Tag: Life in France

Life in France

Stone cold

Part of our stone walls
Part of our stone walls

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”

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Life in France

Our first night at home

A view from our bedroom window
A view from our bedroom window

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”

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Before leaving the US

Let them eat meat

Empty freezer
This freezer used to be full.

Marie Antoinette is credited, perhaps erroneously, with suggesting that if the starving peasants had no bread they should eat cake instead. Since we’re trying to use up all of the remaining food in our house these days there’s neither bread nor cake left but there’s still plenty of meat. You can have steaks of many varieties and thicknesses, chops, a roast, ham slices, salmon fillets, chicken breasts, and even an 18-pound turkey. No carbs, just all protein ready for a quick weight loss diet. Bring on the bacon! Continue reading “Let them eat meat”

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Before leaving the US

And then there was one

One key
Only one key remaining

When Bill and I were working we both had a pocketful of keys: the house doors, the cars, the Club security bars for the cars, our work building doors, various office keys, locker keys, etc. Bill had to repair more than one pair of pants that didn’t hold up to all the extra weight. Last night we sold our one remaining car and now we each have just one single house key on our ring. It’s really a burden lifted, figuratively and literally. Continue reading “And then there was one”

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Dealing with government

Yes, you’re right–you’re wrong

License-Plate-Nongame
Georgia license plate courtesy GA Department of Natural Resources

Last Wednesday I went with Bill to our county tax commissioner’s office to cancel a license plate. The week before Thanksgiving Bill’s brother Dan and sister-in-law Elaine bought our 2014 Honda® Accord and we called the tax office to find out how to deal with the sale. We were told that as long as the new owners had insurance, we could cancel ours and that once they registered the car in their home state, we could cancel the license tag here. Well, not really. Continue reading “Yes, you’re right–you’re wrong”

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Before leaving the US

Enter the entrée

100_4111
Roasted pork loin on the grill

At this holiday time of the year, food is a natural topic of discussion both in-person and online. Bill and I look at a few different blogs written by Americans living in France and this week everyone was talking about the differences between the big Christmas meal in our two countries. Traditionally the French tend to have a large family meal either just before or right after midnight on Christmas Eve. It often starts with caviar and champagne followed by a variety of seafoods, escargot, foie gras, a selection of fowl, and a chocolate yule log, all accompanied by red and white wines finishing with more bubbly champagne. Continue reading “Enter the entrée”

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Life in France

Budget page

House beside the Canal-du-Midi
House beside the Canal-du-Midi

At the beginning of this year (OK, just 2 days ago) we added a new section to the blog called “Budget”. Since that is such an important consideration when making any move, it made sense to highlight what it costs to live overseas. On that page, which you access on the menu bar above, you’ll be able to see what others around France spend on a monthly basis. Just as including New York City or San Francisco in a budget discussion about life in the USA would scare anyone, we’ve not listed what someone in Paris might spend. Let’s just say that what we’re allowing for all costs in Carcassonne (rent, food, insurance, taxes, etc.) would barely cover renting a studio apartment in the City of Light. Eventually we’ll be able to show the exact amount that we spend on a monthly basis in the southwest of France. Continue reading “Budget page”

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