Bonjour, tout le monde,

Well, we have arrived in Aix en Provence, the location for our Sabbatical experience here in France.

Although it has been mostly raining since our arrival, Yvette, Niko (our 22 pound Shitzu-poo) and I are gradually settling in. It was a long flight from Miami to Munich, and then on to Marseilles ... where we were picked up by Donal, the Irish-born, young, hi-tech engineer from whom we are renting our third-story flat (34 steps up and down).

Niko made the flight in good shape, snuggled in his cage in the "hold" of the jumbo Luftansa jet. As it turned out, no one ever bothered to check all of the paper work Yvette had dutifully assembled for Niko to accompany us. As you can imagine, we were more than relieved to see that Niko had arrived, safe and sound, with apparently no problems. What a trooper.

In theses early days, we have a long list of things to do to help us find our way here in Aix. Already, we are testing our French in our multiple outings to the local Boulangeries (bakery), restaurants and delis.

Yesterday, May 1st, happened to be a national holiday in France which meant that many of the stores and shops were closed. However, the pace should pick up tomorrow (Monday) and we'll be able to get out to a supermarket and the "Carrefour" which, folks tell us, is like a mini shopping center all in one, huge store.

That's about it, for the moment. We are so excited to be here, at last, and to have this wonderful opportunity before us.

A bientot! (talk to you soon)