Post by sunshine817 on Oct 30, 2008 16:40:53 GMT -5
Hi all -- I've surfaced, finally -- it's been a bumpy road, but it IS a road, and we're making steady forward progress!
We've been in France a whole month now. Our beloved friends in the 16eme were having beaucoups de problems with their internet, so we were cut off from the virtual world for the most part. Only access was through hubby's work or at the McDo in Marne-la-Vallee, so our communications were very limited by definition.
We now have a bank account (a much bigger deal than it sounds), a car, a house, DS is making great strides at school, and work is stressful as always for hubby.
Our furniture and things have finally arrived (ahead of schedule, no less, and happily just in time that we could have heavy coats and boots for the current stretch of chill and damp), so we have OUR place with OUR things -- a far bigger deal mentally than you'd ever believe it could be.
We are living in a town to the east of Paris -- about 20 000 inhabitants, with very few of them being anglophones. There are many towns here in this region that are a take on New Suburb Beautiful -- skillfully planned, and built to have a certain look, with all of the commerce you need, but woefully lacking in charm...very, very vanilla.
Our town, however, dates to at least the 13th century -- and the small church in the centre lays claim to being the site of one of Joan of Arc's three miracles. Winding little one-way streets, and all the little shops -- three boucheries (including a chevaline!), two boulangeries, a poissonerie, and a marche held three times a week in the halles dating to the early days of the town. We are only a 10 minute walk to all of this -- a very pleasant walk, and just short enough to make it not worth the hassle of driving and finding a place to park.
Our house is more than we'd ever dared dream -- a stone house built as the summer home for a Parisian medecin in the mid/late 19th century, with wooden floors and an immense garden (even including the old well, with its iron framework supporting an old climbing rosebush.)
We count ourselves as very, very lucky -- we get to realize our dream of living in France, and won the life lottery in being able to spend the first month here living in a Second Empire flat and able to see the Tour d'Eiffel when we stepped out the front door.
To be fair, though, as much as I love Paris, I'm far happier out here in the boondocks -- I like having a yard to go wander, and I can't wait for the lilac bush in the garden to bloom next spring.
This is the way I've lived since I was a tiny girl -- in a small town in the country, where things are on the slow side, but within a short arm's reach of a big city. (Never a city THIS big, but always a city.)
There's an SNCF station here, and the RER is only a few kilometres away -- from where we'll be able to travel in to drink in as much of Paris as we wish. I'm quite happy, though, to not have the hour-long train commute twice a day!
Thanks to all for their good wishes as we headed out....I look forward to keeping up with all of your pompier-chasing and Champagne drinking!
We've been in France a whole month now. Our beloved friends in the 16eme were having beaucoups de problems with their internet, so we were cut off from the virtual world for the most part. Only access was through hubby's work or at the McDo in Marne-la-Vallee, so our communications were very limited by definition.
We now have a bank account (a much bigger deal than it sounds), a car, a house, DS is making great strides at school, and work is stressful as always for hubby.
Our furniture and things have finally arrived (ahead of schedule, no less, and happily just in time that we could have heavy coats and boots for the current stretch of chill and damp), so we have OUR place with OUR things -- a far bigger deal mentally than you'd ever believe it could be.
We are living in a town to the east of Paris -- about 20 000 inhabitants, with very few of them being anglophones. There are many towns here in this region that are a take on New Suburb Beautiful -- skillfully planned, and built to have a certain look, with all of the commerce you need, but woefully lacking in charm...very, very vanilla.
Our town, however, dates to at least the 13th century -- and the small church in the centre lays claim to being the site of one of Joan of Arc's three miracles. Winding little one-way streets, and all the little shops -- three boucheries (including a chevaline!), two boulangeries, a poissonerie, and a marche held three times a week in the halles dating to the early days of the town. We are only a 10 minute walk to all of this -- a very pleasant walk, and just short enough to make it not worth the hassle of driving and finding a place to park.
Our house is more than we'd ever dared dream -- a stone house built as the summer home for a Parisian medecin in the mid/late 19th century, with wooden floors and an immense garden (even including the old well, with its iron framework supporting an old climbing rosebush.)
We count ourselves as very, very lucky -- we get to realize our dream of living in France, and won the life lottery in being able to spend the first month here living in a Second Empire flat and able to see the Tour d'Eiffel when we stepped out the front door.
To be fair, though, as much as I love Paris, I'm far happier out here in the boondocks -- I like having a yard to go wander, and I can't wait for the lilac bush in the garden to bloom next spring.
This is the way I've lived since I was a tiny girl -- in a small town in the country, where things are on the slow side, but within a short arm's reach of a big city. (Never a city THIS big, but always a city.)
There's an SNCF station here, and the RER is only a few kilometres away -- from where we'll be able to travel in to drink in as much of Paris as we wish. I'm quite happy, though, to not have the hour-long train commute twice a day!
Thanks to all for their good wishes as we headed out....I look forward to keeping up with all of your pompier-chasing and Champagne drinking!
. 
hahahha