No pumpkin carving this year, although we did decorate our front door. The month was mostly about just taking care of life. Laundry, bills, studying, making flash cards, going to French class, cooking, cleaning. Oh – and Netflix. We don’t get to see many spooky decorations here for Halloween, but we sure did pack in the scary flicks. Also this month, the moss sculptures that were put up for Utopia Lille 3000 were taken down – it seemed a bit earlier than the Mexican folk sculptures that were up in 2019.
The weather alternated between perfect mid-60 weather to rain and dropping into the low 40’s. Every time we got into relaxing on the balcony, we were reminded that winter was coming. We finally folded-up and brought in our balcony railing table. One morning it was 36 degrees and foggy, although the high for the day was suppose to be 63. I had to pull out my wool coat for the first time for the walk to our class.
After having applied in May, I finally got my renewed residency card (Titre de Séjour). Really need a current one, especially to travel, which we expect to do at least three times before the close of the year. G was not so fortunate. We turned in the exact same paperwork but on his renewal, they demanded more – our US bank statements translated into French. We got our Paris lawyer on it but he was not able to get any results either. When I went in to the Prefecture to pick up the new card, G came along to ask about his at the same time and get it moving. The difficulty here is that you can’t get into the Prefecture without an appointment and only for certain reasons. His problem fell outside of that parameter and he couldn’t even get in to see them about it. Emails were ineffective. End of story is that he will get his before we travel outside of France. It was a source of true anxiety for him to be walking around without a current residency card (his expired in July) or an official notice of extension until the paperwork was completed. Within two weeks via online, G got his extension and noted that his residency card is being processed. We have no idea why it was so messy this time. Even if it takes a long time to get here, his extension will cover us for travel. Otherwise without either, he would have issues with authorities upon re-entering the country as a resident.
I decided to move the dining room table into the office and use it as my study center, since all of our visitors have come and gone. I also moved all of the language charts we had on the living room wall, into the office as well. After that was accomplished, we took a good look at the wall that had been hidden under all of our French class notes. It is a square area with 9 panels of mirrors. The mirror squares are held in place at the corners with hardware or brads which are topped with decorative Art Deco metal square buttons, except 4 of the six are missing. In addition, two of the mirrors are not held very securely but there seems to be no easy way to correct the problem. The slippage seems to involve some plaster chips located behind the mirrors, with no easy way to take the mirrors off to remove the chips.
Not being fond of wall mirrors anyway, we decided to cover them with wall paper, so that anyone moving in behind us could easily strip it off. We left the brads visible as well, so that NO one would mistake it for dry wall – it is clearly a covered mirror surface, which should prevent anyone from nailing up a picture.
The wall paper we bought matched the apartment’s current texture and that is painted over. So, we painted over the new wallpaper with the same paint we used for the rest of the living room panels. That done, it blended well. With this all completed, it unfortunately highlighted the fact that there were missing buttons. I fashioned faux buttons out of cardboard and painted them to match the metal originals, then simply glued them in place. It turned out to be a great camouflage job.
THEN the painting G ordered for my birthday arrived. We went to Arras to meet the artist – a lovely gentleman – and to pick up the painting that G had asked him to replicate, since he had sold the original one I’d wanted. Back at the apartment, in hanging it up by wire (no nailing the mirrors, please), it looked absolutely perfect. AND of course, managed to cover every single button- original and replicated. Oh, well. I’m still pleased with the job, even if it is no longer visible. I know it’s there – counts, right?
Working on replicating the buttons on the living room mirror, got us to wondering about the age of the building. Many in town date to the early 1800’s but the Art Deco stain glass and beautiful woodwork in the apartment couldn’t be before 1910, when France first created the style of Art Deco before it spread to the rest of Europe and the US. We asked Fabrice, our landlord, about the building. He didn’t know when it was built or when the interior of this apartment was done – The building looks turn of the century but the interior of our apartment looks 20’s – 30’s Art Deco. He did send some pictures that showed the WW1 bombing damage of our street. We tried in vain to identify exactly which structures had been wiped out by seeing if we could ID the remaining standing buildings. It was a bit difficult because over time (although the buildings retained major structure and capitols) the fronts have been modernized, primarily on the bottom floor. It was the balustrade and windows on upper levels which were very similar to each other but the bottom floor original construction was where the buildings were most distinctive from each other.
So with further digging online, G found some archive photos. With the ones he found, we were able to determine which buildings were bombed out. Fabrice’s building was one of them. This means that this building was built after the war ended in 1918. It solidifies that the apartment interior is indeed original to this building, which was probably built by 1920. His grandfather had it built, evident by the stained-lead glass windows that hold a large T in each, for Fabrice’s family name. It was fascinating to us to have been able to put the pieces together regarding where we live.
This month I completed a one-time check up with a Rheumatologist. First to the hospital where I got a bone scan. It was a three-hour event. They took a full body scan, took blood, injected a dye and had me sit for two hours, then scanned again. Next was a bone density test and back for the finish-up consultation. The results were no big bad boogey men hiding and I was sent home with some colorful pictures of the insides of me. I sailed through easily. Like a lot of older folks, I have osteoarthritis but nothing big or worrisome. Won’t need to do any of that again for a good amount of years, if at all I’m betting.
We got our latest Covid booster shot. By evening, I was not feeling too good and by morning, I was down for the count. Chills, then feverish, nausea, stomach cramps and settling into a general, crummy feeling all weekend. G read me an article that stated studies have shown that those who react the most to the boosters, generally have the most immunity to the Covid virus. Guess that was to cheer me up. Then the next week we got the annual flu shot – never get a reaction from that, thank goodness.
But I wasn’t the only one with an issue. After a particularly difficult class we stopped and bought some Asian dumplings for our dinner, which were delicious. But G woke up the next morning with an allergic reaction that he’d not had since the US. He had a big swollen lip that split on the inside. He was hesitant to take the medication he has on hand for this, and within 24 hours his face was back to regular size. There was no fish involved (he is allergic to scallops) – it was chicken, vegetable and pork, so we don’t know what set it off. But the dumpling place is off our list of to-go food.
I don’t know if it was the hard health work, the tough French class or the fat lip, but G went a bit wild and booked us train tickets and hotel for the week of Christmas to Vienna. Two of their Christmas markets are strictly juried, home crafted work. It will be really exciting to see what is, by the photos, a spectacular sight. Vienna is stunning as is, and to bedeck it top to bottom with holiday lights and decor – it’s got to be incredible.
As October was winding down, the 24th marked the 4th anniversary of the day we moved to Lille, into this wonderful apartment. We celebrated by taking everyone in class chocolates from Au Chat Bleu, the best chocolatier in town. They loved it and said they would hunt us down next year for the same treat. We all laughed. Flo, our fabulous shop keeper and friend, who was instrumental in making the Immobilier get the lease completed before our Paris studio lease ran out – Got a magnum bottle from the vineyard we visited outside of Uzes, to share with his family this holiday.
The last week of the month held the last class of the A1 beginners course. It was a difficult session and was preceded by our tutor session – also a tough one. I had such a hard time doing my homework that I walked into the class, practicing, “Le chien à mangé mes devoirs” just in case mine was really bad. We were exhausted by the time we got out and bummed that we only have one week off before A2 starts. We will be going on the same three days a week with pretty much the same classmates. The only unknown is whether we get the same teacher, whom we really like. The difference between the last time we took this same class and this time around is that I understand the mistakes I’ve made. I was not completely lost when she was instructing the class, although there were times I’d turn to G and say, “What are we doing?” So, overall, I do see some improvement on my part although generally, my grasp of the language is like the tide. Sometimes it’s in, sometimes it’s not.
Decided to finish up the month by finding a place to celebrate Halloween – an impossibility in France. However, I had found online that the city of Limoges was touted as being the ‘Halloween Capitol’ of France, with a parade and a market to celebrate it. There were other pieces of information that appeared to refute the existence of a celebration but as it was the only game in town as they say, we booked the train and hotel and went to see for ourselves. The appart-hotel replied with two door codes, which we found a little odd but it was advertised as two historic hotels, side by side, so perhaps that was the reason. One hotel had a 24 hour front desk, bar and spa, which we were not interested in and the one we selected did not have those amenities. We read that fresh croissants were door delivered, which sounded sweet.
We took the train to Paris Gard du Nord, then metro’d to another train station (Gare d’Austerlitz) that had a line going to Limoges and in the hour gap we had for the next train we stopped for a salad.
The train to Limoges was the longest leg of the trip for a bit over 3 hours, so we had booked 1st class. The 1st class seats were unlike any we had previously encountered on our train travel.
This train had individual compartments which held six seats, bench style, with arm rests, three seats facing the other three seats. If you can imagine the train compartment in the Hogwart trains, but with arm rests between seats and a very thin table running down the center, which unfolded individually for computer usage. There was no cafė car but there was a trolley, that they announced over the intercom, that would come by.
It was a 3-hour+ ride but sitting like sardines in this hot compartment with no air, it felt like 6 hours. The trolley never came and we became more dehydrated and damp. Coming out we made note to take water and snacks for the return trip. We took a taxi from the Limoges-Bénédictins train station to the hotel. The station was named after a close-by Benedictine monastery that was closed during the French Revolution, and is unusual in that it was built over the railway lines instead of next to them. It was too close to sunset to walk to the hotel comfortably, and it turned out to be a blessing we took a taxi because the place was not well identified on the outside.
The hotel is called JK Suites and it looked on the internet to be a reasonable boutique hotel in the heart of old town, with pleasant pictures of their rooms. Arriving, it was just the street number and a small insignia that even told us that we were at the right place. The next door hotel was dark, with no discernible front desk, bar or indication of a spa. All we had for contact was a phone number.
The set of codes that the hotel had sent was to get into the building and to get into the lockbox at the suite’s door which held the keys. It was a surprise that there was no one on duty for questions and that there was no elevator. Since our suite had skylights it was of course on the top floor. 4 flights of narrow winding stairs, which we’ve gotten to the age that we prefer not to deal with.
Coming inside, we were able to take stock of the place, as only the bedroom was shown on the internet. It had a small kitchen with some gear in case we wanted to cook. It did have a coffee maker and an open bag of coffee. The bedroom was in a loft so the bathroom was not on the same floor. There were two bath towels allotted for our four day stay, no hand or face towels. There was a liquid hand soap at the sink and a bottle of bath gel in the shower. Not really impressed. But the steps to the bedroom loft were the hard part – which they had stated. The steps were open, steep and the only handrail hugging the wall was pulling loose at the top connection.
Once in, we went online and looked up how we found this particular “Hotel” and it was clearly due to location, price and the pictures of the separate “suite” appartments. Now we could also see the problem which was, what information was NOT included. Like an elevator. Or full room photos or of the loft steps. However, the town itself, which we saw a bit of when we walked to find dinner, has enchanting, medieval, winding and picturesque streets. Limoges was founded in 10 BC and it is most famous now for its hinged porcelain boxes. Their porcelain industry was started in 1768 with the discovery of Kaolinite.
The old neighborhood we were in is called Quartier de la Boucherie, named for the guild of butchers which protected the neighborhood from development and why it has remained so beautiful. Largely pedestrianised, the district dates all the way back to the Middle Ages, with some of the houses dating back to the 14th-century. Today, there are still plenty of timber-framed houses, independent boutiques, and cobble stoned lanes to explore.
The Chapel of St. Aurelianus is in this neighborhood, along the Rue de la Boucherie. He’s the patron saint of butchers and was the second bishop of Limoges. This small chapel holds his relics and was constructed between the 14th and 17th centuries.
We found online a highly rated small restaurant named Restaurant des Petits Ventres, run by a family, but reservations were necessary. We walked there anyway and low and behold – there was a small table for two that they gave us. We had the proprietor pick out our meal and it was wonderful. Absolutely, perfectly prepared beef dishes, wonderful service, leaving us very full and very happy.
In the morning, there were fresh croissants at the door, as promised. We read, had coffee and discussed what we should do regarding the conflicting information regarding the town’s Halloween celebration. Since there was no front desk here to check in with, we went out to walk to the tourism office. Along the way we took our time, getting pictures, window shopping and went into the église St Michel des Lions, one of the main churches of Limoges built during the 14th-16th centuries. It hosts the relics of St Martial, the first bishop of Limoges and St Valerie, who was beheaded for her faith.
The weather was a perfect mid 70’s. When we got to the tourist office, we asked about the conflicting information regarding the town’s Halloween celebrations. And therein lies the tale.
Limoges DID have a Halloween parade and market. It was spearheaded by a single man, who passed away 10 years ago. Along with his passing, the Halloween festival died too. One should never underestimate their life’s contributions, no matter the scale. There is currently a small building across from the Mairie that hosts a decorated set of rooms for kids to visit, but that’s it. BTW, their Mairie (city hall and also known as the ‘Hôtel de Ville’) is situated on the fringes of the historic neighborhood. It was constructed between 1876 and 1883, and modelled on the Hotel de Ville in Paris.
We were disappointed about the Halloween festivities but it was understandable and it was a chance we took anyway – with all of the conflicting reports. What gets put onto the internet, never dies no matter how erroneous. Still, a lovely day and in the evening we fell across an out of the way, small restaurant (across from the mairie, above) where locals were hanging out, called L’Internationale – Cuisines du Monde. It had one cook – a small energetic woman and the menu changed daily. This night’s offering had Sopa de Ajo (garlic soup, which I love) and a cheese dish that reminded us of a Mexican dish, Queso Fundido. Then we had a main dish of roti with pork in a sauce and one of a cannoli with pike. All of the dishes had different and unique sauces that made them absolutely stellar. Shared a bottle of wine and again went away full and happy.
When we got back to our room we talked about the fact that we had two more days here but no festival. We could go on to Toulouse but that was 3 hours away by train and getting back to Lille would then be a 7 hour journey instead of a four hour. I asked G, since it was his birthday trip, if he’d like to spend a night in Paris but he decided he’d rather return to Lille. The room in this hotel wasn’t a place we could relax, so we changed our train tickets to return Sunday instead of Tuesday. Before leaving, we went to Les Halles Centrales de Limoges, a beautiful, renovated building that holds an indoor market with many vendors and a couple of restaurants.
The trip back was much more enjoyable. For 2/3rds of the trip we had the entire compartment to ourselves, which made it very much less hot or stuffy. We brought food and water this time. We drank and ate in utter silence and comfort, without elbow to elbow strangers. G took 2 naps. For the last hour, a young mother and 5-yr old son joined us. He was an utter delight – she kept him entertained the whole time. He had coloring books, she read him a story, he had his little racing cars that she raced him with – G was completely captivated with the little boy counting down to start the race 5,4,3,2,1 – all in French of course. So it was a fun journey back. We’re glad to have seen Limoges – wouldn’t have gone otherwise because it’s too far out of a major route. We had two incredible dinners, enjoyed a charming place and with the train trip back, have plenty of fond memories. Oh, we also had daylight savings change on Sunday. The photo is that of the interior of St Catherine’s church bell area in Lille with an old clock system that manages the bells.
Today is Halloween. We won’t see kids trick or treating or a town bedecked with decorations but we are still having a great time. Hopefully, you all did too.
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