My Expat Life – Opening A Restaurant in Southern France Are entrepreneurs born or made? Some people are just natural risk takers, believing in their abilities to succeed where others have failed. Pair that with a gastronome and you have Les Platanes, the hidden treasure of Poilhes. Foodies are gourmands who have refined interests in food. Those…
Here comes 40. I’m feeling my age and I’ve ordered the ferrari. I’m going to get the whole mid-life crisis package. Keanu Reeves When people hear our story about how we sold it all to move across the world searching for happiness, many called it our “midlife crisis”. I decided to write about how I…
As we get older, in some ways we get stronger, and while people we love leave us, we eventually understand death is part of life. Imagine the wisdom and realizations a man of ninety-four might have. 94 wow… almost a century. He was born at the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and lived through two…
Alfonz and I are busy these last few days before our move to Europe. We are tying up loose ends, selling off the last bit of our stuff, saying goodbye to friends and family on the West Coast, cancelling credit cards, turning off phones, closing accounts, finding…
Moving to France, selling everything off, cutting ties to financial institutions, and leaving friends and family behind; all have been learning experiences to say the least. Our experience hasn’t totally sunk in and is not completely comprehensible as of yet. A word to the wise! Think long and hard before…
Our last Sunday after two weeks of holidays, we took the kids to Szimpla Kert, a ruin pub turned Sunday Market for lunch. We ate a full assortment of food at the farmer’s market. There were sausages made out of Mangalitsa, the same domestic pig/wild boar cross we know from France. An organic bio baker was there selling his goods….
Jousting, BMX water jumping, good fresh food, hot bands- situated along the canal du midi – make for a fun festival. Eau, terre et vin fete de Sallèles d’Aude was the location for Sunday’s outing. Alfonz, Daniel and I started off walking through the garage sales with our friends from Capestang. Here we met the local…
Jealously or envy are feelings that I don’t feel. I’m simply not wired that way. I truly feel happy for people when they experience good things that come their way. If it’s when people find contentment in items they acquire, receive promotions at their work, or they finally manage to buy the house they have…
How do you reduce thirty-seven years of collecting, acquiring, gift receiving down to two airline sized suitcases, a carry-on bag and a purse? It is a very good question and one I was overwhelmed to tackle. Once I made the first move it seemed pretty easy after that. At first I went through my…
The door bell rang early this morning. Who could it be, I ask the kids. They run down, no ones there, they say. Hmm? And Alfonz jumps out from his hiding spot. My man arrived home, bug covered, sporting a 3 week beard, and dirty clothes. He looks worn from the 4 day ferry ride…