Hello World Wide Web
Well, hello there. Hello from France! Where it is officially easier to buy a house than it is to get WiFi to your home! Want to buy a house? Got the money? “Sign here! Au revoir!” Want a decent internet connection? Well you’d better know the most intricate details of the French bureaucratic and postal system. Oh, and an in-depth understanding of the French language would be helpful too. Out of these things, we have none.
But after 5 weeks I am happy to announce that we are not yet connected… Since of course we have a fault in our line which will need to be fixed, which we found out after 4 days and 6 phone calls to the speaking yet not quite understanding English help line (don’t get me wrong, I am grateful AF that there is such a help line!). They have given us a 4G Airbox for the time being though, (which is aptly named, since we can finally breathe a sigh of huge relief). Living off scraps of mobile data, soggy chips and onion rings in order to access below average free WiFi at Burger King, has taken its toll. It really wouldn’t be that important, its not like we don’t have the blistering French summer to occupy our days, but since our food (and my ‘styling our new digs’) money, comes from Jack’s reliance on a solid internet connection we have been quite panicked about this long road to internet freedom.
But we are almost there and can update you, if you care to know how absolutely amazing it has been since we saw the Notaire and started the purchase agreement for our new future. There has been sun, lots of swimming in our river, gradually darkening skin and 15 (and counting) bottles of wine drunk.
What do I love?
The heat.
It’s so hot! It’s so glorious. Being born in Africa, heat was burned into my skin for the first 10 years of my life, something which my body and my soul have never forgotten. Being back under sun that warms your heart without the risk of immediate skin cancer (NZ) is slowly simmering off so many worries.
The wine.
Of course.
The Carrefour supermarket, while being a 20mins drive away, is so worth it, with its dedicated Bordeaux Reds section. I am just leisurely working my way through the selection of bottles under 5 Euro, knowing that they are all absolutely delicious, completely different and to be savored with a packet of Ancienne(salted but also better) crisps. While I cook dinner.
(The Lidl rosé is great too, just FYI.)
My children.
I love them. They have had no toys since we left NZ and we have made no new purchases. They have scavenged toys that have been left by the previous occupants of our new house, made toys out of recycling, and made toys out of kitchen equipment, read (made up their own stories) so many books and played and played and played together, filling their hearts and mine. They’ve climbed trees, played for hours in the river, planted plants, spoken French, and given us lots of kisses and cuddles. Considering lots of this has been done for them, I think they are worth it.
The Watermelon.
I’m sorry, I’m just eating a watermelon while I write this and it is the best God Damned watermelon I have ever eaten. And I’m sharing pieces with Aurelia who would live solely off fruit, if allowed.
What Don’t I Love?
The-Fact-That-The-Previous-Owner-Has-Been-Clearing-Out-His-Hoarding-Habit-But-Leaves-Anything “That was here when I bought the house”.
Which can only mean that the previous, previous owner was also a hoarder?
Want a hair dryer from the 60's? Want 65 jars of questionable jam? Want an old trampoline with everything but the frame to hold it together? I got ya.
The Bat Nest in the wall of our Barn.
Jack and I sat last night and counted 20+ bats flying out of our barn wall. They are tiny little things. Harmless. Unless they are living in the inside of your barn wall! But they’re so cute, I don’t know how we are going to get rid of them.
Our Resident Mole.
HOW MANY HOLES DOES ONE MOLE NEED TO MAKE IN YOUR LAWN!?
OK, my glass is empty, so I had better fill it up!
