verything
you'll need to know to enjoy your stay at Valhalla...
irections:
Address
of Villa: 1555 Chemin Daou Ribas, 06530
Speracedes, France (Alpes Maritime department,
Provence region).
Map
Location, General: When you find Cannes on the
map, to the north is a city called Grasse. Just west
is a smaller city called Cabris, about 900 feet
above sea level. The villa is 2 miles west of Cabris.
Ok,
this is the hard part. But have patience and be
ready for winding roads that follow the terrain of
the valleys and mountain. The signs are pretty good,
but if you get lost, call Gary for help
(001-757-617-3332). You will be flying into the
airport in Nice, France, so just remember you’ll
be to the southeast of the Villa, about 50 minutes
away. Specific directions are:
a.
Take the A-8 autoroute toward the west, which will
say Cannes / Antibes or Grasse. All three cities
are to the west of Nice, which is the way you will
go.
b.
Follow the A-8 autoroute west until you find the
exit 46 for Cannes / Mougins / Mouans Sartoux.
Follow the signs for N85 and Grasse/Mouans Sartoux,
which is to the north.
c.
Stay on the N85 until you pass through a tunnel
welcoming you to Grasse. At the outlet of the
tunnel, just stay right and you’ll loop around
– this is the end of the highway.
d.
At the next roundabout you come to, exit to the
first right – the sign should say “Pegomas”.
e.
At the next roundabout, take the first right again
toward “Grasse / St. Jacques”.
f.
Follow road to next roundabout and continue
straight – toward “Peymeinade”.
g.
When you see the sign for “Cabris” – follow
that road 3km into the village of Cabris.
h.
At the top of the hill, you’re in Cabris, you’ll
come to a roundabout. Follow it around toward the
village – signs will say “Cabris” / “Speracedes”.
Follow along to the next roundabout where you’ll
see an open park / field to the right, and a
restaurant on the left. Go around that roundabout
and take the second right (NOT up the hill toward
St Vallier de Thiey) , exiting toward Hotel
Horizon, a real estate office, Les Fleurs flower
shop, and Sperecedes. (there should be a sign
there pointing toward Hotel Horizon and Sperecedes).
You are now on the road of the villa, about 3 km
away.
i.
Follow this road past Hotel Horizon. It’s long
and winding for a while.
j.
Follow “Chemin du St Jean” – don’t go down
the hill at the Chemin de Laurens sign.
k.
At the next fork, stay left where you’ll see
Chemin daou Ribas – don’t take the dirt road
up the hill.
l.
At the next fork, stay on the black pavement to
the right and go up the hill. You’ll see a big,
nice house on the right.
m.
When you come to 4 mailboxes on the left side of
road, “1555” will be straight ahead. The first
gate is NOT Gary’s – take the driveway to the
right of the “1555” gate and continue for
about 75 yards to the end. A gate will be on your
left, then one down the hill toward the left, and
one straight ahead. Take the one down the hill to
the left, and get your remote out so you can open
the gate. My gate is the one which has 2 lions on
top of the pillars.
eys/Security:
You
can not enter the driveway without using the remote
control to open the wrought iron gate. The black
remote key device with two black buttons is used for
this. The button on lower left corner opens the gate
(marked “GATE”). Once inside, push the button
again and in a few seconds you will see the gate
slowly close. Make sure it closes behind you for
security.
The
villa has an alarm system which you must disable
next. Find the gray remote with buttons in a
vertical lineup. The top button turns the alarm off.
Press that button when you get to the front door and
listen for two tones – when you push the top
button the first tone will start, then a second tone
(the other zone), and in a few seconds it will stop.
The alarm is now off.
Take
the green and yellow key with the number “…13”
stamped on it. Turn the key around to the left and
you’ll hear a click. Rotate it again to the left
and you’ll hear a second click after you’ve
turned it over twice. This unlocks the double lock
and the door should open right up.
Once
you are inside, you can lock the front door again
using the key – there is no deadbolt or chain, so
use the key to lock the door.
There
are wall switches to operate the hurricane shutters
protecting the sliding glass doors in the Dining
Room, Yellow Bedroom, and lower level Family Room.
To
lock the house doors with glass panels (Bedrooms,
Kitchen, Living Room) and a lever type door handle,
you must first rotate the handle up (CCW) towards
the 1 o’clock position (from it’s normal 3 o’clock
position), and then turn the key lock. This is not
necessary when locking these doors (Bedrooms,
Kitchen, Living Room).
When
Departing: (A) First, close the front door behind
you and insert the green and yellow key “…13”.
Turn it to the right 2 full turns, and you should
hear the lock set twice. Remove key and the door
should be locked tight. (B) There are 2 steps to
setting the alarm. When the door is locked, press
the second button from the top of the key remote and
listen for the tone to set. Once the tone stops,
press the 3rd button and listen for the tone. When
that tone also stops, the alarms are set on both
floors and you can leave. (C) Use the black electric
gate remote (bottom left corner button) to open the
gate. When you drive out, once again press the gate
button and verify that the gate closes behind you.
ights/Remote
Lighting:
The
front of the villa has a large courtyard and
driveway with remote operated lights. The black
electric gate remote has two buttons on it. If you
press the top right hand corner button the front
lights will come on (marked LTS). This is why that
button is on the electric gate remote – the remote
turns the lights on and off in the front courtyard /
driveway and the also controls the front gate. The
drive lights can also be controlled by a switch in
the upper level kitchen, or by a switch in the
foyer.
The
back of the villa has two lighting circuits. On the
ground floor and pool level, the lights are
controlled with the blue remote having orange
colored buttons. The left button will turn the
lights on and off at the pool and ground level. The
right hand side button is currently inactive. The
second light circuit in the back of the villa is for
the lower level terrace. The switch for these lights
is located in the lower foyer area. They can
normally be left off unless you are using the deck
on the lower level for some reason.
nternet
Connectivity:
SAIC
/ AMSEC employees MUST have PAL software loaded to
their computer to ensure the best online service and
help desk support. Take your laptop to the service
center or download PAL software from ISSAIC before
your trip. Make sure your modem is working and make
sure you have your Secure ID token. You need to
remember these things:
a.
Your username is your SAIC domino name. (e.g.,
lisotag)
b.
Your “UIC” is also your username. (e.g.,
lisotag)
c.
You will fill in the “Login” box with, for
example, “lisotag-mcl” which is just my
username with the SAIC McLean server code – mcl.
You will probably use the same exact convention
and server, but check with the help desk before
you leave. If you do not use the SAIC system, you
can use your own personal software (Mindspring for
instance), but you’ll need to contact your
service before you leave to find out how to roam
on their system).
The
PAL software worked using a local phone number in
Monaco on the very first try. I only needed to
remember my SAIC login name, which is also the “UIC”
that is needed to get online with SAICNET, and the
server name, as I mentioned above. Don’t worry
about phone numbers – if you have PAL loaded
properly on your laptop before you travel, the phone
numbers will be automatically loaded as they are
with AOL. Just make sure you test this before you
leave the United States, or you’ll be miserable.
Phone
cables – the phone jack in France is the same
style as in the states, so you won’t have any
problems unless your modem has some weird connector,
in which case you just need your own phone cable
that converts you from your modem jack to a standard
phone jack. There is plenty of phone cable in the
villa to reach from the wall to your laptop. There
is also a Bluetooth 56K Wireless modem in the villa,
allowing you to roam with your laptop up to 300 feet
from the modem. There is a Bluetooth modem adapter
in the villa that plugs into your laptop’s USB
port.
POWER!
Most laptop power supplies will accept 220V/50hz, as
well as 110V/60hz, but check before you leave. If
your laptop won’t accept European power, you will
have to use a step-down converter (there is one in
the villa in the Master Bathroom – under the
sink). You might want to buy one, just in case! One
thing you will need is a plug adapter. The wall
socket prong arrangement is different in France, so
your laptop’s power supply cord will not plug in
without the adapter. There are a couple in the
villa, or you can bring your own.
illa
Survival Guide:
Villa
Phone Number: 04.93.09.96.87 (while in France!)
To call the villa from the U.S., you dial
011.33.493.09.96.87.
Property
Manager: Florent (pronounced ‘Floor-ont’)
Cavelier, Golden Keys Property Manager. Cell phone
06.11.65.13.87. From the states, dial 011.33.611 651
387. Florent speaks good English, and can be very
helpful if you run into any problems in country. His
assistant’s name is Elhadi (Cell Phone
06.15.01.71.10).
My
U.S. Cell Phone Number: 001-757-617-3332 (call
me if you have a problem that Florent can’t solve
– which won’t be many!) Note: To call the U.S.
from France, dial 001 (the U.S. Country Code) and
then the area code and number.
Emergency
phone numbers are labeled onto the phone; they are
also in the Anglophonebook.
U.S.
DVDs don’t work in Europe – don’t bring them.
I have a few, European formatted American movies in
the villa.
U.S.
CDs do work in Europe. I have some of these, but you
might want your own. The villa has a CD/DVD player
in the Living Room, and a boom box for outside
located in the lower level Family Room.
There
are plenty of maps and guidebooks in the house; don’t
bother buying any.
To
operate the upper Kitchen gas stove, you must press
down the burner selector switch while pushing the
igniter button to light a burner.
Gas
for upper Kitchen stove: The propane bottles are
outside; just to the left if you exit the Kitchen
through the back door (driveway side). If you
suspect a gas supply problem, check the indicator
attached to the bottles – it will be green or red.
Green means gas is going to the house; red means it
is not. If red, check to ensure that gas bottle tank
valve(s) are open. If still not green, check
mixing/selector valve to ensure it is aligned
properly. The valve “index line” should be
aligned parallel with the gas lines (horizontal to
the ground).
“Depart”
means “start” on the clothes washer and dryer
– handy to know if you want either of them to ever
operate (just ask me about it!)
The
car, a Renault Espace (automatic, V-6), takes 95 or
98 octane gas (sans plomb essence) – NOT diesel,
which is gazole in French. The car’s license plate
number is 368 AMR 06.
Garbage
must be taken to any of the roadside garbage bins in
the vicinity of the house.
House
key has green and yellow tape on it; garage key has
red tape on it.
The
spa temperature is set on 103.5F (perfect!) If you
manage to figure how to accidentally “unlock”
the setting, the spa-operating manual (in English)
is in the Dining Room hutch (top, right drawer). If
that doesn’t fix whatever problem you have, call
Florent and ask him to have the pool man come out.
Power
awnings (4) and shutters for upper and lower terrace
doors and windows can be used to keep the house cool
during hot summer days. The house holds heat or cold
well, so if you overheat it during the day, it will
stay that way half the nite. Do not leave the
awnings extended during windy periods or if you
leave the property and suspect stormy weather. The
wind comes up fast on the mountain and will damage
the power awnings if the wind speed is over about
30mph.
iscellaneous
Info:
There
are 240v hairdryers in all 3 full bathrooms; there
is also 1 electric curling iron (Master Bath)
There
is one 240v/120v converter and a French plug adapter
set in the Master Bath.
There
are hand tools in a drawer in the upper Kitchen;
there is a cordless drill on the counter in the
lower Kitchen.
There
are spare light bulbs in a counter drawer in the
lower Kitchen.
The
black, electric gate remote uses a size A23, 12V
battery (V23GA). The security system remote uses 3V
Lithium battery (CR 2430).
There
are binoculars and a telescope in the Living Room
entertainment system armoire/cabinet.
There
are wind chimes in the Dining Room sideboard storage
cabinet. These are normally hung on the end of the
awning rod outside the Dining Room. (Lower the
awning and loop the wind chime cord over the end of
the awning rod.)
There
are laundry baskets in each bedroom.
There
are color coded robes (by bedroom/bath colors) in
each bedroom closet – unless they get moved –
like to the pool towel linen closet (across from the
lower Kitchen)
There
are at least two sets of linen for each bed and
extra towels for most bathrooms.
There
is a game set with chess, checkers, dominoes, poker,
and cribbage in the Living Room.
Pool
Heater (below pool, outside of pool equipment
room door) – To re-set pool temperature:
-
Press “SET”.
-
Raise or lower temperature using switch, the top
“dot” will flash in the temperature readout.
-
When new temperature setting is reached, press “SET”
again – both dots and numbers will flash on the
temperature readout and then stop after a few
seconds, indicating that the new temperature
setting has been accepted.
Taxi
Service – ALLO TAXI PHILIPPE operating out of
Mougins has a brand new E sized Mercedes that is
ideal for returning to the airport, or a special
nite out (like dinner at L’Oasis in Mandelieu,
which is hard to find). Philippe is a friend of
Florent and knows how to find the villa (mention my
name and Florent’s) – that’s a plus, because
the villa is not easy to find, even for locals, and
unless you speak impeccable French, it would be very
hard to give good directions – believe me, I’ve
tried! A trip to the airport (one way) will cost you
about 100 euros (including tip). The phone numbers
are: Mobile – 06.09.98.40.51 or Home –
04.93.46.19.60. Call a day in advance for airport
trips.
Marie-Ange
Gerodet – She is my favorite artist in
Provence and much of my artwork was done by her.
Marie-Ange is a very accomplished impressionist
painter and her work is reasonably priced, despite
some fame even in the U.S. – she routinely has
collections in New York and Florida galleries. I am
now one of her biggest patrons, so mention my name
– she will give you a price break, especially if
you buy multiple paintings. Other patrons include
Sting, Jack Nicholson, and Catherine Deneuve. Her
studio is now in Tourtour (north of St. Tropez near
Dragaignan) in a remodeled castle (chateau), but she
also has a small gallery in Mougins in the old
village (vieux ville). If you call her Mougins
gallery, you can find out what days she will be
there – she splits her time between Mougins and
Tourtour. She is very friendly, but speaks very
little English. Her boyfriend, Ivy, speaks
reasonable English and interprets for her. Her staff
in Mougins also speaks English. If you want
provencal art as a souvenir, Marie-Ange is a good
artist to focus on. She always has a good selection
(especially in Tourtour) and is a sweetheart to deal
with. I have had lunch with her in Tourtour, had her
over for lunch at the villa, she has painted my
villa (hanging in my Virginia home), and will go out
of her way for you if you mention that I sent you.
She, like everyone else, will also ship paintings to
the U.S. – basically free.
A
great hardware store is Castorama. There is one in
Antibes right off A-8.
Decathlon
is an awesome sporting goods store (any sport!).
There is one in Mandelieu and one in Antibes –
both are near the autoroute (A-8). The stores also
have a great selection of shoes and athletic
clothing.
Darty
is the big audio, video, computer and appliance
store – much like a Best Buy or Circuit City.
There is one in Mandelieu and in Antibes. Both are
near the A-8 exits for those towns.
My
favorite florist is Jackie Flore (93.70.03.67) in
St-Jacques, which is one of the small towns between
N-85 and the villa – you can’t miss it. They don’t
speak much English, but have great flowers, good
prices, and are very friendly.
pecial
Requests from Your Host:
Do
not keep awnings out or pool umbrellas up when it is
windy, or when you leave the property. The wind can
pick up fast on the mountain and damage either quite
easily – particularly the power awnings.
Please
store your luggage in the garage – it helps to
keep the interior walls and paint from getting beat
up.
Please
avoid cutting directly on the butcher’s table in
the upper Kitchen. There are numerous cutting boards
all around the Kitchen – both plastic and wood,
including on the butcher’s table.
There
are 8 white plastic deck chairs in the utility room.
All have yellow and white pads. Recommend putting 4
by the table next to the pool, 2 on the lower
terrace, and 2 on the upper terrace.
Please
sign our “Nos Amis” (our friends) guest book
located in the Dining Room.
LAST
DAY/DEPARTURE – Please strip your dirty sheets
and pillow cases from the beds and pile them on the
floor in the bedrooms so that the maid remembers
which go where. The dirty towels can be taken to the
Laundry Room and piled on the floor. In the kitchen,
please put any remaining dishes and glassware in the
dishwasher and start before you leave. The
refrigerator should be cleaned out of perishable
items, unless you know that another guest is
following right behind you (within 2 weeks). You can
leave behind drinks, condiments and unopened items
that keep well in the refrigerator. Your last day’s
trash should be taken to one of the roadside bins,
or if you can’t get to one, put the remaining
garbage bag(s) in the garage (right inside the door
so it is obvious to the maid that it is trash).
Beyond the aforementioned items (laundry, dishes,
trash), don’t bother cleaning the house – the
maid will do it before the next arrival. On the
outside, please make sure that the umbrellas, chair
cushions and white plastic chairs are re-stowed in
the Utility Room next to the Laundry Room before you
leave. The metal chairs and tile tables, as well as
big plastic table and chaise lounges, stay out.
Also, if you hung the wind chime, please return it
to the storage locker in the Dining Room sideboard.
Lastly, make sure that the awnings are in, wooden
shutters are closed and secured, and the hurricane
shutters over the sliding glass doors are down. BON
VOYAGE!
here's
It At?
There
are yellow chair cushions (18) for the two outside
tiled tables stored in the lower level Kitchen or
Utility Room.
The
switches for the upper and lower terrace power
awnings are outside near the respective awning
units.
Chaise
lounge pads, deck chairs and pads, and pool-side
umbrellas are stored in the Utility Room on the
lower level.
Upper
Kitchen Appliances:
- Electric
knife
- Electric
can opener
- Blender
- Coffee
Maker
- Espresso
Machine
- Toaster
- Mixer
- Microwave/convection
oven
- Gas
stove
- 2
refrigerators (upper/lower)
Lower
Kitchen Appliances:
- Electric
stove and oven
- Large
freezer
- Large
refrigerator
- Electric
can opener
Pool/beach
towels are in the linen closet across from the lower
Kitchen.
Iron
and ironing board are in the Laundry Room.
The
weight bench and weights, floor mats, and aerobic
step are located in the Laundry Room. The treadmill
is in the Family Room (near the boom box!).
The
breaker panel is in closet/room across from the
lower level Blue Bedroom (near the lower Foyer).
Wood
for the fireplace is in the garage.
Boules
– Petanque, or boules (“balls” in French), is
the national pastime in the South of France. You
will see it played in almost every town square
(place) in Provence. It is normal to play boules in
the late afternoon while drinking Pastis (anise
based liqueur), mixed with ice cold water. In 2003,
I built a petanque court for Villa Valhalla on the
level below the pool. The balls are in a box in the
living room, along with game instructions. So,
practice at the villa, and then challenge the
old-timers in Cabris – maybe you’ll shock them
with your new found skill. (The Pastis is in the
liquor cabinet!)
