Thank You France

PSYCHIC ENERGY

Have you ever consulted a psychic? I did for the first time last week at the encouragement of my daughter who has always been a spiritual being. Almost from birth I recognized that she must have had many lives because she was always much wiser than her years. And then she later discovered some of them through past life regression therapy and hypnosis. She’s clearly a big believer and for good reasons. I am more of a skeptic, but open-minded to experiencing just about anything that won’t kill me.

She recommended a woman in England, who didn’t charge much for the session, and simply set up an appointment using WhatsApp. As far as I know, she didn’t know anything about me, although it’s not hard to learn a lot about me if you read these Nouvellettres® or look up my bio on Google. I went into it knowing this and opened the session saying nothing.

She was an elderly woman with bad hearing, unkempt hair and a shawl over her shoulders—just what I expected, in all honesty. She and I were about the same age, but she thought I was 20 years younger, although I must admit, I thought she looked much older. She asked me no questions before she began, and within seconds, she said some amazing things. I took 11 pages of notes during the one-hour session.

In a nutshell, and without saying too much, some of the things she said that were impossible to deny were specific things she could not have known, or very few people know, and certainly not anything you could learn about me online. I’ll divulge a few examples:

“You drink a lot of black coffee.” Yep, I drink three to five cups a day and sometimes more!

“You are very direct and very honest. There are no hidden agendas with you. You cross your T’s and dot your I’s.” Maybe that was simply intuitive, but she said this very early on in our conversation. What struck me most is that these are the expressions I regularly use myself, too.

“You’re in the process of buying a property. It’s an apartment” As it turns out, I’m signing the documents on a Nice apartment next week.

“You’re going to gut the place. It has a lot of light and a large outdoor space. It’s long. There are doors from the kitchen and bedroom that go out to the outdoor space. You are going to love living there.” All this is true. It was shocking how she described the apartment so vividly. It was comfort to know I was going to enjoy it.

“You have your mother’s wedding ring.” When my mother died and we divvied up her belongings, my oldest sister gave it to me for safe keeping. That meant a lot to me at the time.

“You are surrounded by cameras. They are in front of you and behind you and there is photography all around you.” When I had an advertising and marketing firm before moving to France, I produced many TV commercials. Now I am on the other side of the camera doing the House Hunters International shows. I started collecting photos in the late 1980s, and my daughter is a photographer.

“Your mother died at home very peacefully. That’s what she wanted.” My mother continually told us that she was going to die at home…that we were never to put her in assisted living or anything like that. She was the picture of health until she sat down on her bed and died (at almost 98 years old) while waiting for my sister to pick her up to go to the grocery store—she was cooking dinner for the whole family that night…at the age two months shy of 98

Need I go on? These are just a few of her insights. Of course, some things seemed very off base and others are too personal to divulge, but I must admit, it was a powerful experience. I never felt for a second that she was making things up based on what she saw of me on WhatsApp. And even if she had researched the hell out of me, too many things she said would be impossible to know, except by my closest of friends, even things about my sisters and family.

Wikipedia says: “A psychic is a person who claims to use powers rooted in parapsychology, such as extrasensory perception (ESP), to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance; or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, such as psychokinesis or teleportation. Although many people believe in psychic abilities, the scientific consensus is that there is no proof of the existence of such powers, and describes the practice as pseudoscience.”

Regardless, this person turned me into a believer. She had nothing to gain but a very small amount of money from the hour we spent on WhatsApp. It was worth every penny.

If you would like to contact her to set up a session, send us an email and we will let her contact you so that she isn’t overwhelmed with requests!

ELLA’S FRIDAY NIGHT APERO ON THE PLAGE

Ella Dyer, author of Nice in Nice and a Senior Property Consultant with the Adrian Leeds Group, is the ultimate networker. She has so many client-friends and other friends in Nice that she and her pup, Simone, love to unofficially host an “apéro” on the beach every Friday evening, weather permitting and mostly in the warmer months.

It’s free and easy. Just show up Friday evening at Handiplage opposite the Parc Albert 1er from 6 p.m. on. Bring what you intend on drinking and any snacks to share, and if you want something to sit on. Otherwise, it’s standing room only. You can stay as long as you like!

No need to contact Ella or reserve in advance. It’s rare if she’s not there, and even if she isn’t, others may show up so you won’t be alone. And it’s a great way of meeting a lot of people—mostly our clients who have moved to Nice and love living there!

CELEBRATING 200 YEARS OF THE PROMENADE DES ANGLAIS

The weekend was filled with events to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Promenade des Anglais in Nice. I regret that I missed most of the activities—as spending my last summer on the beach was simply too important! I was on the Prom plenty, just not in the crowds wearing white!

The Promenade des Anglais is a celebrated 7-kilometer coastal boulevard, stretching between the sea and palm trees, offering breathtaking views of the Baie des Anges. It is expansive and uninterrupted embodying a sense of freedom and space that has always defined the city’s character. Even though it has witnessed some tragic events in recent years, the “Prom” continues to be a vital historical symbol and a beloved destination for everyone—locals and visitors alike.

Its origins are in the 19th-century when Nice became a favored winter retreat for European aristocrats, particularly from England. Their presence significantly boosted the city’s economy and led to improvements in infrastructure and the city’s reputation. In 1821, following an economic downturn caused by poor harvests, Reverend Lewis Way organized a fundraising effort among his fellow Englishmen to finance the construction of the seafront promenade. The project provided much-needed employment for many of Nice’s jobless residents. Completed in 1824, the new walkway was named “Camin des Inglés” in honor of the English initiative. This name remained until Nice was annexed to France in 1860, when it was changed to “La Promenade des Anglais.”

During the “Belle Époque” period, Nice thrived and became a popular resort for wealthy winter visitors. These affluent guests would gather on the Promenade, indulging in prestigious social events and frequenting the gaming houses. To cater to the growing demand, luxury hotels, sumptuous villas, casinos, theaters, concert halls, and ballrooms sprung up along the Prom, such as the Hotel Negresco and the Palais de la Méditerranée.

Today, the Prom continues to be the heart of Nice’s past and present, and is Nice’s best place to soak in the local atmosphere. In 2015, the Prom was nominated for UNESCO World Heritage status. I make an effort to walk on the Prom just about every day when I’m in Nice. A day without the Prom is like a day without sunshine.

Here’s a great report of the weekend events, with photos.

LA RENTREE AT ROLAND GARROS

For many of you, today is Labor Day, but for us in France it’s La Rentrée, and it’s starting off with a big bang. Tomorrow we’re going to see the Wheelchair Tennis matches at Roland Garros as part of the Paralympics. I’ve never been to the stadium, nor ever witnessed tennis played in wheelchairs.

Stay tuned for a report!

30TH YEAR IN FRANCE

Wednesday, September 4th, I celebrate 30 years living in France. I will never forget arriving very early in the morning with my husband and daughter at CDG and seeing the Eiffel Tower as our taxi glided into the city. I got welled up with tears as well as fears for the future. The taxi pulled up to a brick building in the 17th arrondissement that was to become our home for the next three years. It was the first time I had seen it as my husband had made an advance trip to find and secure the apartment. This was long before the days of internet and booking online.

It was large, but dingy, filled with ugly furniture, the bathrooms and kitchen were make-shift and old and the views from the windows were of gray walls and courtyards. It was a shock after living in Los Angeles in a big beautiful newly-built home twice the size of the apartment. We had given up a lot for this new adventure, and I was prepared to embrace it. Fortunately we had shipped over our photography collection to adorn the walls and that helped turn this dingy apartment into home…at least for a while.

It was the Paris lifestyle that overcame the difference in the standard of living. Shopping in the open-air markets was a blast and something not possible in Los Angeles. We took buses and Métros to go anywhere we wanted, loving not having to jump in and out of a car. We found great cafés at which to hang out and then started discovering inexpensive restaurants all over town. (That quest ultimately became the restaurant guide I wrote and sold online—the first ever on the internet for Paris!) Museums and exhibitions got our attention, not wanting to miss a single one. Thanks to a variety of Anglophone organizations, we met a zillion people and made a lot of friends. Trains and rental cars took us to other parts of France to discover the most beautiful towns, villages and countryside we’d ever seen.

Every day was a new day. Every day was something new to learn. Every day Paris wormed its way deeper into our hearts and we never looked back. When my husband and I decided to go our separate ways about 2.5 years into our adventure, Paris was so deep inside me that it was impossible to give it up, so I stayed. So did he, but apart from my daughter and myself. Erica and I moved to Le Marais and he moved to the other side of town.

At the time, Le Marais was pretty scruffy. At one time in its history it had turned to slum, but thanks to the André Malraux laws of 1962 to “Safeguard and enhance major monuments and remarkable urban areas,” safeguarded the neighborhood was gentrifying and improving. I’ve watched it blossom into one of the city’s most desirable areas over the last 27 years and now, it’s impossible for me to leave it, too…just like Paris was impossible to leave in 1997.

It’s hard to believe all that was 30 years ago. The time has flown by, and not with a single regret. No doubt, I will spend the next 30 years here (if I’m lucky to live that long), because there simply isn’t a better place on the planet to be.

Thank you France.

A la prochaine…