First few days in Hyères

Bonjour friends and family and welcome to my first blog post EVER. I have left the cold embrace of Canada's winter for warmer climes, and I must say it is so far one of the best decisions I have ever made. Hyères is experiencing a bit of a cold snap right now (hovering around 0 degrees C most days) but that is okay. It snowed here last week for the first time since 1985. It's like the weather knew I was coming and wanted to make me feel more at home. Well it can stop that right now. The palm trees and giant ferns that line my street look decidedly odd with a light dusting of the white stuff on top. I'm staying with Alain and Chantal Combes, a charming couple that have let me into their home with open arms. Provençal hospitality is showing that it is everything I had hoped for and more. Chantal makes the most amazing dishes and Alain and I get along quite well. I had only been introduced to them minutes before and soon we were chatting about Sarkozy, Putin, the Norman conquest and rugby. We just watched a game in which Toulon dismantled Bordeaux. (Toulon is only about ten miles away, so that's their team.) I am taking French lessons from Corinne Seiler, an absolute gem of a woman who can speak English well and although I've only had one 2 1/2 hour lesson so far, she has proven herself to be a great instructor. Yesterday she showed me around the old city, straight out of the Middle Ages. I've been reading history books since I was a kid and have been anxiously awaiting my chance to explore a place as olds this. Today I climbed The hill that dominates Hyères to the north, pretty sure it's called the Costabelle. Beautiful gardens and a small villa called Castel Sainte-Claire on the lower southern side, while at the top more towards the north lies the remains of the old château d'Hyères. My first time scoping out a castle. Needless to say, I had a huge grin on my face the entire time. I took a few pictures on my iPad so that I could post them on here, and took a lot more with my camera. If I ever am fortunate enough to become a millionaire or better yet, marry a girl that already is one, I'm really gonna try and buy a house on that hill. So I think that's all I'm going to write for now. I could talk a lot more about this place, but I'll save it for some later posts. Don't want to give it all away up front.  A bientôt mes amis,  William