The English language newspaper for the French - Italian Riviera and the Principality of Monaco
Thursday, 20.06.2013
Hannah Marshall (10)
11.08.2011 1
Column: Girl about town: RT's English editor, Hannah Marshall, on why, even though we may as well be a million miles away, British expats on the French Riviera are by no means unaffected by the riots in the UK
London calling
Yesterday I was interviewed about the riots in the UK by a French radio station. The fact that I was asked to comment struck me as strange at first, “I’m not there, I’m in France, what can I say?” was my initial thought.
Read more … London calling31.07.2010 0
Column: Girl about town: RT's English journalist, Hannah Marshall, charts the highs - and lows - of Riviera living
A princess behind the bar and Bardot next door
Being a relatively normal person living on the Riviera, I can be left open-mouthed by the extraordinary things I see whilst other people barely raise an eyebrow.
Read more … A princess behind the bar and Bardot next door13.07.2010 0
Column: Girl about town: RT's English journalist, Hannah Marshall, charts the highs - and lows - of Riviera living
A strange encounter of the emergency kind
At the start of this month, I was quite sure that nothing more dramatic was going to happen to me than turning 30. Then the roof started to fall down around me and I was forced to change my mind.
Read more … A strange encounter of the emergency kind01.07.2010 0
Column: Girl about town: RT's English journalist, Hannah Marshall, charts the highs - and lows - of Riviera living
This is not what it seems
At the weekend I discovered a most beautiful place. You drive towards Sospel, turn off at an unmarked road and continue up, up, up until there’s nowhere left to go. From here, the view - of the undulating valley and hilltop terracotta villages perched above the sea - momentarily stands you still.
Read more … This is not what it seems07.05.2010 1
Column: Girl about town: RT's English journalist, Hannah Marshall, charts the highs - and lows - of Riviera living
Above and beyond the boundries of bureaucracy
Recently, I’ve had a few run-ins with French bureaucracy. Now, I know it’s easy to find fault with most bureaucratic systems (don’t even get me started on the DVLA) however, the French seem to go above and beyond when it comes to making official procedure as complicated as humanly possible… not to mention painfully frustrating, humiliating and rude.
Read more … Above and beyond the boundries of bureaucracy29.04.2010 1
Column: Girl about town: RT's English journalist, Hannah Marshall, charts the highs - and lows - of Riviera living
How to make French friends and alienate them
Finding French friends in France is surprisingly hard. Believe me, I've been trying to collect them for a while now to no avail. Alongside my lack of language proficiency I count this as my greatest failure as an ex pat. Obviously, I'm aware that if I had more friends I would speak better French and if I spoke more French I'd have more friends. Honestly, I'm trapped in a vicious cycle.
Read more … How to make French friends and alienate them12.04.2010 0
Column: Girl about town: RT's English journalist, Hannah Marshall, charts the highs - and lows - of Riviera living
No exceptions please, I only speak English
This month I have been throwing myself fully into the spirit of spring. It may be a cliché but, still, you can’t deny that there is something about how the air feels on your skin at this time of year, how it smells, that awakens you from wintery slumber and encourages you to seek out the world with new eyes. With this in mind, I have decided to get out there and learn French.
Read more … No exceptions please, I only speak English17.03.2010 0
Column: Girl about town: RT's English journalist, Hannah Marshall, charts the highs - and lows - of Riviera living
Kandinsky and Guests
“You do know that most of the people at this thing will have been born after 1990?” Miranda said, as she threw another discarded vest top on the floor. “Yep,” I nodded, indicating that I liked the present ensemble. “Really?” she put her hands on her hips. In black and white stripy tights, platform shoes, hotpants, an oversized tee-shirt and a blazer covered in school badges, I had to give her credit: she got kiddie fashion, perhaps even better than the kids did themselves.
Read more … Kandinsky and Guests09.03.2010 0
Column: Girl about town: RT's English journalist, Hannah Marshall, charts the highs - and lows - of Riviera living
A petite poupette in Paris
“That iz it!” the Belgian artist spluttered. “I am no longer going to waste my time on the provincial and the small-minded.” I held the receiver away from my ear a little. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciated his point: he’d overcome the snow and the second-class train travel to appear at his vernissage at MAMAC the week before, only to be rudely set upon by an unruly youth who had taken offence at his tattooed pigs.
Read more … A petite poupette in Paris13.02.2010 0
Column: Girl about town: RT's English journalist, Hannah Marshall, charts the highs - and lows - of Riviera living
Snow joke
For most of Northern Europe a little snow in February is hardly headline news. However, the Riviera is not the rest of Europe and when it’s snowing in February in Nice something’s wrong. I mean this is a part of the world where people come to escape the miserable climate in their own country; they don’t come here to fight against icy winds and snow gales as they stroll along the Promenade des Anglais.
Read more … Snow joke