I'm sorry. Did I imply in a previous blog post that getting my permanent residency card was going to be a piece of cake because we're here in France? Uh...yeah, right. First we have to get our marriage certificate translated, then get Le Livre de Famille, and then fill out 5 hundred thousand million pieces of paper (because that's how the French do it. I know because today I went to the bank and what would normally take 20 minutes and one piece of paper in the US took 2 hours and 50 pieces of paper.). Sigh. Now I know.
We looked at three houses the other day and the third one was a charm. Of course, it's not big enough for our French family - who live in a doggone chateau - so they're trying to talk us out of it. I'm not sure when 4 bedrooms for 2 people became too small, but hey, okay. On a side note, the first house we saw was very unique, but when we arrived, a stoic old woman made it VERY clear that she wasn't interested in having Brown people as neighbors. I'm not sure if it's the fact that she eyeballed us like we stole something or if it's because she didn't speak when spoken to....or, no...maybe it was her reluctance to hand over the keys to the broker. Needless to say, she was a piece of work.
Neither my Aunt Astrid nor I slept at all last night due to something in the air. I had a sinus headache that wouldn't quit and I found out she did too. The weather here has been beautiful...sunny one day...clean and crisp winds the next day...then rain...then sun again. And since we are out in the country, it makes sense that something got whipped up and decided to stick to the back of my throat and press (hard) on my sinus passages. I'm glad that's over.
Astrid is slick. She asked me yesterday - in passing - if I liked escargot...and when I went downstairs for lunch, escargot was waiting for me. Yummmmm. She can coooook. There was another really unusual dish, but it had lots of cream in it, so I had to pass. My sinuses + cream do not go together at all.
Tonight, we went to my cousin Teddy and Aurelie's house (see photos below) for aperitifs before dinner back at Astrid and Gino's. (Reminder: Teddy is their son.) The last time I was here, Gino was talking about building a restaurant in the space where Teddy now lives, so I had to be resuscitated when I walked into his home. Jiminy Crickets! Italian marble floors from Siciliy; 500 year old wood beamed ceilings; pizza oven in the kitchen; blah blah blah. When do I move in? To die for. Absolutely. I am soooo jealous.
So we're thinking about coming back for Christmas, because Aurelie is having a baby (another cousin!), Gino & Astrid have an anniversary, and it'll be Christmastime in France with family. I hope we get a big income tax refund. Because if we do, I'm on a plane for sure.
1 comment:
I'm really enjoying your post. They get better each time.
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