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The honeymoon is over

Alpes-Maritimes, 7th of November

My husband Ashley and I moved here soon after we got married. Our first two weeks was in fact our honeymoon, and unlike some people who sit together on a sun-kissed beach, we were up to our knees in grass and cobwebs, as the previous owners had not bothered with the property once we said that we would buy it. That meant that we moved into a house full of rubbish the previous owners left behind for us to get rid of. So far we have unearthed a rusty Aga, a bicycle and lots of furniture full of woodworm.

An accident waiting to happen

On one of our trips to the »å鳦³ó±ð³Ù³Ù±ð°ù¾±±ð, the council tip, we were signalling left to turn in when a guy speeding up behind decided to overtake. He accelerated right into the driver's door of my brand new car! Now, having an accident is bad enough in itself, but think about it, I am new here, can only speak a little French, and there I am suffering from shock, with a Frenchman shrugging his shoulders, and saying that it was 50% my fault for wanting to turn in the first place. I was so angry that I did not realise that the guy spoke a little English. This turned out to be a good thing, as I needed to fill out an insurance form there and then, in French!Many people travel to France, and do not have a clue what to do if something like this happens. I do think that foreign language lessons should incorporate various forms and how to fill them out. This is just one example.

Doing it for ourselves

Back in the UK, I would think nothing of paying someone to help mend things in the house or garden. Over here it is a different matter. We are learning to look after our large garden, and getting a dab hand at various DIY jobs around the house. We are also running out of funds. The central heating was one area we did not budget for, and it is definitely needed up here in the mountains. This is taking up the most of the money, with a little bit left for things to buy for the chambre d'hotel, B&B.

Not all bad news

But these are just teething problems, we would'nt change things for the world. Whenever one moves it is stressful, and moving to a foreign country is tough. We're learning from these experiences, and smiling through the hiccups.We're making some wonderful friends, and are being accepted into the local community, who come to our aid whenever we stumble. This week I joined an aerobics class and the ladies could not have been more friendly and welcoming.

Sent by: Janie

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