything, packed up two young children, and moved to Europe for what was supposed to be one year. Ten years later, we had lived in France and Hungary, built new lives abroad, and returned home forever changed. This collection of stories, journal entries, and memories preserves that journey and serves as the foundation for the books I am writing today.
How much does it cost to furnish a house in France? Lucky for us, we caught the SOLDE sales in France, and saved about 35-50% on all our household goods. Instead of buying the best deal, or the lowest price, we tried to get the best value for our dollar, buying higher quality items…
Carnaval is an event that usually takes place before lent in most Catholic communities. Monsieur Carnaval, a giant paper-mache man, represents all the bad that has gone on during the course of the last year. The community celebrates Carnaval by parading Monsieur Carnaval through the town, and symbolically eliminates the bad by burning him at…
You are always a student, never a master. You have to keep moving forward. Conrad Hall We had a short but sweet visit from Laurene our student from Toulouse FRANCE! She was visiting her friend in Budapest who is attending university here on an exchange program for one trimester. Laurene was here for a very exciting…
One of the great pluses of being an immigrant, you get to start again in terms of identity. You get to shed the layers of narrative that cling to you. Joseph O’Neill Nearly 8 weeks in, it is November 1st and we are still loving our new Hungarian life. I love the freedom to start again, to try…
Today we showed them Africa – Antarctica, under the sea to the ocean’s floor, to the moon and the solar system beyond, on this fun filled day planned with kids in mind. Montpellier offers so much to do and see, and only an hour away from our new home, it proves to be a great…
Fall brings beautiful colours, cool evenings and crunching leaves under foot while strolling along the Canal du Midi. The canal boats are parked along her shores, most retired for the year, under guard of the plane trees. The feeling around these parts is calm. The bustle of summer is over, the tourists sparse and…
A double bass guitar strums next to a trumpet player in the corner of a smoke filled café and a swank girl with a raspy voice belts out a jazzy tune. A typical French cabaret is where Audrey Hepburn in the movie Funny Face would dance with wild abandonment. She is so quirky and kooky in this…
I couldn’t put my finger on what was the matter. The routines are back to normal after the summer vacations; the homework, the horseback riding, the music lessons… but something was different. 6:34 I woke with a jolt! The birds are gone! I hadn’t noticed my friends who woke me each morning, the sound of…
After eight months of nonstop running the marathon of setting up our new expat life in Budapest Hungary, we return to Capestang for a visit. Off the plane I can see how spring has arrived, and the migrating birds are back to fill their bellies on millions of insects hatched as the weather warms. The…
Classic Newsletter Please feel free to down load our yearly Newsletter France | Vacations | Family Lights, camera, action Yup, we did it again! Shamelessly we plug our new life to bring customers to Le Petit Platane our Bed & Breakfast, but more so, we want people to know we are not crazy for moving to…