Our first week in France

An epic move overseas begs for an epic beginning. In our case, this meant our flight getting delayed...and delayed...and finally rescheduled for the next day. When we finally found this out, we were already at the airport with our mountain of luggage. We couldn't exactly go home--our new family was already moved in, plus we had no way to get anywhere--so we stayed in an airport hotel. Our journey took over 48 hours total from door to door.

Our four children were in remarkably good spirits considering the two long days and nights of travel and the jet lag. Their favorite part was the free hot chocolate at the Frankfurt airport during one of many long layovers. Oh, and Zari thought that having meals served on the overseas flight was awesome. She kept reminding me to wake her up so she wouldn't miss the breakfast at the end of the flight.

We left our house at 4 pm on Friday and arrived at our apartment close to 10 pm on Sunday...keep in mind I had never seen it in person. Initial impressions: dingy, lots of things to freshen up or fix, but more and more I'm loving how it fits our family and the possibilities it has.

On one of our very first shopping trips, we bought a hammer drill, basic tool set, measuring tape, and a large set of drill bits. I've already used them all several times.

When we arrived, our apartment had 2 beds, 1 futon mattress on the floors, 2 plates, 3 bowls, and  folding dining table & chairs. Oh, and a few miscellaneous kitchen items such as snail forks & picks, 2 corkscrews, and a brioche pan. I've fallen in love with Leboncoin--the French equivalent of Craigslist. We've been running all over Nice buying furniture, bedding, and household linens. We're having so much fun looking for furniture. We'll find things here for practically nothing that would be crazy expensive in North America.

Our kids are in heaven here--ocean, parks, playgrounds, trams, buses, always something to see or do or explore. Dio learned how to swim on his own right before we left for France, so he is thrilled to practice his new skills. He and Zari both have good snorkeling sets and have already gone with Eric several times. Inga is fearless with her arm floats, and Ivy loves her new baby float. Now our whole family can be in the water together.

We currently have Eric's brother and his family visiting, so there are 10 of us sharing 2 plates and 3 bowls. Fun times. Thankfully they don't mind "camping out" in our apartment.

Off to bed...it was a busy day today visiting the aquarium & old town in Monaco, plus swimming in the afternoon and lots of errands in the evening.

Bonne nuit!