Breakdown in the foothills...

I haven't written in a little while because, frankly, I've been busy going nuts.

Living in the foothills of Nice is starting to get to me in a big, big way. The view from the foothills is lovely and it's wonderful to be a little removed from the city in the sense that there is a little more nature around and a little less traffic, but I'm sort of in the middle of nowhere here. And now that the weather is getting colder (note that the mandarin is not yet wearing his winter sweater), I'm back to feeling like a princess trapped in a castle (of course, more trapped than princess).

One thing that people start to learn once they move out on their own -- especially if they move around a bit -- is that there are certain things that everyone requires to happily live in a place. These things can be different for different people, sure. But, I've moved around enough to know the few things that I need to have within walking distance: a restaurant, a small store with fruit, vegetables and bread, a pharmacy, and a friend.

Where we are now, I have none of these things within walking distance. And the recent rain, which stopped me from using the scooter for the last few weeks, has started to make me grumpy and needlessly sad.

The dramatic solution? Moving!!!

Right now, I'm just looking at neighbourhoods -- anywhere between Monaco and Cannes. But even looking is a relief.

The sun is out today, which will hopefully burn away some of the crazy until I find a good neighbourhood to investigate.