When Bellac gets real ....

Worth every kilometre.

We have been here in France for just over a week now, and we are adjusting nicely. The jet lag (décalage horaire) has passed, and we have settled in to a retired life here in Bellac. It is amazing how quickly a day passes and seemingly nothing gets done. It is now Wednesday, July 10 and we, Steve, Puffin (nos chat) and I are getting ready for dinner. Today I spent more time in the garden while Steve was busy with his new found obsession, the wood burner (poêle à bois). He purchased his second one on Friday. He had arranged it on the internet a few weeks back, not quite knowing just how far away it was from Bellac. We set off Friday morning for a full day of driving down to Sainte-Livrade-sur-Lot and back. (about an 8 hour return drive).  We passed the Dordogne and then continued to the Lot rivers. In retrospect, we should have booked a hotel and enjoyed the area, but we will head down again soon. It is a famous wine and historic area. A few years back we canoed along the Dordogne River. Just glad Steve was able to have his €40 offer for an advertised €80 poêle accepted. We used the other €40 in gas, tolls and lunch. Getting it back home, and cleaned up, it seems like a good use of a day. The plans are for it to become our "fire pit" in the back garden come the cooler nights in the late summer and this fall.

It hasn't been needed as of late, as the weather has been excellent, maybe a little hot, but nothing like the previous weeks of 40º.

Flowers or car?

It just means a little work is followed by a little rest in the shade, or like yesterday, a day at the lake. We were off to Lac Saint Pardoux with our friends from down the road, Carl, his wife Sam and their daughter, Emilie. We had a great day enjoying a picnic, a few dips in the lake and even a "pub quiz game".  We were a bit worried because we did so well on the categories of wine and beer, oh well.....


We have also been across the street to visit Christine and Barry for a few drinks last week, had our friend Clare from up the street over for drinks and then visited our French friend Laure and her daughter Claire-Andrea for drinks. We will have to find some other social activities other than drinking some day..... Maybe this is why we did so well on the quiz questions.

Other more mundane things in our first week, our luggage arrived last Thursday, I have taken my bike out for a ride,  and Steve has hit the back roads for his walks. The garden has taken most of my time, as we have purchased plants from all over the village. We discovered a nursery out in the middle of nowhere, purchased a few at the market on Saturday morning, and even more today at the grocery store.

Rochechouart

Well that was last week..... since then there has been a few updates. Sandy from work arrived for a short stay and Carl and Sam hosted the "feux d' artifice spectaculaires" party on Saturday Bastille night. Unfortunately we heard some upsetting news that a man jumped from the town's train viaduct earlier on Saturday afternoon. Then later in the evening/early morning, while we were all down by the river enjoying the band and dancing, an altercation between two young men over drugs occurred leaving one man in serious condition from stab wounds.

Woweeeee!

We were aware of a situation of some sort, but we didn't realize that it was such a serious incident.

It wasn't all fun and games...

The suspect, who was known to the Gendarmerie was arrested. We noticed the officers searching for we think the knife on Sunday, while Carl and Sam saw that they brought in divers to search the river on Monday. We understand the the victim is recovering in hospital. 

The village has seen a few changes, old stores/shops closing, while new ones open up. The rue du Coq and centre of old town has had many murals painted celebrating the 'Sheep' festival which occurs throughout the summer months. The meat truck is back on our street with a new butcher from a neighbouring village of Bussière-Poitevine, delivering meat every Tuesday afternoon. The previous butcher with a meat truck and store has retired. 

Sheep murals throughout town.

In looking forward, the weather forecast is all sunshine till the end of the month with temperatures later this week into the low 30s. I see a trip or two to the lake or "la piscine". Life will settle in to our slow routine again now that Carl and Sam are back home and Sandy leaves for Paris tomorrow. We might be able to restock la cave à vin. It is looking a little empty... Don't worry that we will get bored, we have a dinner on Friday to look forward to, and then on Saturday night there is the Marchés de Producteurs in the park. This is where local butchers sell their wares and volunteers will bar-b-que them, and then a bottle of wine, or a few local beers, along with the famous pommes frites. The band plays French folk music will into the night. 

I hope all is well where ever in the world you are reading this, and watch for further updates as our time here continues.  

Français sous.

Lots of chairs waiting for you.... 

Completely made of wool, yup, no sheep were injured making this creation, but the sheep festival does include the eating of...

Steve's latest treasure from the local brocante shop

Feux d' Artifice

Nous sommes en France depuis un peu plus d'une semaine et nous nous ajustons bien. Le décalage horaire est passé et nous nous sommes installés à la retraite à Bellac. C'est incroyable à quelle vitesse une journée passe et apparemment rien ne se fait. Nous sommes maintenant le mercredi 10 juillet et nous, Steve, Puffin (nos discussions) et moi-même, nous nous préparons pour le dîner. Aujourd'hui, j'ai passé plus de temps dans le jardin pendant que Steve était occupé avec sa nouvelle obsession, le poêle à bois. Il a acheté son deuxième vendredi. Il l'avait arrangé sur Internet il y a quelques semaines, ne sachant pas à quelle distance il se trouvait de Bellac. Nous sommes partis vendredi matin pour une journée complète de conduite vers Sainte-Livrade-sur-Lot et retour. (environ 8 heures de trajet aller-retour). Nous avons passé la Dordogne puis avons continué vers les rivières du Lot. Rétrospectivement, nous aurions dû réserver un hôtel et profiter de la région, mais nous redescendrons bientôt. C'est un vin célèbre et une région historique. Il y a quelques années, nous avons fait du canoë le long de la rivière Dordogne. Heureusement que Steve a pu faire accepter son offre de 40 € pour un poêle annoncé à 80 €. Nous avons utilisé les 40 € restants pour l’essence, les péages et le déjeuner. Le ramener à la maison et le nettoyer, cela semble être une bonne utilisation de la journée. Les plans sont pour que cela devienne notre "foyer" dans le jardin à l’arrivée des nuits fraîches de la fin de l’été et de cet automne.

Cela n’a pas été nécessaire ces derniers temps, car le temps était excellent, peut-être un peu chaud, mais rien à voir avec les semaines précédentes de 40º.

Cela signifie simplement qu'un peu de travail est suivi d'un peu de repos à l'ombre ou, comme hier, d'une journée au lac. Nous sommes allés au lac Saint-Pardoux avec nos amis de l'autre côté de la route, Carl, son épouse Sam et leur fille Emilie. Nous avons passé une excellente journée en dégustant un pique-nique, quelques plongeons dans le lac et même un "jeu-questionnaire sur les pubs". Nous étions un peu inquiets parce que nous nous sommes très bien débrouillés dans les catégories du vin et de la bière, et bien .....

Nous sommes également allés de l'autre côté de la rue pour rendre visite à Christine et Barry, quelques verres la semaine dernière. Notre amie Clare, de l'autre côté de la rue, est allée boire un verre avant d'aller rendre visite à notre amie française Laure et sa fille Claire-Andrea. Nous devrons trouver d’autres activités sociales que de boire un jour ..... C’est peut-être pour cette raison que nous avons si bien répondu aux questions du quiz.

D’autres choses plus banales au cours de notre première semaine, nos bagages sont arrivés jeudi dernier, j’ai emmené mon vélo faire un tour et Steve a pris la route pour ses promenades. Le jardin a pris la majeure partie de mon temps, car nous avons acheté des plantes de tout le village. Nous avons découvert une pépinière au milieu de nulle part, nous en avons acheté quelques-uns au marché le samedi matin et encore plus aujourd'hui à l'épicerie.

C'était la semaine dernière ..... depuis lors, il y a eu quelques mises à jour. Sandy du travail est arrivé pour un court séjour et Carl et Sam ont organisé la soirée "feux d'artifices spectaculaires" samedi soir à la Bastille. Malheureusement, nous avons appris avec inquiétude qu'un homme avait sauté du viaduc de la ville samedi après-midi. Puis plus tard dans la soirée / tôt le matin, alors que nous étions tous au bord de la rivière à écouter de la musique et à danser, une altercation entre deux jeunes hommes pour cause de drogue s’est produite, laissant un homme gravement blessé par une blessure par arme blanche. Nous étions au courant d'une situation quelconque, mais nous n'avions pas réalisé qu'il s'agissait d'un incident aussi grave. Le suspect, connu de la gendarmerie, a été arrêté. Nous avons remarqué que les policiers cherchaient le couteau dimanche, alors que Carl et Sam ont vu qu'ils avaient amené des plongeurs lundi pour fouiller la rivière. Nous comprenons que la victime se rétablisse à l'hôpital.

Le village a vu quelques changements, d'anciens magasins / boutiques ferment, tandis que de nouveaux s'ouvrent. La rue du Coq et le centre de la vieille ville ont fait peindre de nombreuses peintures murales célébrant la fête des «moutons» qui se déroule pendant les mois d'été. Le camion de viande est de retour dans notre rue avec une nouvelle boucherie du village voisin de Bussière-Poitevine, livrant de la viande tous les mardis après-midi. Le boucher précédent avec un camion de viande et un magasin a pris sa retraite.

En regardant en avant, les prévisions météorologiques sont tout ensoleillées jusqu’à la fin du mois avec des températures plus basses de cette semaine dans les années 30. Je vois un voyage ou deux au lac ou à la piscine. La vie va s'installer à nouveau dans notre routine maintenant que Carl et Sam sont rentrés à la maison et que Sandy part pour Paris demain. Nous pourrions peut-être réapprovisionner la cave à vin. Il semble un peu vide ... Ne vous inquiétez pas, nous allons nous ennuyer, nous avons un dîner pour le vendredi, puis le samedi soir, il y a les Marchés de Producteurs dans le parc. C’est là que les bouchers vendent leurs produits et que des volontaires les vendent, puis une bouteille de vin, ou quelques bières locales, ainsi que les fameuses pommes frites. Le groupe joue de la musique folk française dans la nuit.

J'espère que tout va bien où que vous lisiez dans le monde et soyez attentifs aux mises à jour à venir.

Nous sommes ici! Encore!

Rue Traversiere before dawn.

It is now Tuesday, July 2 at 4:16 am and we have been up for several hours already. Our journey began on Sunday, June 30 at 10:00 am with a Bel Aire cab ride to the airport. The driver was on time and it was a great ride, well within the estimated cost. Thanks! On arrival at the airport, we noticed it was much busier than usual, even the driver said he hadn't seen it like that. Entering the airport, you couldn't help but notice the crowds and lines. The queue for the international security check in was half way down past the check in counters. We were worried that we might not have the time in the lounge before our flight. The Air France/KLM check in line was not too long, and we were quickly at the counter. We were fine, but when the agent got to the cat, she had to call over the supervisor. She examined the documents from our vet which showed the cat had the 3 things France needed:
    1) a rabies shot
    2) a chip implanted
    3) a clean bill of health
We were unaware that there was a specific document that also was needed, that was hidden away on the airline's web page. With a lot of discussion, and almost tears, she succumbed to her love of cats, and Puffin's cute face through the carrying case, and attached the Cabin Baggage tag to Puffin's carry case. She wished us well and hoped that her decision would not come back to haunt her. More about this latter. She also put Fast Track stickers to our boarding passes which helped us by-pass the extremely long lines and we got right through security. We were wondering how this was going to work. Steve had to carry just Puffin through the metal detector, which with all the crowds around her, we were glad she was on her Xanax. She was a trooper. With Puffin back in the carry case, we were off to the lounge for a well deserved beer or two before boarding thanks to the time saved by the Fast Track stickers. Sitting there, we thought about what might have happened if the agent wasn't willing to forego the form, but in the backs of our minds was the reception we might get in France trying to explain to them why we don't have the form.

The flight was uneventful, but sleepless as these thoughts of dread kept our minds on the tread mill. A few movies and meals and two trips to the toilet for Puffin, all was fine. She was a little squirrelly in her case, but overall she traveled well. Thanks to the two Air France blankets that we used to soak up her pee....

As the sun began to rise, and the plane was over French airspace, premonitions of our arrival loomed over us. Even though we have always been fortunate to have little go wrong on our travels, there is always the first time....

The trip from the plane to the customs hall was quick and painless, and even better when we saw that the queue was very short. We got through in about 10 minutes. Then to pick up our luggage, the the final hurdle looming ever closer. At the baggage carousel, the Air France agent let us know that many bags did not get on the flight and we would have to make a claim. The very nice Air France agent in the baggage department helped us use the kiosk to make the claim. The nice thing is we didn't have to lug our luggage around to get the car and it will be shipped to us in a few days. Now the walk of shame through French Customs and hoping all will be well. I'm sure that they are watching from cameras, as no one is there, but we kept walking and then quickly through the exit door into France, much like the Ikea commercial, start the car and just keep going.

Now normally I am well prepared for travel and have read through the documents and know what to do. Well with all the excitement of retirement and a false sense of knowledge, we headed to find the Renault agent to pick up our lease car. The map on the form showed that their location was in the parking lot of Terminal 3, so off we went, without reading that we should have called them to arrange a shuttle pick up. Well we knew better. After a walk out to a vacant building in the far reaches of the parking lot, we headed back to Terminal 3 for help. We approached a woman wearing the airport uniform and asked. She wasn't sure where it was, but she asked another woman at an airline desk, and finally, she saw the guru of airport knowledge and asked him. He gave us advise, which didn't seem to make sense to us, so I asked if we could use his phone to call the number we had. So he dialed and handed me the phone. The car company was a little miffed that we were now in Terminal 3 instead of were they thought we would be, Terminal 2, but he sent the shuttle to pick us up. The driver was very understanding and within a few minutes were were back to eastern outback of the parking lot, instead of where we were in the western outback. Not long after, we were in the middle of a Parisian traffic jam, which our GPS kept trying to avoid, but enough of the slow back roads, we though it would be better to be on the slow but moving 104 around Paris. Even our French bank cards worked at the toll booths, a far cry from chasing after a blown away credit card on one of our first toll booth adventures.

With a few switches of drivers, and a few stops and even a mutual nap, we made it to Bellac, a record of 7hrs, should have been 4 1/2. After a quick stop at the grocery store for basics, we were home opening up the house. All was well as we turned on the water and electricity and opened the shutters. Even the wifi turned worked right away. Puffin spent time wondering getting acquainted with her new home. A far cry from a one bedroom apartment to a 3 story house.

After settling in, we had a frozen pizza and some of our favourite deli salads and a bottle of red. Our neighbour from across the street popped by to say hi. Right after dinner, early by French standards, we were in bed before 8:00pm.  It is always a process to get over the jet lag. We knew we would be up early, and by 2:00 am we were wide awake. With a little luck and a nap latter, we will be able to stay up later tonight, and sleep until a decent time. Mornings come late here in Bellac, as even as I type this at 5:00, it is still dark outside. We make up for it at night as it is light right now till almost 11.

This morning Puffin had her first adventure. We opened up the door to the second floor balcony, and out she went to investigate. Turning our back on her for a second or 10 minutes , she made a leap to the deck below, from back door dormer to deck (12 feet) unawares to us. A few minutes later, Steve heard scratching at the back door, she wanted in, well at least she knew how to get back in the house. Later today, we are off to the store to buy something to fence off future leaping possibilities.

Well breakfast calls. We will post pictures of the over grown back yard and more once the sun comes
up.

The hard work continues.

Down by the river.

A French Cat Nap

Beginning to tame the jungle.

La Bureaucratie (voir ci-dessous pour la version française)

At my retirement banquet.

As our next departure date for France draws near, June 30, we have begun the process of getting our long stay visitor visa. This will allow us to stay in France for 180 days, but it could be good for a full year. Since the last time Steve applied for a long stay visa, the French government has contracted out their visa application service. They no longer answer visa related questions, and you are sent to the web site of the VFS. This website is vague to say the least, but using last year as a guide, we made our appointment to submit our documents for the visa. This costs just over $35 each, just for the appointment. Somehow in the online appointment making, our credit card was charged twice for this appointment, (more about this later). Arriving within the 15 minute guideline for Steve's appointment, we met the Soup Nazi of the visa world. I had to leave the office and return to the lobby downstairs as I was too early for my appointment. Your pockets are emptied, and she scans you with a metal detector. Your brief case or bag is searched, and lap tops are forbidden. The guy in front of us had to pay around $7.00 for her to put his in a locker during his appointment. Once through the secure door you wait until your number is called. Then the agent sifts through your documents. Our application form passed but only after a second person decided that it was still acceptable even though parts were printed quite lightly. It must have been a colour that doesn't work well in black and white. Next came our supporting documents, of which our letter that claimed we were not planning on working in France, however, we now know that a letter under oath, means that it needs to be notarized (didnt previously). Not only do they need your passport, they need a photocopy of your passport, including all the pages which have old visa stamps.

After a first fail, we thought we learnt from our mistakes. We retyped the letters, and had our notary give them his special seal of approval. We weren’t and he wasn’t thinking, as we used our usual names and not the actual name on our passport. This was to be the first strike during our second visit. The next problem on our second visit was the variety of Steve’s names on other documents, including documents from the Federal Government. All of these documents were needed to prove that we could afford to live in France for 6 months, as well as proving that we were coming home when the visa expires. So needless to say, we were on strike two as we left the office a second time.

Stops at city hall to ask about Steve’s name on a tax document and then at our notary to get the letters changed to include our “legal” names began to give us hope. After rooting through all sorts of documents we prepared for our third attempt. As we prepared to leave in the morning, I was as nervous as ..........With bated breath we watched as she reviewed our documents for a third time. Finally we were able to breath again as she officially recorded the documents, and charged our credit card for the cost of the visa.  Following this we were finger printed and had another mug shot taken. To celebrate we enjoyed a lunch at one of our downtown favourites that is still there. (Even though it has a different name)

Well we are still waiting for Visa and Visa centre to sort out the second charge on the card, but almost all is well that ends well. We now have multiple entry visas for France valid until June 30, 2020.

Our Xanax....

The other new paper project was to get our cat Puffin ready to enter France. She needed to have an identity chip injected as well as a rabies shot. She travels with her own passport to prove these requirements were met. Puffin also needed a carrying case as she will be sitting under the seat in front of us on the plane. The vet prescribed alprazolam (Xanax) to calm her for the flight. The champagne on Air France will calm us down.....

So not only do we have the regular preparations to get ready, even though this time it will be for almost 6 months, I have been counting down the days to my retirement and the regular school year end. Now with less than a week to go before getting picked up for the airport, we only have 2 last social events, my family and our dinner group to attend. We even heard from Bellac that our neighbours were complaining about how long our grass in the back yard was getting. Another call into our house sitter to arrange for the lawn to be cut. I'm sure it will need it again when we arrive on July 1.

Before....

After

la version française grâce à google traduction


À l'approche de notre prochaine date de départ pour la France, le 30 juin, nous avons commencé le processus d'obtention de notre visa de long séjour. Cela nous permettra de rester en France pendant 180 jours, mais cela pourrait être bon pour une année complète. Depuis la dernière demande de visa de long séjour de Steve, le gouvernement français a sous-traité son service de demande de visa. Ils ne répondent plus aux questions relatives aux visas et vous êtes envoyé sur le site Web de VFS. Ce site Web est pour le moins vague, mais en utilisant l'année dernière comme guide, nous avons pris rendez-vous pour soumettre nos documents pour le visa. Cela coûte un peu plus de 35 $ chacun, juste pour le rendez-vous. En quelque sorte, lors de la prise de rendez-vous en ligne, notre carte de crédit a été débitée deux fois pour ce rendez-vous (nous en parlerons plus tard). Arrivés dans les 15 minutes suivant le rendez-vous de Steve, nous avons rencontré le Soup Nazi du monde des visas. Je devais quitter le bureau et retourner dans le hall d'entrée, car j'étais trop tôt pour mon rendez-vous. Vos poches sont vides et elle vous scanne avec un détecteur de métal. Votre mallette ou votre sac est fouillé et les ordinateurs portables sont interdits. Le gars en face de nous a dû payer environ 7,00 $ pour qu’elle mette le sien dans un casier lors de son rendez-vous. Une fois la porte sécurisée franchie, vous attendez que votre numéro soit appelé. Ensuite, l'agent examine vos documents. Notre formulaire de demande a été accepté, mais seulement après qu'une deuxième personne a décidé qu'il était toujours acceptable, même si les pièces étaient imprimées à la légère. Ce doit être une couleur qui ne fonctionne pas bien en noir et blanc. Viennent ensuite nos pièces justificatives, dont notre lettre affirmant que nous n'avions pas l'intention de travailler en France. Cependant, nous savons maintenant qu'une lettre sous serment signifie qu'elle doit être notariée (pas auparavant). Non seulement ils ont besoin de votre passeport, mais ils ont également besoin d'une photocopie de votre passeport, y compris de toutes les pages portant l'ancien visa.

Après un premier échec, nous pensions avoir tiré des leçons de nos erreurs. Nous avons retapé les lettres et demandé à notre notaire de lui donner son sceau d'approbation spécial. Nous ne le pensions pas et il ne pensait pas, car nous utilisions nos noms habituels et non le nom réel figurant sur notre passeport. Ce devait être la première grève lors de notre deuxième visite. Le problème suivant lors de notre deuxième visite était la variété des noms de Steve sur d’autres documents, y compris des documents du gouvernement fédéral. Tous ces documents étaient nécessaires pour prouver que nous pouvions nous permettre de vivre en France pendant 6 mois, ainsi que pour prouver que nous rentrions chez nous à l'expiration du visa. Inutile donc de dire que nous étions en grève deux lorsque nous avons quitté le bureau une deuxième fois.

Des arrêts à la mairie pour demander le nom de Steve sur un document fiscal, puis chez notre notaire pour faire modifier les lettres de manière à inclure nos noms «légaux» ont commencé à nous donner espoir. Après avoir parcouru toutes sortes de documents, nous avons préparé notre troisième tentative. Alors que nous nous préparions à partir le matin, j'étais aussi nerveuse que .......... Souffrant de souffle, nous l'avons regardée examiner les documents pour la troisième fois. Finalement, nous avons pu respirer à nouveau lorsqu'elle a officiellement enregistré les documents et facturé le coût du visa à notre carte de crédit. Nous avons ensuite pris un empreinte digitale et pris une autre photo de mug. Pour fêter cela, nous avons apprécié un déjeuner dans l’un de nos restaurants préférés du centre-ville, toujours présent. (Même s'il a un nom différent)

Eh bien, nous attendons toujours que Visa et le centre Visa règlent le deuxième montant de la carte, mais tout va bien pour que tout se termine bien. Nous avons maintenant des visas à entrées multiples pour la France valables jusqu'au 30 juin 2020.

L’autre nouveau projet de papier consistait à préparer notre chat Puffin à entrer en France. Elle avait besoin d'une puce d'identité ainsi que d'un vaccin antirabique. Elle voyage avec son propre passeport pour prouver que ces conditions sont remplies. Puffin avait également besoin d'un étui de transport puisqu'elle serait assise sous le siège devant nous dans l'avion. Le vétérinaire a prescrit de l'alprazolam (Xanax) pour la calmer pendant le vol. Le champagne sur Air France va nous calmer .....

Donc, non seulement nous avons les préparatifs habituels pour nous préparer, même si cette fois-ci durera près de 6 mois, mais je compte les jours qui ont précédé ma retraite et la fin de l’année scolaire. Maintenant, à moins d’une semaine de l’aéroport avant de venir nous chercher à l’aéroport, nous n’avons plus que deux derniers événements sociaux, ma famille et notre groupe de personnes à dîner. Bellac nous a même dit que nos voisins se plaignaient de la longueur de notre pelouse dans la cour arrière. Un autre appel chez nous à la maison pour organiser la tonte de la pelouse. Je suis sûr que nous en aurons besoin à notre arrivée le 1 er juillet.

Nous sommes ici!

Nous sommes ici! (We are here!)

We arrived here in Bellac on Saturday, March 16 after an overnight flight from Toronto, and before that we had a flight from Vancouver to Toronto. This connection wouldn't have been so bad, but since we had some changes in our plans, Steve couldn't get on my flight to Toronto without paying a large sum of money, so he took a flight 3 hours earlier. This meant I had an extra 3 hours in Vancouver and he had an extra 3 hours in Toronto. Thanks to our credit card, it was spent in the lounge at our respective airports. I got to eat sausages while Steve drank wine . It's a silly law that says you can't get free drinks before 11:00 am but while I passed a bar on the way to my gate people were paying for beer at 10:15 am.....

Montmorillion

Donna under the train viaduct

Steve in the sunshine

Vern and Donna

Steve by the Lantern de Mort

The flights were all on time, as well as Donna's who flew on Air Canada from Toronto, while we flew Air France. After our arrival, we trudged through CDG from the farthest gate in Terminal 2 E to Terminal 2 A to meet her arrival. Then off to the rental car. Why do you always feel you need a cigarette and the morning after pill after dealing with any car rental agency?

The drive down from the airport was very good this time as we had preloaded Google maps and didn't make any mistakes or wrong turns, no busy Saturday traffic or work zones. We did see the "Yellow Vests" at a traffic circle after the express way, but they had finished any protests and were into their socializing stage, but we did hear of more violence and damage in Paris on Saturday.

We are always a little apprehensive as we arrive back after the house has been empty for five months, but all seemed well on our return with the exception of the lack of wifi and that we forgot to over ride the electrics to turn on the water heater. It is set only to warm up over night when the rates for electricity are lower, but you can force it. We had to wait till morning to get a hot shower. The wifi became a bigger problem. It involved taking our "Livebox" to St. Junien to the Orange store only to find out that the problem was not with the box. So we had to make a call to the English speaking help line. The only problem was the box wasn't working and we had no phone as well as wifi. We had planned to purchase a French sim card for our mobile phones, which we had done only to find out the the i-phone takes a nano and we bought the wrong sim. Back to the kiosk to buy another sim card, which then we were able to call Orange and arrange a service call on Wednesday morning between 8 and 11. Somethings are the same no matter where you go. We do have to admit that it is very good customer service for Orange to have an English help line, and the clerk in the Orange store was very patient with my French, and her very little English. So with any luck we will be back in touch with the world by Wednesday afternoon. It is a blessing that Orange does have hot spots all over France including our neighbourhood where we can log into the internet. So it could be worse.

Vern

Vern in Rancon

Train Viaduct in Bellac

Monday morning we stopped by some new friends and completed the purchase of a velo, a bicycle for me. The deal was made back in October, but we collected it this trip. John was able to top up the tires, and I rode home. It is like riding a bike and you never forget. The down hills are steep and the brakes on the bike work well, but my legs don't work as well on the steep up hills, but with some work they will soon, maybe. I have begun to complete the outfit by buying a helmet and a lock so when I stop into the boulangerie, pâtisserie or le bar the bike will still be there when I leave. The bike shorts are next, but like my French bathing suit, it may take some getting used to....

Today, Tuesday, was the first full day without rain, so work has begun in the garden, and we did a walk up to town to our favourite shops in the afternoon. There are a few new shops, while some have moved, and a few have closed. It is a common problem with small towns everywhere. We did pop into the new Action store, an upper scale dollar store which took over from a grocery store that moved into a new location. On our return it was about 4:00 pm (16:00) and it was time for our foursies. A few beers and some snacks in the sunshine at the bottom of the garden. We had to continue inside as a few clouds cooled us down...

Montmorillion

Lanterne Des Morts

Well skip now to Saturday morning, and I realized I haven't got back to the blog. One big reason (or excuse) was our internet was down, but that all changed on Wednesday afternoon. Even though they said they would be here between 8 - 1, a phone call later, and our technician arrived mid afternoon and a dirty plug seemed to be the problem but all is working just fine now.

Friday, we met two new friends, Elaine and Phillip. Steve made an online purchase from them of a ceramic stove back in September. Since he didn't have a car, they agreed to store it for us until now. It was a two and a half our drive down to the Bordeaux region to claim our stove. With the address details, Elaine said she would provide us a small lunch before our drive home. Well 3 hours later we warmed up the GPS again to get us home. We spend a wonderful afternoon in their garden and their dinning room enjoying a fantastic meal and incredible company. We look forward to keeping in touch and have already made tentative plans to meet up with them again this summer. Truly a grand day out.

Today after posting this blog finally, we are off to the Saturday market, the grocery store and the plant store. It will be a garden day for me as the weather is warm and sunny.

Notre retour à Bellac

With less than 2 weeks to go before our return to Bellac, we are making the final preparations. The flights are booked, the rental car is booked and the packing is underway. We have even been focussing on our french, and taking weekly lessons as well as practicing any chance we get. It is good that we are finally heading back as our bottle of Pastis has run dry( not sure how that happened) and our supply of Tuc crackers is quickly disappearing.
 
The weather forecast for Bellac is looking like spring, versus our still winter weather here in Metro Vancouver with overnight lows still dipping below zero.

We will be joined again by Steve's sister Donna for our 2 weeks in France. The plans are to clean up the garden and the house to get it ready for our return in early July. We are also picking up a fireplace and a bicycle purchased online over the winter.  With a little luck, the skies will clear and I'll get out on my bike for some well needed exercise.

Une liste ou deux....

The following blog was written last summer, but for some reason was never published. Now that it is just a month before we head over for March break to get the house ready for the new year, I thought this was a good time to update the blog, and begin new lists for the Summer of 2019. It will be the beginning of almost 6 months in Bellac, as I retire on June 28, 2019.  

Owning a second home that is around 150 years old, but modernized in the past 40 years, there are lots of things on the list. While last year we replaced the washing machine, the hot water tank and built a deck out back in the garden, (well we paid Alan and his wife Marina to build it), this year the list is full of little things.

Garden: The garden is an ongoing effort, with the weeds often winning. This year we have scaled down the vegetable section to just tomatoes, celery and strawberries. Last year our friends Robert and Tric got our garden started early, but this year it was Steve planting the tomatoes and ceilery in June. They are doing well with a harvest of tomatoes just ripening on the vines. The celery is still growing, but at the moment you won’t be able to get much Chez Whiz on the celery stock as they are the size of baby carrots. We purchased a few more annuals and perennials to fill in the gaps. The two new lavender plants are doing very well, as is our honey suckle. Some sweet peas that I planted in March survived the very wet spring and are now just about tall enough to latch onto the chicken wire fence that separates us from Monsieur et Madame, nos voisins. 

Shutters: Yesterday day we finally got our second floor shutters off their hinges and are now ready to paint. The diy hint of the week is the shutters need to be opened to about 45° angle front the wall (sweet spot), and then they lift off the hinges with ease. Well about as easy as could be expected from a large, heavy shutter can lift from a second floor window. We need to thank our new friend and neighbour, Carl for this helpful hint. So now these are in the garage waiting to be sanded and then painted Provence Vert. We just hope the returning of the shutters is as easy as yesterday’s taking down.

Floor: Since moving in, we have always wondered what the original flooring on our second floor was like. The previous owner installed laminate through out the entire level. We had discussed finding a corner to attempt to pull the laminate just to get a glimps of the floor underneath. Well the easiest place to peak into the past was just at the top of the stairs, and we discovered a leveling compound, 

(we think) and the beautiful old country floor dream was quickly dashed..... ç’est dommage.

Shed: When we purchased the house, it came with a very typical North American garden shed. What wasn’t typical, was it was jammed packed with more garden implements than I knew what to do with.  The other issue with the shed was the rust. Today we purchased a rust proof metal paint for the rusty roof. We purchased orange which should match our orange lounge chairs in the back yard. Maybe just a bit too cutting edge for our conservative voisins.
Not only did Steve paint the roof of the shed, he took part in a bit of cultural appropriation, and painted an eagle on the side of the shed.

Garage Door: Along with the front shutters, the garage door has a new coat of paint, Provence Vert. Taking the painting en plen aire to the extreme, Steve added silhouettes of trees, birds and les chats de Bellac on the doors. We understand from Christine, one of our English neighbours, that there has been some local conversations in regards to the doors. 

Deck: Late last year, Alan and Marina constructed our back deck. It replaced a deck that was the size of two shipping palates, and about as well constructed. This year, the deck required a second coat of the stain to protect it. Thinking that this would be a back breaking job, and I had already hurt my back worse than ever before, it spent a long time on our list. Once the job started it only took two afternoons to complete and looks much better than the worn first coat We will have to thank Steve for getting this off our list as he was protecting my back, which was busy continuing to clean up the gardens while he painted.

Entertain guests and neighbours: We have come a long way in getting to know our neighbours since 

arriving. Even with the departure of Linda and Andrew to Spain, we have developed friendships with Carl and Samantha who live just across the train tracks from us and Claire, who purchasoed Linda and Andrew’s old house. In fact, she is dropping by this afternoon for foursies. Foursies are our mid afternoon drink and snack. With dinner not served until 7:00 or later, we need some sustenance to ensure our survival until dinner. Most French have a large lunch, so they do not suffer from this ailment. These new folks are in addition to our old friends, both English and French.

Travel: Each year we head off to discover a new corner of France. This year we are finally off to Normandy. We are headed to the town of Bayeux. This is the home to Bayeux Tapastry, right out of Grade 8 Social Studies and 1066. It is also the departure point for the D-Day Beach tours. Four years ago, a group of our visitors took the tour and raved about it, so this is finally our year. We are also stopping off a a coastal town of Honfleur, made famous in impresionists paintings. This was a favourite of Monet. It is only five days away from our getaway....

Later we plan a beach getaway to the Atlantic coast possibly but August is the month that all the French are on the coast, so maybe we will head back to Paris, of maybe Lyon as a city break, and enjoy the local Lac Du St. Paradox for our beach trips. 

Le printemps est arrivé, bien en quelque sort

A pre-boarding snack at the lounge.

Well we have made it back to our French home. After a long cool winter, the house has made it through unscathed. Our trip started on Sunday, March 18. After an enjoyable few hour stay at the Sky Team lounge at the Vancouver Airport, we were on our Air France flight to Paris. Just before take off, the pilot mentioned that it was snowing in Paris at the present time. Nine hours and 4 movies and a nap later, we discovered he was correct. While the roads were clear, the rental car was covered in snow, and it still was trying to snow. This was not weather we associate with Paris usually. Before we picked up the car, we met Steve's sister Donna, and her friend Denise from their Toronto flight which arrived in a different terminal. We quickly loaded up the car to get out of the cold chill, and got on the road. As with driving in and around Paris, it is not as easy as the GPS might make it sound. We had a route planned to keep to the east of the city following the N104, but it starts off as the N1104, then along the N2, next the A104 and keep left to the A4 and finally exit to the N104 until it intersects with the A10. Well this last exit was a problem in that we missed it, and continued then along the A4 to the A86 which was all backed up with 5 lanes of traffic, and finally the A10 which is the main highway to the south of France.  Even that is not simple as it changes to the A72 then the A20 as it branches off to other various exotic French places such as Bordeaux or Lyon. Five hours and a few cups of coffee later we arrived at the nearby grocery store to stock up on a few supplies.

Denise, Vern and Donna in La Dorat.

Our first major task was to warm up the house and to make sure we had plenty to eat and drink. With it being vacant since before Christmas, it needed the electric radiators turned up to full for a while. We even blew a fuse using so much electricity to keep it warm. Tuesday brought the delivery of two portable electric heaters for the attic which was room to Donna and Denise and had no heat yet except for the fact that hot air rises. It was in sharp contrast to Wednesday's delivery of patio furniture which we put together, but it is still in the garage waiting for the weather to break. Some time in June at the rate we are going this year. After a week we can now keep the heaters at 5 instead of the 10 on the dial as the house is slowly warming up. I have even heard "It's too hot...".

Vern, Donna and Denise in Montmorillon

We have taken the girls out for some short day trips, two church maximum. Monday's was along the Richard the Lion Heart route to the south of us, seeing some castles and chateaux.

Everyday has been accented with good food and plenty to drink. Naps have become a necessity along with sleeping in. It is such a quiet pace in the Spring, much different from the summer. We had no major projects to do this spring and the only thing we had to so was to go to the tax office and change our Canadian address so they can mail our next tax bill in the fall. This was quite easy as the woman at the desk was very friendly and helpful, which wasn't the case the last time we were in the office.

CS Bellac Rugby

We had Steve's friend, Laure, over for a lovely dinner and catch up on Saturday night. Our English neighbours have arrived as well for the Easter week. We will have to meet up for drinks some time this week to catch up with them as well. On Sunday afternoon we were off to the rugby match, Bellac vs Dampniat. We won 17 to 16. It was the big rugby 7's at BC Place, but it was a fun community event.

Today is our first real rainy day, as we made it out before lunch to do a few errands and shopping, but the drizzle has turned to rain, so we are in for the afternoon. I hear there are plans for Yahtzee and puzzles. Sort of like a wet weekend anywhere in the world.

Well fast forward to the next morning, and the puzzle is still being worked on. It is a puzzle of the cover of the Sargent Peppers album. The puzzling continues as the drizzle continues outside. It was full contact puzzling as we now need to repair one of the kitchen chairs.

Denise, Donna and Vern at Château de Montbrun.

Château de Brie

Denise and Donna at Château de Châlus-Maulmont

All of us at Château de Montbrun

Denise and Donna at Château de Rochechouart