"Do you know how lucky we are?"

My dad is known for a phrase he says over and over while we're all together.

"Do you guys know how lucky we are?"

This phrase is often met with groans and "Yes Dad, we know."

But he is right. We are so lucky. For so many things - health, happiness, family, friends, and enough money to enjoy life.

I also realize I am very lucky to have this job at TASIS, and think about this often while I am here.

This past weekend I got to chaperone a trip to Nice, France and Monaco, with a stop in Cannes. I'm not usually scheduled to go on trips, but if there is room and need, I am able to go. So when I had the opportunity to jump on the Nice trip, I couldn't believe it. 

We left this past Friday morning with 24 kids and 3 adults. We took a bus about 6.5 hours away to the French Riviera.

We enjoyed a good balance of structured things - art museums, aquarium, tour of the city - and lots of free time!

The beauty of working for the high school program is that the kids get free time on their own everywhere we go, which of course means free time for the adults!

We did a lot of beach during the day. The color of the water and the view was unbelievable. I floated in the water for hours.

 

 

We walked the promenade at night. 

 

We toured some gardens and saw great views...

 

Our kids were amazing. We set clear expectations, but also let them have freedom, and they came through each and every time. They were a pleasure to have the entire time.

This is supposed to spell out TASIS Nice....The "S"s are backwards, but otherwise I think it's pretty good!!

One night we went to Cannes, where they have the big film festival.

The last day we went to Monaco, where the famous Monte Carlo casino is located....

 and we went to an aquarium where I touched a shark!

 

One of the parts of TASIS that I can never quite get over is that not only am I getting paid to go to France, but I also am given money for meals...a lot of money!! We get 20 euros for LUNCH. A sandwich is sometimes 3 euros. This means that I pocket 17 euros from lunch.

We get 30-40 euros for dinner. Sometimes I repeat the above sandwich for dinner and pocket 27-37 euros (we're not expected to give the leftover money back, I swear!!), but sometimes I splurge, order a delicious plate of seabass, look at the French Riviera, and remember my dad and how very lucky I am!