We Haven’t Forgotten Where We Came From

Dave and Donna Wollert were our clients who moved to Nice a few years ago from Las Vegas. Dave is an accomplished adman and writer. As he explained at Après-Midi in Nice last Thursday, he wasn’t respected for his comedy talents until he moved to Los Angeles. While enjoying his successful advertising career (despite his involvement, he jokes), he wrote five produced screenplays, wrote numerous sitcoms and network specials, and wrote two musicals that suffered horrible deaths (as he jokes, again). As a stand-up comedian, he appeared at The Comedy Store, The Improv, Dangerfield’s New York, and a whole lot of low-end joints that spell comedy with a “K.” (Again, his joke.)

After spending decades thinking about moving to Europe, Dave and Donna finally decided they’d better make the move before France ran out of croissants. And they did. Then Dave got busy with his pen once again and wrote This Way Out!, a how-to guide to moving abroad.

Dave sent me the manuscript to read, all 27 pages of it that I printed out and took with me on the train to Nice. There were a lot of funny looks from the people around me as I was laughing so much (and likely so loud) that everyone wanted to know what was so funny.

Dave published the book with our encouragement. It’s now an 89-page paperback, chronicling their experiences in moving to Nice and providing the perfect step-by-step handbook for others seeking a way out. There’s no excuse for not reading it. Besides, you’ll thank me as you laugh your way through it while getting the real goods.

Here’s what I wrote for the back of the book jacket:

“Dave Wollert hits the nail on the head with his concise and hilariously funny how-to guide to moving abroad. You will learn a lot and laugh your tooshy off at Wollert’s down-to-earth and valuable advice that could make or break your success in making the leap across the cultural divide to France. His Niçois backdrop is part of what makes his experience so delightful, but don’t let that fool you into thinking that his counsel isn’t just as perfect for anywhere in France! Au contraire! Believe every word, regardless of where in France you land (although the Riviera town should be at the top of your list).”

Then Dave agreed to speak at Après-Midi as he did this past Thursday, to a SRO crowd of about 70 from our community. And did he make us laugh! The highlight of his stand-up routine was when he pulled out a pair of French underwear to show us all how they work…or not (!!) while someone in the audience kept yelling out “TMI!”

It was all hilarious! You MUST watch the video, then get a copy of his little tome that is a fast and very funny read! (I apologize in advance for my own laughter dwarfing all the others as I was the only other person wearing a mic while the session was recorded.)

Check out the recap from the event on our website. To watch the event yourself (be prepared to laugh along with us), visit our YouTube channel.

NO KINGS PROTEST IN NICE

It was Saturday afternoon, the wind was up and the waves were high. A few hundred people gathered at the Statue of Liberty on the Quai des Etats Unis holding all sorts of signs to express their discontent with the destruction of democracy in America as we have known it.

It was happening all over the U.S. and it was happening all across France, too—Paris, Nice, Aix-en-Provence, Bordeaux, Lyon, Rennes, Strasbourg, and Toulouse—Americans living here joined French labor unions and human rights organizations to take part in the worldwide “No Kings” rallies.

Yes, it was right here, with our community. I had to be there.

The crowd was gathered to hear a few speakers, raise their signs and commune with one another. I recognized a lot of faces and spoke to a bevy of visitors who had joined in with the Nice American community, even if on vacation! Paul and Gayle, an American couple living in the town of Lorgues in the Var (and who happily flew to Rome with my cousin, Leslie, with her broken leg, two Thanksgivings ago to pick up her car and drive it to Perugia) were sitting on the side lines holding big signs: Arrêtez le Con and Stop the Con.

It’s French slang, and quite blunt! Literally translated it means “stop the idiot”—but con is actually stronger than “idiot.” It’s a vulgar term (roughly equivalent to “a**hole” or “d**k” in English) that in French is used very commonly, often losing some of its edge in casual speech, but still quite crude in formal contexts. Everyone there just agreed with it.

The most symbolic gathering was likely that at the Place de la Bastille in Paris, but I couldn’t be there. I heard it was monumental and made a big statement. Signs were held in both English and French—”Pas de rois” alongside “No Kings Since 1776″—and at least one person showed up dressed as the Statue of Liberty, which, as you may recall, was a French gift to the U.S.

This was the third round of No Kings protests, following the first two that drew an estimated five and seven million people respectively. Today’s organizers expected more than nine million participants across 3,100-plus events in all 50 states—potentially one of the largest demonstrations in American history. The concerns driving people into the streets: ICE enforcement, erosion of free speech and social rights, and the ongoing U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran that escalated in late February.

For the expat community here in France, the stakes feel particularly personal. The Democrats Abroad chapters who organized these events were also—not so subtly—pointing toward the 2026 midterms, with all 435 House seats, 33 Senate seats, and 36 governorships on the line.

If you’re an American living in France and you haven’t yet registered to vote from abroad, votefromabroad.org is where you start. Do it now!

None of us moved here to escape America. We moved here to live a better life—and most of us care deeply about what’s happening in the US. I won’t say “back home,” because it hasn’t been my home for a very long time and never will be.

That’s what today reminded me, watching our community step out from its café “terrasses” and into the streets—in this case, the Quai des Etats Unis. France may have given us beautiful streets to walk, but we haven’t forgotten which streets we came from.

LA NOUVELLE MAISON MASSENA

This past week in Nice we put the finishing touches on our newest Guest Stay apartment: La Maison Masséna . Tuesday the professional photographer will come and by mid week, we’ll have the studio apartment just off Place Masséna 100% ready—a little luxury stay exclusively for our clients and community.

This is our second apartment in Nice that we are making available. (The first one being Le Jardin de la Promenade.) This one is a 20m2 (215 square feet) studio on the 2nd floor with an elevator, steps from Place Masséna, south-facing with one big window and overlooking the biggest bougainvillea you have ever seen! The bed is a queen, the kitchen is fully equipped including a washer/dryer.

It’s bright, it’s fresh, it’s adorable and it’s missing NOTHING.

Later this week you’ll see the new photos and a full description, but not everyone has that right. ONLY YOU! And here’s how you get the privilege to stay in either of the two apartments in Nice.

Note: This photo is just a sneak preview!

MEET ME EASTER SUNDAY IN STRASBOURG

I’m on a mission to get to know France’s finest cities. Having visited most of them in the past, but not with the same perspective. This time I go with asking the very important question: Is this a city I can recommend to our clients for full-time living?

Saturday I’m headed to Strasbourg for just that reason and for Easter Weekend. Strasbourg is known to treat Easter almost the way it treats Christmas—seriously, traditionally, and with a lot of regional character. Because Alsace has a strong mix of Catholic and Protestant heritage and deep Germanic traditions, I am told that Easter celebrations are more visible here than in many other parts of France.

There are the “Marchés de Pâques” (Easter Markets) selling hand-painted eggs, spring flowers, craft decorations and Alsatian pastries and sweets. Two of the most charming markets are usually around Place du Château near the cathedral and sometimes in surrounding villages (although we won’t have time to do that). It is said that chocolate will be everywhere, so we can plan on finding giant chocolate hens and rabbits and elaborate displays in chocolatiers like Christian or Bockel. There is a regional specialty called a “Lämmele” (or Lamala), a sponge cake baked in the shape of a lamb and dusted with powdered sugar. It symbolizes the Lamb of God and is traditionally eaten on Easter morning. (I may have to go off my diet to try it!)

We’re planning our weekend now and don’t want to miss anything. I won’t give away our plans too far in advance, but for sure I’ll be writing about it all in next Monday’s Nouvellettre®. Stay tuned.

SPECIAL INVITATION: I invite all of you to meet me for an apéritif in Strasbourg on Easter Sunday around 6 p.m. at Place du Marché Gayot (near the cathedral). Look for our group at the terrace of Le Gruber.

I want to know what you think of life in Strasbourg! Please let me know you’re coming by emailing me, and invite your friends!

A la prochaine…