Life in France

Christmas magic in Carcassonne

Christmas magic from the city’s website

Our neighbor is from Paris and is used to, I’m sure, some really stellar events. After all, growing up in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower has to be pretty impressive yet she remains unjaded. Having moved to Carcassonne for love, her perspective on the world is very down to earth. As an example, for someone who can’t eat dairy products nor gluten she proclaims “but I can eat all of the fruits, vegetables, and meat that I want” and adds “and I’m fond of the local wine”. We can identify with that positive attitude! It didn’t surprise us then, when she told us that although we’d recently returned from Strasbourg, site of Europe’s first Christmas market in 1570, we would still find the festivities in Carcassonne mignon, or in our translated word “cute”.  She was right. Continue reading “Christmas magic in Carcassonne”

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Dealing with government, Life in France

Chez le dentiste

Brush your teeth after every pastry

On Thursday we went to the dentist for the first time since we moved here and as the French sometimes say “It wasn’t terrible”. In fact, the visit itself was much less traumatic than the buildup in our heads of simply making the appointment. Phoning a business remains a challenge especially when you must explain that you’re a new patient, that there are actually two of you who need to see the doctor, preferably with back-to-back appointments, and because of language classes you can’t show up on Wednesday mornings or Friday afternoons. Granted, all of that is now easy enough to say in French and even have the person on the other end of the phone understand you but the test comes in figuring out their reply. If you’ve chosen a small office you might be talking directly to the doctor, perhaps already busy with a patient, so that just adds to the anxiety. We were delighted, therefore, to find a dental practice large enough to have a receptionist we could talk to in-person, so we walked right in. Continue reading “Chez le dentiste”

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Dealing with government, Life in France

Living in France—the book

Cover of the booklet

Although probably not a bestseller, there is a publication from the Ministry of the Interior of France that anyone who is thinking of moving here will probably want on their electronic bookshelf. The price is certainly right—free—and it contains lots of practical information about preparing for the move and then what to do once you’ve arrived in your new country. Just as important, Living in France also addresses the key values represented in the Republic’s motto: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. This is followed by, “These are not simply abstract concepts: these values have concrete effects on day-to-day life by means of the rights and obligations of citizens and residents.” These benefits apply to the French themselves, to those of us living here, and even to visitors. Continue reading “Living in France—the book”

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Dealing with government, Life in France

Staying informed

Our region’s bi-monthly journal

If you’ve ever been in a need-to-know work situation you’ll understand that it’s always someone else who decides when you need to know something and how much they are going to tell you. It was especially frustrating to me when I was in a position that required disseminating information to the general public yet finding out those details from the person in charge was impossible. Luckily that’s all in the past and now it’s up to Bill and me to determine what information we need, how to get it, and will it be in French or English. The region that we live in, called Occitanie, publishes a review every 2 months to inform citizens about government spending, new and planned legislation, achievements in job creation, etc. I was astounded that each issue includes a section called “Political Groups Expression” where all parties, center, left, right, extreme, or moderate get to say their piece. Continue reading “Staying informed”

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Life in France

Some like it hot

Red peppers labeled “hot” for sale at the market

When someone comes to dinner at our house, one of Bill’s favorite questions to them is “Do you like pepper?” as he stands nearby with the fresh pepper grinder in hand, ready to blacken their plate. We both like spicy foods (well, some slightly more than others) and back in Atlanta we frequently visited a Mexican restaurant that knew the true meaning of caliente. (Yes, Spanish speakers, I know that means hot temperature rather than spicy, but I’ll get there in a minute.) When we arrived in France and went to the market we were pleased to see an entire display devoted just to spices. After we loaded our backpacks with fresh fruits and vegetables, some grown as close as the farms that surround Carcassonne, others elsewhere in France or just to our south in Spain, we wandered over to this colorful array anticipating finding all of the exotic powders we were used to. Sure enough there was cinnamon, basil, thyme, oregano, garlic powder, and at least 2 dozen more including of course, herbes de Provence. But what about chili powder, pepper flakes, serrano, chipotle, or anything marked “HOT!” ? Continue reading “Some like it hot”

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Life in France, Travel in France & beyond

Mellow in St. Malo

St. Malo from the sea

We can easily get by train from our part of the south of France to the Normandy coast several times a day but the ferry from there to the Channel Islands only goes once a day outside of the summer season. Since we can choose when to travel, we leave July and August to the families who can only travel together when schools are on vacation. That meant arriving in the port city of St. Malo after the boat had departed for the day but it gave us an opportunity to overnight in a city we’d only seen for a few hours as a side excursion on one our our previous visits to Brittany. Continue reading “Mellow in St. Malo”

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