Yes, we certainly have been as busy as 🐝 since we arrived, but I’ll try to bring you up to date.

We made it to France, safe and sound. Our late flight from Brisbane last Sunday, was uneventful..just how I like it! And, even better, I slept for 5-6 hours of the 14 hour leg to Abu Dhabi, so maybe I’m getting this long haul flight thing finally down pat. I can’t guarantee anything of course, but I am feeling quietly smug……

We had 2 and a half hour stopover in Abu Dhabi, before our flight to Paris. Smugness seemed to be the word of the day, because I’d thought we’d have plenty of time to negotiate through security, make our way to our departure gate in a leisurely fashion and perhaps enjoy a lovely hot cup of coffee. Mais, non! Someone had had a bad day at the office because, after disembarking from the plane, we rounded the corner to head towards border security and…..stopped.

It seems that, in their wisdom, whoever was responsible for scheduling the flights had overlooked the problems that might occur if multiple international flights all arrived at the same time. From what we could determine, there had been at least 4 flights arrive at the same times as ours, but to be honest, there were so many people, it could have be 24. So, our nice, leisurely stopover, turned into mayhem very quickly. Smug went out the window and frustration took it’s place, but we’ve learned to keep smiling in these situations, because frowning definitely does not help your cause, not at all. In this case, smiling worked a treat, because we were one of the few lucky ones offered a fast track lane which, while still slow, meant that we at least arrived to our gate in time for a quick toilet break and then immediately boarded our connecting flight,  heading to Paris.

Ah, Paris, we love it! I had organised our usual driver, Victor, to pick us up from Charles de Gaulle, but we were met instead by the delightful Raoul. Victor called to apologise, as he had double booked. All done on the phone and in French, which is something that strikes the fear of god into the heart of any learner of the French language, as anything that may cause difficulty when spoken face to face, is multiplied a thousand times over, when using the phone. Raoul couldn’t speak any English, but was really friendly, so we chatted all the way during the journey to our hotel in Paris. I managed to talk about all and sundry in French, after 24 tiring hours in transit, so I hoped that was a good sign for the rest of our trip..

The weather in Paris was certainly cold, with grey, cloudy skies, but ‘pas de problème’, on with our coats and scarves and we walked for hours. Of course, there was the obligatory detour into Galeries Lafayette, but ‘quelle horreur,  pas de chaussures cette fois pour moi’, I only bought an scarf! Paris never disappoints, it is a beautiful city, we find something new each and every time we visit and this time was no exception. Jetlag was haunting us both though, so we were in bed early by Parisian standards, in preparation for the next stage of our travels.
After broken sleep, a lovely breakfast, a large coffee and another big walk, we took the short taxi ride to Gare Montparnasse, in readiness for the TGV (Train a Grande Vitesse) to Poitiers, followed by our local connection to Montmorillon, a trip of approximately 2 1/2 hours in total. We arrived at ‘la gare’ with plenty of time to spare and, it being the all important lunch hour, our usual café was full of diners. It forced us to look elsewhere for a coffee, so we now know that, surprisingly, Monoprix makes an excellent cup! It’s always good to have options, particularly when coffee is required.

Train travel throughout France is excellent. It’s comfortable, well priced, reliable and fast and allows us to relax and just look out the window at the glorious countryside. We’ve done enough of it now to have learned a few tricks of the trade, as it were. Once the platform for the trip is displayed, we now know to look for the electronic ‘Composition de Train’ on the platform, which indicates where your specific carriage will be. Beats running up and down the platform with luggage in tow, in a panic, trying to find the right one, that’s for sure, particularly since the trains depart on time, every time and, rest assured, there is no waiting a few more minutes for any tardy tourists!! It’s also preferable to have your seat downstairs, as it’s simpler to get your luggage in and out, but also better from a security point of view. We’ve never had any problems with luggage going astray, thank goodness, and it doesn’t happen regularly, but we have heard stories about people who have had their bags taken, so sitting close by offers a level of comfort in that regard. Electronic toilet cubicles are common too in French railway stations (yes, you know who I’m talking about, Poitiers!)  and initially, these caused me a great deal of stress. I suffer from claustrophobia, so the idea of being vacuum sealed in a plastic toilet box, albeit one with lights and running water, caused considerable concern. That, along with the fear that the electrics might fail and the door open at an inconvenient moment, meant that a necessary toilet break was not the relief I was hoping for. However, I’ve come to terms with them now and can, very bravely, go on my own, without the need for Jeff to stand guard outside, ready to raise the alarm if I were inadvertently not be able to get out again, or offer a modicum of privacy, should the door surprisingly fling open. I’m still not entirely relaxed, but at least now can ‘spend a penny’ with reasonable confidence.

We had a wonderful dinner with our friends, Rosie and Huw, when we arrived in Montmorillon. It was the perfect welcome to our new home way from home and just what we needed after a few days of travelling. Rosie had made a delicious chicken massaman curry, rice and salad and, since we are in France, it was followed by an assortment of cheeses. No calorie counting on our first night here! We had a lovely few hours in their beautiful, comfortable home and then headed downstairs, to their studio apartment, which was to be our accomodation until the house sale was finalised. We stayed in the studio last November, so knew how comfortable we would be. A hot shower and a lovely warm bed was very welcome and we slept well. The next few days whizzed by in a blur of appointments with l’immobilier, the bank and shopping for the house. Initially, settlement had been scheduled for Friday 9th March, but for reasons unknown to us, the notaire rescheduled it until Tuesday 13th. Since the date had been agreed some months ago, this turn of events was a little surprising, but since everything related to the house has gone so smoothly to date, we decided this small holdup wasn’t going to cause a problem. In fact, it’s been to our benefit, since we’ve had more time to buy some of the things we needed to, prior to moving in. Much more relaxing! We’ve been to Ikea at Tours, in the Loire Valley, to buy some basic requirements. Two trolley loads and a lot less money later, we left!!  We can also now proudly show our Leclerc ‘carte de fidélité’ (loyalty card), so we’re becoming more Montmorillonaise by the day. Jeff has taken to buying our daily baguette with ease, so it’s up early for him, to make sure he is at the boulangerie when it opens. We’ve learned that the warm baguettes are sold to the locals so, while our very fresh, but invariably cold baguette reflects our ‘new’ status, we’re hopeful that his consistency will pay dividends soon.

We’ve been so fortunate as Rita, the current owner of the house we are purchasing, has given us a key before settlement, which has meant we’ve deposited our purchases there already. We can’t move in until the formalities have taken place, of course, but the early access has been really appreciated. Rue León Dardant is really starting to feel like home now and we are so excited. Rita is a keen gardener, as I am, and yesterday gave me a tour  of the garden that will soon be ours. With multiple roses, wisteria, an apple, pear and fig tree, blackberry and  gooseberry canes, purple and pink hyacinth, daffodils, peonies, lavender, tulips and a huge magnolia tree, I think it’s just wonderful, particularly since everything is now starting to come into bloom. We’ve arrived just at the right time, at the start of Spring. It’s just gorgeous and I can’t wait to get digging!

We’ve twice had coffee with my lovely friend, Petra, whom we both love. She is great company and a very kind friend.  It was a lucky day indeed, when we met her in a café here in Montmorillon, last June. If we had sat elsewhere that day, we’d perhaps never had met her, but thankfully, that didn’t happen.

Once the house is settled and we can just relax and ‘nest’, rather than run around shopping like maniacs, we are also looking forward very much to seeing our other dear friends Josiane, Claude, Colette and Sylviane (along with her very cute little dog,  César). An aperitif at our little house is in order, I think!!

We’re now the proud owners, short term at least, of ’une voiture de location’ (rental car), which is a brand new Renault ‘Captur’.
We had the same brand of car 2 years ago, when we travelled throughout Normandy and Brittany and found it really comfortable, so we’re very happy another one was available this time, as well. For €6 per day, it is an absolute bargain.

Tomorrow we are off to the Dépôt  Vente in Lussac le Château, in the hope of buying some chairs, along with any other small items that we think will suit the house. Dépôt Ventes are popular here and offer secondhand furniture and household items at extremely good prices. We love the idea of having some beautiful pieces in our house that have some history, so fingers crossed we find what we are after. In any case, I love poking about in antique and second hand shops at the best of times, so an afternoon in rural France doing exactly that, will be fabulous, even if we do come home empty handed. Somehow though, I don’t think that will happen….

Bisous