NewsletterOctober 2008

Chamonix

Chamonix II

In early September I had the chance to rediscover Chamonix with longtime resident (and American) Teresa Kaufman. Teresa has lived in Chamonix for twenty odd years and knows Chamonix like the back of her hand. We visited on a Saturday – market day, we started by walking about the market. Then we strolled around the town and had the experience of listening to a visiting band from Germany.
After eating lunch outside Teresa’s chalet that overlooks Chamonix and offers a view of the Mont Blanc we then continued our visit. During lunch we were able to drink mountain water from a spring just behind Teresa’s chalet. We wanted to do some Bob-luge d'été (summer luge) but as it started raining in the afternoon it wasn’t possible. So we continued our walk through Chamonix. You can see photos I took of Chamonix.
If anyone is interested in visiting Chamonix Teresa is happy to offer her services as a tour guide to show you around. For more information please see Discover Chamonix.
Teresa is also a talented photographer and just had a book of her photographs published. The book is titled – Thérèse et ses deux frères.

US Election

Even if I don’t live in the US, it’s still difficult to not know there is a US Presidential coming up. In just about every French news broadcast I’ve seen recently there’s something about the election. Believe it or not the first Presidential debate was on France3, okay it was very, very early in the morning. Even my local paper had an article on the debate; it was called a Match Nul (draw).
For any Americans wondering about voting, Democrats Abroad run VoteFromAbroad.org has, an online form you can fill out and download to register to vote/request an absentee ballot. When you do this you also download a federal write-in absentee ballot.
VoteFromAbroad.org suggests that if you don’t receive your absentee ballot by October 4th you mail the write-in ballot. Since I haven’t received my absentee ballot, I’ll be mailing my write-in ballot soon.

Weather Shock

In last month’s newsletter I talked a little about the culture shock I experienced in the US. Well now I’m going to talk about a little weather shock I’ve been experiencing in France. When we first returned the weather was nice, that is sunny but not to hot, about 70-75 degrees. Well that soon changed and we experienced some very rainy weather. Coming from LA where rain is an event, a much needed one at that, this was somewhat of a shock. France in the fall seems to be the opposite of LA. I’ll never forget my first fall in Alsace. All I remember is the rain, weeks and weeks of it. All those outdoor activities that one takes for granted in LA, often can’t be practiced (okay they can but you will get very wet) in France. To be fair the last week or so of September was sunny.
One word of warning for anyone thinking of moving to France, make sure you experience at least one fall wherever you want to live.

10% Discount

I recently received an email from Kristi Anderson, whose Saint Jacques B&B I featured last month. She told me that all readers will get a 10% discount on stays, workshops and her Thanksgiving event. Don’t miss out, visit her site and see what might interest you. Remember to say referred from Americans in France.

Fete in France

Have you ever thought of hosting a wedding, family reunion, birthday party or corporate event in France but were too intimidated by the logistics and time it takes to plan one? Fête in France can help you put your special event together anywhere in l'hexagone.
Fête in France is an event planning service run by Anne Mulvihill, an American, based in Paris. For more information visit www.feteinfrance.com or contact Anne directly at annemulvihill@feteinfrance.com.