We washed our first load of laundry today. It took two and a half hours for the wash cycle. It will take another 24 hours to dry them; not because the machine is inefficient. It’s because there is no dryer. It’s pretty standard in Europe for the washer to take a long time to complete its mission just as its location is quite common: in the kitchen. Continue reading “How dry I am (not)”
A few years ago we were in France’s Loire valley which boasts the country’s highest concentration of chateaux (castles) per square kilometer. On some days we would visit one in the morning, stop for lunch, visit a second in the afternoon and then return to our own rented castle for the evening. Even after a week of that schedule we only saw a few of the 300 or so that exist there. One especially memorable chateau was Chambord, not only because it’s the valley’s largest but because of how cold it was inside; colder than it was outside; stone cold. Continue reading “Stone cold”
Do you believe in coincidences? Bill and I feel as if we make our own luck so the same applies here. Our experience has been that when you keep a positive attitude and surround yourself with other like-minded people, your results match your expectations. A few days before we left the US, Bill telephoned Air France just to confirm that Heather’s reservation was in order since our own online record showed only the two of us as travelers. Can you guess the name of the telephone reservation agent who helped Bill? Her name was Heather. We had nothing to worry about. Continue reading “Coincidences”
It’s been just over a year in the making but last night was our first night as French residents in our new home in Carcassonne. We’ve been here for a few days already, staying at the Hotel des Trois Couronnes looking out across the Aude river at that magnificent fortress. Now that same castle looks down on us since this house is literally 100 yards below those crenelated walls. I can’t wait to take Heather on her first walk along a road where Romans once tread two thousand years ago. Continue reading “Our first night at home”
Since the lease on our house doesn’t start until March 1, we’re spending a few days in a hotel that is located right beside the Aude River. That alone would be a nice enough location but as you can see from the accompanying photo from our room’s balcony, we have a great view of Europe’s largest fortress, known officially as the Cité. If this had been taken with a telephoto lens you could probably see the roof of our new place just below the turrets on the right. Continue reading “The view”
We arrived this morning, right on time, at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. At immigration we got the all-important date stamp in our passport to show when we arrived. We have to send a copy of that with our visa to the Office of Immigration and Integration in Montpelier to complete the paperwork needed to stay here for the next 12 months. Once we got to baggage claim we didn’t have to wait long for our 4 checked bags and to our delight, our fifth and most important checked item, Heather, was at the oversize baggage area in baggage claim. What a reunion that was! Continue reading “Looks like we made it”
Whenever Bill and I are in Florida we’re both reminded of the Broadway musical Pump Boys and Dinettes. You’ll probably see references to the songs in the next couple of posts including the title of this one, so feel free to sing along.
Yesterday was our first day of vacation in the Sunshine State but it wasn’t living up to its name. It wasn’t just raining; it was pouring all day long. Because we weren’t able to leave Atlanta until 6:30 PM the night before we didn’t get to Cheryl and Pete’s house until well past midnight which gave us a great excuse to sleep in as if the storms weren’t enough. Then we were faced with the dilemma of what to do on such a foul weather day. And if the weather is hell we’ll hang around the motel makin’ love and watchin’ color TV. Since one of the many things we look forward to in France is a daily visit to the boulangerie, it was easy enough to figure out that we’d be going to a bakery.
And if the weather is hell we’ll hang around the motel makin’ love and watchin’ color TV. Continue reading “No holds barred, we’re goin’ to Florida”
Let's Live In France 