We are closing in on the time our residency permit is due. At the beginning of April, our immigration attorney requested more items and after sending those off, he said that the packet would be sent to the Lille prefecture. The only issues we were worried about we’re if the appointment was set during our trip to the states and whether we could get the permit before our visa expires in May. We’ll see.
G got all of the paperwork into the French outfit that he picked for taxes. The good news is that they’re pretty sure we won’t owe any. The bad news was that we owed plenty on the US side because of the changes in the new tax law, and we neglected to have any pulled out monthly with our Social Security income. Lesson learned. OK, agreed – major whoops.
Last month’s blog became technically difficult for some odd reason and required more pulling/ tugging to get it in place. We ran overdue for a few days. Even now, as I read it before starting this one, it reads badly and I had to go back in to rearrange a few things. Where is my IT department when I need it??
The first week we were mainly occupied with getting ready for our trip to Oakland. Besides pulling together our packing, we worked on getting the paperwork in order, double checking our appointments and picking up some gifts for our friends. Our choice was the highly rated, local family chocolatier, Au Chat Bleu, which is around the corner from us : http://auchatbleu.com/menu_en.html
We were fortunate enough to be the only customers in the shop, when we pulled out our notes and began to request the different variety-sized boxes. I really try to avoid being that person we all hate to be standing behind in line. That one person who has SO many questions, is fumbling with a HUGE list, OR the payment OR (in our case) the language. I can manage to be cute sometimes to smooth things over, but nobody is that cute. As a result of being the only ones in the shop, we were able to accomplish it easier than anticipated, although it still took quite a bit of time to pull together. The chocolatier has been making these amazing treats since 1912. The only complaint our friends had after sampling them? That they are spoiled for any other chocolate now. It was actually part of a deep, dark plan to get them to come and visit us! Get them addicted and they will follow you anywhere! (I’m sure I’ve read that somewhere. If not, feel free to quote me).
The other items we decided to bring was for our hosts: a sampling of cheese from every France region. There are 13 regions which we needed to research in order to accomplish this, which took a day or so. At the large Carrefour market in town, scouring their tremendous cheese selection, we were able to find all the ones we needed for the task. Then we went to a shop specializing in spirits to pick up their favorite type – gin. The selection was terrific and we picked up a regional gin as well as a Belgium one. With that done, we were armed and dangerous. Be afraid, be very afraid.
The day arrived and we took the train to Paris, where we stayed a day to idly visit before the big flight. It was great to wander in familiar areas. We passed Notre Dame before the terrible fire disaster that happened later. G wandered into the Garde Répvblicaine facility as they were locking the gate. Paris still holds its own charm for us.
Unfortunately the flight was delayed three times until we finally took off three hours after the original departure time. That was preceded by huge lines to go through the French Border Patrol.
The direct flight from Paris to Oakland took eleven hours and business class made a huge difference in comfort. We were actually able to get some sleep, which is usually not the case. G took pictures as we were passing over Greenland. But we were not done with delays yet…
After touch down, the delay we suffered had also affected two other international flights. Three overseas flights arrived simultaneously to the baggage carousels and customs. To add to the situation we faced, our luggage was literally the last luggage to tumble down the shoot on to the conveyor belt. We were the very last in line of the multitude of passengers from three full overseas flights. And our suitcase with the cheeses had begun to really smell. I’ve seen on TV shows that they pack drugs in coffee to confuse the police dog scents and I wondered briefly if that would work with French cheese or if it would just result in a cheesy coffee smell. We still managed to get through customs without offending anyone but I was prepared to bribe them with the chocolates if the situation turned ugly. When we told Customs we had cheese, her response was, “Ooohhh, French cheese…”. Yeah, no – get your hands off our cheeses.
Picked up the car, loaded our luggage and we arrived at our friends house almost four hours later than anticipated. They had kept a salad waiting for us, which made me feel badly but all was forgiven as we hugged , toasted with gin and sat down to decompress. It was so comfortable and felt as if we’d never left. We slid into bed, tired but happy and were out in a wink.
We were up the next day early and went straight to the bank to open the account. Of course nothing goes as smoothly as you hope, in your planning. An important form had not arrived, which required last minute communication, a printout and then a detailed conference call on how to correctly fill out the form. Trying to register required using a cell phone app and this particular bank had a terrible signal, requiring the manager and I to step outside of the branch at various times. And with jet lag, I wasn’t operating on all four wheels. The old joke, “if I knew math was involved, I wouldn’t have come,” certainly fit the situation. It was all I could do not to appear as dense as I felt. At least I didn’t drool or fall face first at the conference table. The entire meeting lasted two hours and still we were forced to return on another day to solidify the account.
After much running around, we got back to our friend’s house in time for a dinner that brought together other friends. Fabulously fun, it made getting a chance to see them all incredibly easy. We also met a new, little member to the group.
We laughed like crazy, shared a bunch of stories and gave them all hugs as they left. A great, fun group. And hopefully it enticed them to come visit us.
The first day was a harbinger of things to come. We didn’t feel like the list was overwhelming when we developed it but when everything you tackle grows strands of issues, it builds in second or third trips to accomplish what you thought could be done in one. All the days on our visit, became back to back meetings with less down time than originally planned. We were lucky enough to see our friends who hosted us, basically for coffee in the morning and cocktails at night. They were incredibly patient and sympathetic. I, on the other hand, if treated similarly, might have packed their bags and driven them to the nearest hotel !
The dental appointments went well and addressed some cleaning items we had. We managed to see a few business acquaintances we hoped to. G got to visit with his colleagues which thrilled him and we even got time to visit our previous landlords/friends, plus a neighbor, where we had lived before moving to France. I got to shop for ingredients and bake a dish for our hosts that I learned from G’s mom years ago, making enough to share with my brother at the end of our trip. Doctor appointments went well, one planned procedure was taken care of and we were able to find in our shopping, all of the items with which we had planned to return home.
The main star items occupying our suitcases on the return trip were Mexican chilis and spices that we can’t find in Lille. Cans of sauces, hominy, along with a large variety of dried chili pods, were joined with favorite Trader Joe store items such as the Everything But The Bagel spice and G’s favorite shaving cream.
In fact, this brings the third thing that I personally missed from the US. The first and foremost were our friends and family, the second was my wonderful dentist but the third and last thing turned out to be great Mexican food. I could not get my fill. I miss slabs of green chili on a variety of dishes, the different spices and most certainly, fresh tortillas. Moving back to the US would make me miss the daily made fresh croissants and baguette. Moving to France has made me miss fresh tortillas and great Mexican food. So we came back with suitcases filled with ingredients to make the dishes we miss. We also chose to bring back for our French friends, salt water taffy, mainly because it is truly an American creation.
A highlight for our cheese loving hosts, was the tasting we put together for them. They set out bowls of cucumber, celery and red bell pepper strips to cleanse our palates. I put up a crude map I’d drawn of the regions of France, which I had numbered. Then one after another, taking our time, we tasted each between visiting and sipping the gin or beer. The regional Lille gin we’d brought them, surprisingly, actually tasted more like a Scotch and the Belgium gin was much closer to the gins we are familiar with. But it was a terrific time and felt as if we had brought France itself into their kitchen. They enjoyed it so much that they had us repeat it for another visiting friend, when we all got together for lunch.
After a week of seeing everyone we had hoped to, making all of the appointments we’d planned and finishing all of the business we needed to, it was time to drive to visit my brother in Oregon. It was hard to say goodbye to our friends who were the best hosts ever. Armed with fresh coffee, we made the lovely drive. Coming up on Shasta Mountain is always incredible.
We stopped overnight in Ashland where we were met by a high school buddy (and his wife) of G’s, for dinner. G and J had not seen each other in fifty years but an evening with this fun and funny couple was wonderful. After all the years had passed, it was a high school reunion planning committee that got them to emailing each other. The weirdest part turned out to be that they were both completely unaware that they lived 5 hours apart for 20 years. We chatted through dinner for about an hour and a half before departing, with promises to keep in touch.
The drive to my brother’s was pretty and serene, then pulling up, seeing him working in the garage, was such a treat. He looked great! We got big hugs and after plying him with Au Chat Bleu chocolates, we settled in to gab for three days straight. We had stayed with him almost a year ago (May 2018) before flying to Paris, which just didn’t seem that long ago. Decompressing from all our Oakland activity was just the thing we needed. We read, G responded to our French tax advisors, catching up on news and emails, while we tried to eat him out of house and home. And talked, a lot. We dyed eggs, since it was Easter weekend and woke up to find a wonderful basket that he’d assembled. Of course we forgot to take a picture of that but trust us, it was really nice.
All too soon, it was time to return to Oakland for our flight home.
The drive to Oakland and the flight to Paris were not eventful and customs was much easier as they were not swamped with three simultaneous flights. On the train to Lille, we were beginning to feel the effects. Dropping our bags, unpacking only our computers from our carry on, we took showers and changed into pajamas. Feeling crisp and clean when we turned in.
The next morning I woke with a cold, a lovely side effect from travel. G started laundry, emptying the suitcases. I unpacked all the US goods we’d brought home. Then we opened our computers to see the results of our banking transactions. The newly opened US account, sister of the France bank is up and in place. Auto debits are being switched over and our first transfer was created, which has not gone well. There is more tugging to do on that. We’ve really been looking forward to taking care of this last, nagging issue which has troubled us for an entire year. It comes under the heading of the ‘if I knew then what I know now’ story.
The street in Lille, as we walked home from the train station, greeted us with two rows of huge, lit statues for the festival. A festival held every three years with a visiting country, highlighting foods, decorations and events. This year’s visiting country is Mexico and the event is called the El Dorado festival. We’re so excited to be here on a year when the festival is being held, on the main street, in the absolute best position to view the parade. https://www.eldorado-lille3000.com/en/homepage.
We hung some Day of the Dead paper picado banners on our balcony to celebrate. What a perfect time to pull out those chilis and spices, dust off those recipes and cook up a storm of Mexican food dishes. Well … for me, any time is perfect. But what a perfect excuse to do it!
Yet, sitting on the couch, nursing my cold, looking at piles of laundry on the dining room table, the piles of paperwork left over from our appointments on the coffee table, the stack of emptied suitcases and the pile of US goods waiting to be stored, I was not inclined to jump up and start cooking. The good news was that the cold was over by the weekend but the bad news was it was only just in time to sprain an ankle. I’m guessing it was the universe payback for all the running around we did. And we weren’t the only ones hit with payback. Our fabulous Oakland hosts had their own run of health issues. He has a torn rotary cuff and ligament damage on one shoulder and she fell, breaking a wrist. I’ll take a cold and a sprain over that lot. I guess it’s true that you can party too much. Such a shame if that is really a rule.
The festival parade was suppose to happen on the last Saturday of the month but inclement weather forced it to be moved to May. A band was practicing and came down the street on Sunday.
Next month, we’ll have pics of the festivities! Hopefully I will be on the mend and ready by then. I’ve got some chilis dancing in my kitchen imagination. Whoo Hoo !!
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