After 4 delicieuse days in Paris with my good friend Eric, it was time to board a puddle-jumper (1 1/2 hour flight) to Nice, France for my next pet sit. My charge - 2 French Bulldogs appropriately named Bonaparte and Baudelaire. Nice (pronounced Niece) airport greeted me with rain, wind, and general chaos. Remember what I've said in the past about people running late? Well, this was another chapter of that same story. Traffic and rain caused my elegant hostess to run about 20 minutes late, thus proving my 'give it 30 minutes and it'll all work out' policy. She...looked like she just stepped off a fashion runway. I...looked like I just fell off the wagon! Never been a 'pretty' traveler. 🥴 We gathered my baggage (travel light) and whisked off to the world renowned St. Tropez, France - home of wealth, prestige, and did I mention playground of the uber rich and famous!
Celebrated for it's sunny beaches, the eternally sexy Brigitte Bardot, and everything French, I was ecstatic to spend 34 days caring for 2 pups, living in my own centuries old apartment, and tootling around the French Riviera in a Black mini cooper my generous hostess rented for me. I mean, come on, free housing, free car, and the French Riviera for a month?
I'm a lucky little croissant. 😇
PET SITTING TRAVEL TIP: Before arriving, I researched French Bulldogs including their care, personalities, and how to administer eye medicine. Did you know French Bulldogs can't swim and would rather lounge around than play? So, before you accept a pet sit for a specific breed of furry biscuit, brush up on your caregiving skills. It could save you frustration, serve to connect you with the animals, and you'll look like a pro in front of the pet owners.
Needless to say, these 2 chiens (dogs) were a hysterical duo, walks were short, and afternoon naps on the warm terracotta patio - long.
As if the above amenities were not enough, I had access to a private beach within this gated/guarded community. I spent many an afternoon basking my snowy white American limbs in the September sun, got acquainted with a very painful French Riviera jellyfish, and indulged in enough French cuisine to keep Julia Child stirring around her kitchen. 🧀🍷...plus lots and lots of 🧈(butter).
So, hold on to your Beret as I've got beaucoup escapades to share. From lunching with Christian Dior, navigating French roadways,😎 drinking beer at McDonalds, the wackiness of 2 Bulldogs, to crashing the Les Voiles Yachting event, it's all coming up.
Au revoir pour le moment.
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Very nice meeting you on the Circulator in DC on Friday. Our family inherited a wonderful apartment from my French Grandmother in Antibes, FR. I was practically the only one who used it for many, many years while I lived in New York, Paris and Zurich. So convenient. Then I went “Asian” and our Father sold it since noone was using it. That is absolutely one of my favorite parts of the world, now that I can compare with 55+ other countries. Keep my email and let’s stay in contact. So nice to meet you and enjoy Portugal! Oh, try to get down to Madeira, the Portuguese archipelago about 400 miles off the coast of Morocco. The writer I mentioned, who I am enjoying enormously now is Cara Black. She’s American, and she writes terrific murder mysteries mostly from / and in Paris, but from different periods from WWII to present. She mixes historical fiction with pure fiction. Fondly, Bill Milewski