Author: Bob

While living in North, Central and South America, in the middle of the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean, and now in Europe, my passion has remained the same: travel and meeting new friends.
Life in France

Level headed

Sea level marker
Sea level marker

We usually take a couple walks a day plus a few other quick outings down by the river for Heather’s breaks. There are the “must” excursions to the open-air market for fresh produce or the bakery for some croissants, for example and then the pleasure walks that get us out exploring medieval streets, open countryside along the canal, or pathways beside the river. On a recent walk inside the Bastide, the part of Carcassonne that was founded in 1240 and used to be totally encircled by a thick stone wall, we saw the plaque seen here in this picture and wondered what it was. Continue reading “Level headed”

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Life in France

QWERTY or AZERTY?

French keyboard
French keyboard

If you’re a touch typist you probably don’t think much about the placement of the letters on your keyboard. Neither did I. For 50 years I’ve been pressing the same spots on the keyboard to produce the letters that I wanted. The upper left corner started with a Q followed by a W and the M was in the middle of the bottom row. Well, not anymore, at least in our house. Continue reading “QWERTY or AZERTY?”

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Life in France

The vet bill was how much?

Someone is more interested in looking at the castle than the camera
Someone is more interested in looking at the castle than the camera

Heather takes us on daily walks. We generally set the direction but then she determines the destination and speed, pulling on the leash and glancing back to make sure that both of us are keeping up. Since she’s not fond of loud noises we often go along the river where she gets to sniff to her heart’s content, we get glimpses of snow-capped mountains and the occasional passenger train zipping to or from the Mediterranean Sea, and we all three enjoy the tranquility. As long as she’s pulling us along then we keep going. But then on an outing last week she stopped pulling. Continue reading “The vet bill was how much?”

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Life in France

Monsieur Rogers’ neighborhood

Frosty margaritas and spicy southwest rollups
Frosty margaritas and spicy southwest rollups

Did you ever watch the PBS television program hosted by Fred Rogers where he invited you on a daily excursion to meet the people around him? In contrast to the fast-paced cartoon entertainment offered at the time on other channels, Mr. Rogers was a kind and gentle man who made you feel comfortable in strange surroundings, emphasized respect for others, and offered reassuring advice that things would work out OK. His Land of Make-Believe even had a castle towering above all the houses below. Guess where we live. Continue reading “Monsieur Rogers’ neighborhood”

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Life in France

Cozy they call it

Cool house beside the Canal-du-Midi
Cool house beside the Canal-du-Midi

We live in a small house. I hadn’t really given it much thought until the other morning when Bill was loading the dishwasher…from his seat at the breakfast table. That’s also where we eat lunch and dinner and from my side of that same table I would be able to load the washing machine which is there in the kitchen too. In US real estate terms that would be called “cozy”. Continue reading “Cozy they call it”

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Life in France

You can bank on it

The Bank of France building in Carcassonne
The Bank of France building in Carcassonne

Banks in France are different from what we were used to in Atlanta. Here they have fees for pretty much every service and we understand that it can take at least a couple of weeks to get an account open. It’s not uncommon for your branch to close for lunch, be open on Saturday mornings only, if at all, and not at all on Mondays. Combine that with the US government’s requirement that the Bank of France report all financial activity of any American who has an account here and you start to understand the delays and the challenge. Thanks to the Internet, we may have a solution. Continue reading “You can bank on it”

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Life in France

Bundles through Britain

The French crystal comes home
The French crystal comes back home

During World War II an organization called Bundles for Britain sent non-military supplies including knitted sweaters, scarves, and hats to the UK from the US. Seventy-five years later we have our own version, right down to the knitting, going on with the arrival of our household goods from Atlanta via Southampton, England. Continue reading “Bundles through Britain”

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