9th - 10th January 2010 - The First French Weekend

So....where are we.....an apartment full of boxes and flat packed furniture and a van full of much the same.

Not much of interest can really be said about the first weekend in Bordeaux....the van was unpacked again.....burning muscles at this point, with all the lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling and climbing stairs. The furniture was built. The flat was full of cardboard, tools and semi-erect furniture.

The furniture was successfully built even with french instructions. It was somewhat time consuming and hard going....lots of swear words and plasters were needed...but over the two days the apartment became furnished....we had work tops, cupboards, Tv stands, shelves, beds, wardrobes....but most importantly we had a functioning oven, washing machine and fridge.

Little from boxes was removed, that would be saved for later in the week, it was a matter of getting furniture out of their flat packed state and up right...however, BritGirl did unpack one box firstly...her SHOES!! High heels in all sorts of colours and heels....at this point, she felt a little at home!!

The best thing about this weekend... finding the Italian restaurant at the end of Rue du Couvent, Brit Girl's new home! A revelation of scrummy food, brilliant wine, relaxed surroundings and very nice owners. This was soon to become a regular haunt and Brit Girl's only "voisins" (neighbours) that she knew.

The last point to be made about this weekend....still no tears from Brit Girl - 4 days in from leaving the UK and eventually making it to Bordeaux, a million miles away from her friends and comforts and no tears had been shed. Was this a good thing? What did it mean?

8th January 2010 - The First Big Shop

Friday!

But no excitement for the weekend for Brit Girl.....not really.

Just more tireless trips over the cobbles, along the narrow and cold corridor, only to be warmed by the trek up the stairs to the apartment.

Lets not forget this was early January - the coldest seen in Bordeaux for many years....and yes that was felt - fingers were aching and noses were cold.

Today was the day...would the sofa make it, in one piece upstairs?! Brit Girl's mathematically wired Dad had an ingenious plan surrounding angles, ropes and pully contraptions to navigate the narrow staircase and winding corners with the sofa. But, in the end it resulted in brut force, sheer pushing, pulling, swearing and with Brit Girl at the bottom of the sofa being squashed against walls, bannisters and the sofa.....but it made up to the apartment and narrowly through the living room door. However, please note, the likelihood of said sofa making its way back DOWN the stairs in two years time is highly UNLIKELY! It may well have to stay put.

You'd think that would be the hardest task, unpacking the van...but lest we forget there was still more furniture to be bought....yes, something you may well be unaware of. En France when you rent a flat unfurnished, it is just that. Mais oui, NOTHING in the kitchen but a sink...nothing, not a sausage, no oven, washing machine, cupboard - RIEN, NOTHING, NADA, ZERO.

So even when it reached 4pm and the van was empty - boxes were stored in the apartment and the big pieces of furniture from home in the UK were safely re-housed en France, a bigger task loomed for Brit Girl......to buy a washing machine, oven, fridge, freezer, cupboards, chairs, work tops........a whole new kitchen in fact. Not forgetting the need for a bed and mattress. And get this, it had to be done whilst the White Van Man was still en France......two days and counting.

So, Friday night, all squashed back into the white van a trip to the industrial estate was made. Now Brit Girl was most definitely not looking forward to this. The travel, the unpacking could all be done without really thinking about being in a foreign country...however, this exercise would most definitely highlight the fact that she didnt belong here, couldnt speak the language and perhaps was drowning with the nerves....but as ever, pragmatic, Brit Girl held her head up and marched into the shop -well aware that there was only an hour before the shop shut.

It was likely Supermarket Sweep gone mad....some shop assistants saw our panic and credit cards and ran around with us, "Yes, you can take that away today"; "No, that will be weeks before delivery"; "Right, we will take the more expensive option if we can take it today"; "Bien sur".

Others were some what more french, sitting in their chair, whilst we ran around getting descriptions and codes for them.....if you will this shop worked on the fairly "helpful" technique that only certain shop assistants could sell you certain goods, there was a "TV man", a "White Goods Man", a "Kitchen Man" and so on, yes they knew their stuff but it made the pace and ease of the whole experience in French less than simple.

At 7.15pm, fifteen minutes prior to closing Brit Girl stood with her credit card in hand ready to pay - close to tears after what felt like a lot of work in french, without truly understanding everything; had we really bought what we wanted/needed? Would we end up with the right boxes in the van? What happened if there was a problem? The list was endless but there was no time for that....credit card handed over, "All on this?" asked a bewildered and fairly rude cashier.
After time in this country, you realise it isnt rudeness, it is just their way, their approach to customer service, after a number of months it doesnt even register that how they speak or look at you maybe rude...it just is the way. But at that moment, after the 72 hours which had passed and the nerves and fear which was building - without a release of tears, it just felt rude, unhelpful and pretty unecessary to BritGirl - "Oui, tous".

The payment went through sans probleme....clearly the credit card would not know what hit it in this move...that was more money put on her credit card than Brit Girl had ever done before....it did not sit well at all, not one bit. So, next stop, the collection depot with the 8 pieces of paper(!) listing the purchases.

The shop was a little like Ikea, you order the vast quantities of furniture you need and the depot man brings them all out for you....except this time, it was a French men desperate to go home. After a fraught wait of worry and exhaustion (tears were close at this point), the little man wheeled out a number of trolleys and dumped them outside the White Van. We are talking a lots of boxes here....there was no way on earth these could all be checked to ensure that what had been paid for was there and even if there was a problem, there was no one to help. As soon as the last box was off the trolley, the doors were locked and shutters down - thats it, ferme - we were on our own.

But it was all done. The entire kitchen was now in the back of the White Van.....and you know what that means another day of unloading, unpacking and struggling up the stairs. Brit Girl should have felt pleased with herself, all the things that were needed had been bought and paid for in a short space of time in a foreign country and language, but right then, on that day, Brit Girl felt anything but pleased with herself - out of her depth, shy, unconfident and scared would probably be the best way to describe it. Somedays, even now, months later, these feelings remain.

But looking back now (months later), Brit Girl can say it wasn't as bad as it felt and it was the start of many hard and personally challenging exercises. Those feelings can still appear, the panic of talking to someone for fear of not understanding their response or asking for the wrong thing (a gros biere for example instead of a grand biere (fat or big)!). However, at that moment, on a cold and dark January evening, the move to France felt like the hardest task in the world and only highlighted the huge challenge which had hardly even started.

Thankfully, the next few days were to be easier....

7th January 2010 - The Apartment

So....where does that leave us? Brit Girl is en France! Easy from here surely...obstacles of snow, planes and trains all over, it can only be bread, wine, cheese and l'amour going forwards?!?!

Well, the first full day in France started off easily, there was little do - the plans had all changed at 4am the day before. Brit Girl had no keys to the new apartment -if you remember, when Brit Girl was meant to be collecting the keys she was actually still somewhere in the middle of France on the TGV. There was little to be done, except visit the nearest supermarche for additional cleaning tools -joy!

On this note a word of warning, it is not just the British who are proud of their queues, Brit Girl found this out on day one, after spending at least 20 minutes in a queue in the supermarche...no rhyme or reason, bar the general enjoyment of waiting, watching and waiting a little more.

The introduction to french bureaucracy and their love of paper was the next experience. A trip to the letting agent and in the region of 30 signatures later, the keys to Brit Girls new home were her's. YES that is true, you have to sign every document to show you have read it; "lu et approve" if you will - with the odd additional signature on some pages and paragraphs. Lets also be honest - the french mantra appears to be, "why use one word when you can use seven" - so there were contracts en francais, en anglais, swiftly followed by legal definitions and annexes to the contract, en francais bien sur....all to be "lu et approve".

There were surveys - for flooding, lead in the paint alongside the likely risks of natural disasters (rest assured Brit Girl was safe from volcanoes in her flat....although if you read on, ironically a volcano caused disruption a little later in this adventure!)! And dont forget four copies - one for the tenants, the letting agent, the owner and anyone else who cared to be bored rigid!

Anyway, yes paperwork en France is special - hours later, with the keys in hand Brit Girl headed to the apartment - still no tears....the overwhelming fear would hit once she was in the flat.....then the hard work would really be upon her and the reality of the whole situation crystal clear.

But that is not it for bureaucracy, mais non! En France, there is further admin when it comes to renting a property - an independent contractor assesses the property in terms of damage, its state and any repairs required (an 'entrance')....in the UK this is probably a five minute tick box exercise....but en France -after two hours and two pages of tick boxes and notes Brit Girl knew every possible crack, flaw, mark and problem that the two bedroom apartment had....

It looked like a good apartment, but upon closer inspection there were clearly problems...leaking taps, a leaking and wobbly toilet, holes in the walls and plaster and the best yet...severe and growing cracks and damp in the bathroom....at this point, yes, this is the point when Brit Girl wanted to run - ANYWHERE. The daunting task of moving abroad had hit. How would this be resolved? Who would arrange it? What happened when things did not get repaired? (Brit Girl would soon learn all about the need for french patience). How would ANY of this be dealt with in her A Level francaise? It just wasn't possible, was it?

The 'entrance' to the flat was harder than any 10 hour journey to France and harder than making the decision to leave home and move abroad....the complete unknown of what lay ahead suddenly became clear, the whole gigantic size of the task in hand....this was a country where Brit Girl knew no-one....well no-one local, could not really speak the language and without a job felt entirely pointless....and yet there were all these problems already, on day one?!

So, with the 'entrance' done you would imagine that Brit Girl would find a bottle of wine, a corner and mope.....but no, Brit Girl had no time for this....the lack of time over the next week would prove to be the best thing that could have happened - no time for worry/fear or nerves, well no time for them to get in the way!

At 4pm on the 7th January, that all important White Van was opened and half emptied. That sounds simple doesnt it, but reader, let me fully explain the location of this brand new (allbeit problem invested) apartment - see photo. A quaint little french Rue, with cobbles and tall three storey buildings. A friend would later tell Brit Girl how lovely and francais this road looked. Mais Oui, it is beautiful, but cobbles...cobbles and boxes, cobbles and heavy items, cobbles and a sack-barra do just NOT WORK! (Alas, neither do cobbles and high heels, but perhaps that is not important right now?!)

Before you can even worry about carrying items across cobbles, there is no parking! Oui, there is no room....nothing, nada...so the White Van was abandonned, it blocked garages and at times the road whilst Brit Girl's life was unloaded.

But the biggest hurdle yet to be faced outweighs these maggot sized issues ten fold....cancelled flights - simple, hijack a white van across the channel, lack of parking- simple block garages, cobbles - manage them! The apartment was situated at the end of a narrow, dark and cold corridor which was randomly littered with a selection of France's cycling history....old/new/irrepairable bikes taking up the majority of space. And then it was a climb up 3 flights of thin, winding, stone steps....having counted on the many trips up and down this staircase, Brit Girl can verify over 60 steps!

So after an hour of unpacking, Brit Girl could not feel her legs or arms....... wobbly does dont even begin to describe the feeling. But Brit Girl knew she could not stop, the van had to be unpacked and as a Girl who loves a challenge, this WOULD BE done in the least time possible.

So, over 60 steps, one way, with more than 30 boxes plus furniture and suitcases makes the fact that in 2 hours the White Van was half unpacked, a feat practically unimaginable.

Shattered both emotionally and physically - perhaps more physically on this day than previously, Brit Girl and family managed a meal, wine (of course!) and sleep....

6th January 2010 - The First Day of a New Life

OK, there is no easy way to write this....the day felt like it would go on forever...(this tries to be as brief as possible!)

4am - Up and dressed, in case it was all a dream (nightmare?) and a flight to Bordeaux would be reality...

4.15am - No chance, with the TV and internet on it was clear that Luton airport was CLOSED - No flights whatsoever due to heavy snow - this was Britain after all - my home country of greatness???

4.30am - Trip from Stevenage to the now empty flat.....hairy in the snow but we made it - a friend deserves a BIG pat on the back for that trip. And the purpose of a trip back to the empty "home"? Here the parents of Brit Girl waited, with the full white van, planning a trip through the channel tunnel and to Bordeaux....the new plan - to stow away in the van to France...after that was anyones guess.

5.15am - Once again, abandoning the empty flat....4 people squashed into a white transit van, in the snow, bound for France. There are probably lots of rules/laws broken in the next few hours but here goes....

7.00am - Arrive at the Channel Tunnel after a fairly eventless drive by Mr White Van Man....just squashed, dark, cold, nervous - lest we forget this was a move from home to France for a fair number of years. A lot of time was spent worrying/wondering where our earlier chauffeur had got to .... yes, that good friend who was up at 4am to drive us to rendez vous Mr White Van Man, had not confirmed he was home safe and sound out of the snow........pointless worry it turns out, he was all fine, just a little forgetful!

7.30am - Coffee at the tunnel - Brit Girl now felt VERY sick - we crept through security, no questions asked, all passports present and correct, even for the two additional (and somewhat uncomfortable) passengers...we boarded the train....France truly was going to be our next stop - there was no going back - this was IT.

9.00am - Now on French time and in Calais - Mr White Van Man had a plan - we cannot carry on throughout the length of France four people strong....so two of us, Brit Girl and her boyfriend would be dropped off at la Gare (train station) with a view to reaching Bordeaux, however long that would take and via whatever destinations....not forgetting the additional cost.

9.45am - So abandoned at Calais Gare - not the most attractive first stop of the adventure -Calais in the snow was far from picturesque (yes, France too had the white stuff!). Mais oui, from Calais a train ticket to Bordeaux was feasible - if we went back up 'norf', to go down 'sarth' again (Brit Girl wondered whether the french train system would be much different from the good ol' British train service...would we find the wrong sort of leaves or dare we joke, snow on the lines here?!), according to the helpful french lady at the station we should arrive in Bordeaux at 6.30pm - a full 8.5 hours after the intended "landing".

10am - Yes!! The right train was boarded...going to Lilles, where with a quick change onto the TGV Brit Girl would be heading to Bordeaux. Obstacle two completed (first obstacle of course was the lack of aeroplane) and only at a cost of E200 (! - gulp).

So, the sick feeling? Still there! The nerves? Still there? The worry? Yep, still there - lets face it Mr White Van Man and the entire life of Brit Girl may still not make it to Bordeaux - snow was now causing trouble across the main routes in France.....who knew what the next day or so would hold- but the definite answer was, it probably wouldn't be simple. And that, has become an everlasting strapline for life en France- it might not all be as simple as you first imagined!

A call to the letting agent was made - along the lines of - we won't be making the 2pm appointment - stuck in snow - only just in the country and at the very wrong end of it- great apologies....the response was typical (Brit Girl was to learn) - "but you have an appointment at 2pm?"

Yes....but clearly being in Calais and with lack of a helicopter or train faster than the speed of sound 2pm was just unrealistic. Ah to then find out that snow had played havoc with trams in Bordeaux made the trek thus far seem worth it (!)........Brit Girl did remember someone assure her that Bordeaux rarely saw snow - too far South! Clearly this was not true and later in January would again be confirmed as a mistruth if ever there was one.....whoever said moving further south assured better weather?

12pm -Arrival in Lille - pretty station but what felt like the worlds coldest - not expecting a snowy journey or vast periods of time outside, the outfit and shoes were not particularly suitable, scrap that, they were just a BAD BAD decision.

1pm - At 1pm on the 6th January 2010 Brit Girl made her first trip on the TGV - not nearly as exciting as you may imagine. It was just a normal train, with seats like a plane (!) and on this line it only went very fast in select destinations, which from what Brit Girl could make out were few and far between! So..... only 5.5 hours to fill......letters were written to friends - making light of 'day one of the adventure' and starting the many letters of "I miss you", "our banter isnt the same across the channel" and "do you miss me?"

4pm - News from Mr White Van Man, progress has been made - the white van - and the life and history of Brit Girl - was not that far behind the TGV. Point made that the TGV was not all that, a battered and fairly full english white van still made good progress in comparison on the french snow filled roads......we were all aiming for Bordeaux between 6.30pm - 8.00pm...what a day - or really what a night and a day.

6.30pm - Gare St Jean, Bordeaux - this is it, the new home for 2 years. Feelings? Completely numb, probably something to do with the earlier nervousness and definite tiredness -mentally and physically, travelling with worry is not simple.....but the trek across town was made - trams were all functioning normally now and it was just cold, no snow to be seen! Accomodation for the night found....things were looking up.

To cut the day short....the adventure is pretty much over as far as the 6th January goes. Mr White Van Man arrived at about 8pm, stories of travel mishaps were told, hot showers were had, lots of red wine and pasta was consumed at a restaurant we found and that was it day done. It was not as easy as it should have been, it aged all of us by about a year and Brit Girl has never really got over the feelings of that day....was it a sign? What a journey........

5th January 2010 - Last UK Day

The moving day...the day the flat, the British life, was packed into one white transit van....EVERYTHING!

Boxes had been packed for weeks....more boxes than ever imagined- full of memories, history, stories and of course shoes!! Looking back now, you could think that most of the memories and history in those boxes didnt need to make the journey. But then, a grey day occurs - its raining and cold outside, friends and family are distant and life en France isnt quite the adventure it should have been and those memories and history are more important to BritGirl than you could ever imagine...postcards from holidays past, old CDs, letters from friends and family going WAY WAY WAY back in time, notes stuck on BritGirl's car on her last day at work (!! - yes even that was kept!), the first silver service set used....another endless list, but they were all stowed safely away in a white transit van.

Around those boxes, a sofa was squashed in...... the van was ready, the flat was ghostly empty. No tears were shed at this point, which surprised BritGirl...it was just a matter of cleaning and leaving.

The plan was to spend a night with friends who lived near the airport and on the 6th January fly to Bordeaux where the new life would start with a new flat (the flat hunting was such a trial, that it will need a whole new blog to explain!) The white van would also leave the UK on the 6th and drive through la belle France for Bordeaux.

It must have been about 5pm on the 5th January, when the worry about weather set in....in typical British fashion - there was news of heavy snow fall affecting the south (lets face it, we had been plagued with snow on and off throughout December).

Surprisingly, no tears were shed on this day at all - not even with weather worry, but a very sick feeling was present, from the moment the empty flat was "abandonned" all the worry and fear set in....it seems that some of these nerves were not entirely in vain.

That night, the last British pub meal was had with very good friends - the best you could ask for in many ways - we laughed, we talked about the past, the present, the future, we planned and of course, we had a drink....but that didnt take our eyes away from the pub window and the snow falling...the ery silence of snow hit us as we left the pub - the sky was dark with an impending gloom that suggested hours of snow was still left to fall....at this point, the sick feeling worsened - would we really fly tomorrow?

That night, no matter how much sleep was needed after a week of New Year celebrations, tearful goodbyes and packing - no sleep was had.... instead there was just worry about the move, the distance, the fact the DDay had actually arrived (coincidental that DDay was a French event) and worsened by all likelihood that a white van with the whole contents of life and home would be travelling to Bordeaux in the morning, without BritGirl actually getting on a plane to join it at the other end.

....

Pre January 2010 - The Decision

It all started way before January 2010 for BritGirl...but how far back can a blog go?! Not sure its all that interesting, but basically the BIG decision to move to the wonderful country that is France was made in summer 2009..........from then on imagine mild panic, fear, hysteria, worry and excitment and you're somewhere close to the emotions experienced!

So the reason for this crazy decision I hear you ask? BritGirl's boyfriend had been offered a job in Bordeaux, the wine making region of France for 2 years. And this was not just any old job, it was an important job which could do wonders for his career and as BritGirl's friends and family often told her, it was a once in a life time opportunity and her own adventure.

Even now I am not entirely sure how the decision was made.....I am not entirely sure it was, it was an acceptance that there was a job, we were young, what could go wrong, lets give it a shot. A completely out of character action for BritGirl!

Lists were made.....research was done...questions were asked....friends were told. Important tasks had to be done first - BritGirl had to resign from her job - regardless of how much the job paid, was enjoyed or created important (and what were hoped to be) lasting friendships, think about boring but grown up issues - taxes, rent, mortgages, pensions...right before you drop off thats all on that subject for the moment!

So, the last six months of 2009 were a mixture of administration, panic, explanation, questioning (is this the right thing? can we afford it?), packing boxes - oh so many boxes were packed and re-packed and lasts....last day at work, the last trip in BritGirls car, last time BritGirl would visit friends so easily....the list seems endless.

The emotions felt during those six months were tough - it felt like a never ending fair ground ride of highs and lows - the fear of becoming unemployed, leaving a job which was fun (you might not believe this but its true), leaving friends old and new, worry of language and culture barriers, panic over the distance from friends, family and comforts of home, excitement - what an adventure it would be (some will tell you that any excitement felt was created by others - Brit Girl often felt more lows than highs).

But in short, thats the run up to January 2010 - when the big move, le grand demenagement, took place......and that is most definitely another story - of emotions and adventures - something that will be a re-occuring theme throughout this blog, emotions and adventures.....

An Introduction to the blog...

Hello or should it be bonjour?

The aim of this blog?

Good question......simply a vent for all thoughts, findings, experiences, accidents, dramas and adventures during 2 years en France!

Yep, Brit Girl - moved to France, wll Bordeaux to be exact, in January 2010 and has been meaning to document her thoughts since that fateful day in the snow when home became a foreign country and now....4 months to the day, she gets around to doing something about it!

So, 4 months to catch up on and another 20 months to go...lets see what happens!

Alors.....