My Good Life in France

It stands for voiture sans permis – a car you can drive without a licence.

I have a feeling that any sign of authority turns some French people from really nice, friendly, cultured people into wannabe anarchists.

He had always wanted to eat there and when he did it was a bittersweet moment as we realized that many of the other things on his bucket list would never be fulfilled.

he taught me that life is something that must be treasured and that every minute counts.

You’ve got to love French ingenuity for getting mileage out of something, haven’t you.

Kir pétillant, a French apéritif of blackcurrant cassis and sparkling wine.

Our flaws and foibles were revealed.

Churchill, her partner in crime, dances around adoringly while she misbehaves and then alerts us to her misdeeds by barking insistently – afterwards, of course.

Money is important and you need enough to live, of course, but did it really have to be more than enough, she would ask me if she were here.

As I mulled over the options I had, I knew what my mum would say, that sometimes you have to go with your heart, you have to give a different life a chance before it was too late.