Of course, the impressive fire in Notre Dame de Paris was the talk of the day. You probably don’t hear it on the news in the UK or US, but lately, more and more French churches are on fire. Fortunately, the government reassures us that it has to do with climate change or with renovation work. In any case, it stays very dry on the Côte d’Azur. Normally a lot of rain would have fallen, but the blades of grass even blow out of dry ground. That is why the local government has extended the ban on open fires until the end of April. There are more burning subjects, such as in Sophia Antipolis. This village, also known as the “Silicon Valley of the French Riviera”, is known for its abundance of greenery and the many nerds that work among all those trees and shrubs. Hidden in the green, the smart guys work with small businesses on products for the future. But yes, during the day it is therefore very boring in Sophia and hence the Open Sky project.

Open Sky will be a luxury shopping center just like Polygone Riviera and Cap 3000, but then 60,000 m2 in the woods for the inhabitants of Valbonne, Mougins and Cannes. However, the locals do not want a third shopping mall in the region at all and have collected 18,000 signatures; the expectation is that 23,000 cars will come to the forest every day. And nobody is waiting for extra car traffic; after all, you don’t live there to buy the latest Gucci bag or a tall latte white chocolate cappuccino. You wanted for your peace and serenity.

Oh, irony for those who seek rest and go to the highest court to enforce it. The neighbors of real estate man Patrick Diter in Grasse watched with envy how the neighbor kept on building on his old, derelict farm. He did this with full conviction and without permits, so there is now a castle in Neo Provencal style with a helicopter platform. Despite warnings that there was no permit, he continued to litigate and to continue building. The result is beautiful; The Riviera TV series was recorded here for a reason, but now the owner is on tv himself. The highest judge in Aix en Provence determined that, after 15 years of litigation, the Chateau Diter must be completely demolished. Whether the demolition of a luxury villa with a value of 57 million is good for the environment is not an issue; the neighbors are at least once again assured of noise nuisance in the coming years.

And even more noise music is coming. Your neighbor playing triangle and the neighbor who is constantly abusing his trumpet will do their best in the coming months because once a year they act as if they are real musicians. The “Fete de la Musique” gives everyone a stage on the street and that is going to be crazy again. Restaurants can be open as long as they want and if you have your wine poured long enough, then that music is not too bad. Read more information about this event and all the other great things happening on the French Riviera.

Talk about restaurants; our oldest daughter has opened her own restaurant in the heart of Cannes: Ibiza Tapas. And we are quite proud of that. Take a look and taste at the 24 rue Bivouac Napoleon in Cannes.. It is close to Rue D’Antibes and Le Palais des Festivals and is open from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. The website for reservations and directions can be found here www.ibiza-tapas-cannes.com

“Hello, it’s me. I would love to invite you both to dinner at my place. Then you will also see where I live, and we can get to know each other a little better. After all, you also want to know who will soon be living in your house if you have… .., um, well, passed away. What did you say? You have difficulty walking and can no longer leave the house? Well, you know what, then I come and cook with you. Yes, no, I don’t mind at all. No of course not. If you open the back gate tomorrow afternoon, I will walk back into the kitchen. That is so practical, with all those bags haha. Yes, well, see you tomorrow! ”

That is how it must have been; the conversation between the prospective buyer of a “Viager” home and the unsuspecting elderly owners. The “Viager” scheme allows a buyer to buy a home for a lower price and pays a monthly contribution to the current resident until it dies. The construction sounds lurid but is a solution for both parties; the owner receives a bonus or advance on the sales proceeds every month while he/she does not have to worry about the sale. And the buyer knows without haste that he/she will soon be able to move into a perfect home for a lower price.

Thanks to all good care for our health and people aging, as a result, the planned relocation can take longer than anticipated. A 46-year-old man had lost his temper and decided to help the elderly couple in their future home on the Côte d’Azur by putting rat poison into their food. The nicely offered dinner ended with the rapid death of both owners, after which the buyer was quickly arrested as a suspect. Today the man was found guilty by the court in Grasse and sentenced to 20 years in prison. That is a slightly different house that he had thought.

By the way, I don’t write this blog from our home this time, but with my bare feet on the sidewalk from such a famous blue chair on the Croisette in Cannes where the summer has already begun and I look back on a perfect southern French winter where everyone thanks to a lower temperatures was able to ski in Isola 2000 during the Christmas and February holidays while the sun kept shining down at the sea. Is this weather really extraordinary or has it always been so and is this whole climate hysteria a smart trick to make us pay more taxes?

The fact is that the weathermen are unable to predict the weather of next week; let alone they know it in 25 years. Whatever weather type awaits us, the Côte d’Azur is currently enjoying the old-fashioned way of interpreting the seasons as we know it in the old days. Also, check it yourself; on this site, you type back up to 150 years and then you will see the weather of that day.

It is therefore not surprising that more and more people are coming this way; either for a short break or forever. Every week we meet people who are looking for a new balance between work, traffic jams, stress and Life with a capital L. And that life should be filled in as healthy as possible; with organic food from the local valley and lots of vitamin D3 that is packaged here as sunshine. After that, it is up to everyone how the money can be earned, but with an international audience and tourism as the most important sector, most people will find a job here, provided that the language is mastered and you are patient. Then the beautiful life in the South of Europe can begin. But where then? Roughly speaking, the part between Cannes and Saint Tropez is more a holiday region where you fall in the summer with your nose in the atmosphere but where it is a lot quieter between October and March. Between Menton and Cannes is actually the region where everything happens; with large shopping centers, events and year-round activities. On our site, we have mapped the characteristics of all the villages near the southern French coast.

Anyone who loves the sound of Ferrari’s, likes to look at luxury yachts and is not afraid of heights, feels like a fish in the water on dry land in Monaco. Here, Prince Albert announced a new housing program for its own population. Now that the commercial market has gone completely crazy with prices starting at 25,000 euros per square meter, no fewer than 4,500 homes will be built that remain the property of the state and can be rented by the residents of the government at a reasonable price. And it becomes even more fun for everyone who works in Monaco: by law, maternity leave has been officially extended by two weeks to 18 weeks. That means that young mothers can stroll for 4.5 months with their freshly baked sprout in a Dior stroller.

Whoever finds no job and therefore no house in Monaco, will have to embark on the path of supply and demand on the Cote d’Azur. To make the first choice for new construction in the South of France, a long breath is necessary: if you are one of the first to sign, this does not mean that the notary is already there. This target group is not the fastest and buyers sometimes have to wait more than a year for their purchase contract to be finalized. For the impatient, there is no other way than to unwind when reading the brochure again, viewing the map and accepting that life in the South of France is not as fast and smooth as in Northern Europe.

After all, you are just an ordinary mortal and the notary, the judge, the civil servant, and every other notable person has the power here and they want to keep it that way. It is therefore primarily a matter of staying calm and informing in a very friendly way about the situation. This week I saw a piece of pre-war text pass by which humility dripped off. Of course, they spoke to the elite at the time of Napoleon. Upon inquiry, this is still the standard end sentence that you must place with every official letter to someone who has (slightly) more power than you.

“Je vous prie de croire, Madame, Monsieur, and l’assurance de mes sentiments les plus respectueux.”

Literally translated, it is: “I ask you to believe me, ma’am, sir, with the assurance of my most respectful feelings.”

I would never get it from my keyboard, let alone mean it. It is a miracle that we have come this far with: “I would like to hear a positive message from you soon. Kind regards. “Fortunately, our Dutch directness is appreciated by our partners; the project developers and the large brokers. When we asked if there was a nice offer that could be mentioned in this blog, we received this offer for a new-build apartment in the heart of Nice. No notary fees until the end of March, and depending on the purchase value an interior check of at least 3500 euros to be spent at Bo Concept. The nice thing about these apartments is that they already have a fitted kitchen, a complete shower, and complete wardrobes.

The prices for a studio on the 2nd floor, living space 22 m2 – 141,000 euros. Or a more spacious one

2 bedroom apartment on the 5th floor of 64 m2 – 389,000 euros.

You know where to find us!

Whoever drives through the South of France, is increasingly surprised by the sudden crossing of a pedestrian. This seemingly exhausted life from the sidewalk seems to become a new sport: people young or old, do not even look left or right when a car arrives, but simply cross over as if protected by an invisible airbag. The reality is that they are also protected, but by the French state and the new Pedestrian Law.

The old Pedestrian Act dates back to the time of Napoleon, in which a pedestrian could easily be knocked over by a shit cart or horse. In recent decades, however, it has become increasingly busier on the road and motorists are busier looking at their smartphone instead of paying attention to who is walking in the street. Something had to be done. After many ‘of the sock driven’ incidents, the new Act is now so strong that a motorist who does not stop in time for a pedestrian gets a fine of 135 euros and on the spot, his driver’s license can be lost. Now you know this, be aware if you are in a hurry.

Who is in any case no longer in a hurry is the 68-year-old Wojciech Janowski, the former ambassador of Poland. Do you remember the story of Hélène Pastor from Monaco? This richest woman from Monaco was murdered in cold blood on the street in Nice at the age of 77 while she wanted to visit her sick son in Nice. During the trial, the ex-son-in-law declared sobbing that he had ordered the murder of his mother-in-law. The reason was revenge because “it was an awful person who made his wife’s life miserable.” Not everyone is always happy with his mother-in-law and there are so many mother-in-law jokes for good reason, but ordering to kill your mother-in-law also went the French Court a little too far. Wojciech has therefore been given life and that means in France that you are no longer released until your death.

Fortunately, death is sometimes very beautiful, as in a song like Charles Aznavour. This most popular migrant from France sang all the stars together and kept performing. After his last tour of Japan, the 94-year-old Charles arrived at his home in France, ate a sandwich, drank a glass of wine, took a shower, put on a clean pajama and then went peacefully in his sleep to heaven. Who would not sign for such a beautiful life and then quietly cross over to ‘the other side’ while the clouds stop in front of you? After an impressive funeral ceremony, France has another National hero and we dream away for a moment at his sweet-voiced voice.

Unfortunately, we are soon awakened by reality; the famous beach of Ramatuelle is covered with oil. A collision between two small oil tankers caused so much oil leakage that the beach is now pitch-black. The beautiful beach where Brigitte Bardot posed for 1956 classic ‘And God created woman’ is closed to an indefinite period. It is expected that in the spring all beaches and bays are crystal clear again.

The strategy of the SNCF, the French National railway is also crystal clear, which suffers a lot from cumbersome workers. After the plan for unmanned trains, the ticket sales are now being removed via the counter in stations: ‘If you complain, better go home, the machine can sell tickets without you.’ And so the stations Tende, Sospel, La Trinité, Menton, Villefranche-Sur-Mer and Carnolès are now fully automated and the number of strikes will hopefully be reduced. Unless there is a power outage of course, but you can always take a black ride or walk.

Whoever takes a walk in the sun does not have to look any further when you cross, the new law will take care of that. But the sun remains dangerous. Now the French state cannot reduce the sun, but they can prevent you from going to the tanning center. The National French Health S, therefore, closes the conveyor belt tanning centers because they are a proven place to accelerate skin cancer. Anyone who wants to keep a brown head in winter is better off going skiing for a day.

From 1 December the slopes will open again and in the meantime, the Americans and Chinese will keep coming to the Côte d’Azur in ever larger numbers. Because of the favorable dollar versus the euro, it is interesting for Americans to buy a property here. And the Chinese will soon be welcomed in their own language. Even in Sophia Antipolis, the southern French Silicon Valley where you have almost no GSM reception but this aside, a new foundation has been set up with the name ‘Ink in China’. You can bring your three-year-old toddler here for Chinese lessons. It is not a strict school with a diploma but a club where the Chinese language is learned in a playful way. It seems that you can learn Chinese very quickly and easily at the age of three. @ #!%

We prefer to get Chinese with steamed dim sum but watch with admiration parents who steam their offspring ready for the future.