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So THAT’s how France works!
So I mentioned in another post that I was dreading moving my broadband account with France Telecom. Perhaps I’m just more used to how France works these days, or perhaps the company has got much better, but either way I’ve got internet in my new place, and it was easy.
My friend Mimi came over to help be making the initial call last week. She has perfect French (she’s French Canadian) & also works for a company called Chamonix ten80. Ten80 is a property management company here in the valley and they have a lot of clients for whom they have to sort out France Telecom business. So when they finally came across someone who could actually get the job done they begged, pleaded and bribed with a case ofChampagne the France Telecom lady to give them her personal number.
So one phone call in clear, concise French outlining exactly what was required and sure enough, the next day I got 4 or 5 calls from various people explaining to me what they were doing. Difficult to know exactly what they were telling me, but it was an opportunity to say… “Oui”, “Ca marche” & “Tres Bien” quite a lot. The final call was to say it was done. The accounts would be transferred within the week. To which I gushed my best French and wished the lovely lady (who actually liked me despite my Englishness by then) un bon weekend.
And sure enough I got a text message to let me know the process was complete and my account was active. And it was. Amazing. And very, very welcome. France is easy if you know how, but don’t expect anyone to help you learn how.
Two pink candles, two turquoise rabbits, five bits of glass, some floral wallpaper and a mantlepiece.
Dave Gorman posted a photo:
Amongst other things it's a photograph of a bicycle.
Dave Gorman posted a photo:
It’s been a slog, but I finally
It’s been a slog, but I finally moved into the new chalet last night. I thought it was going to be when the internet worked that I would feel I’d moved, but it turns out it was installing the cat that finally made it happen. There’s still a few more runs up and down the valley to do but I’ll be finished by the weekend. I’ve driven at least 700km to do this move, spent a fair bit of wedge and generally feel like I’ve worked quite hard for it. But it’s worth it.
I’ve got lots of good things to get used to. Things I’ve been living without for a long time. Here’s a few of them… a kitchen that I can actually cook in, a real bed, proper oil-fired central heating that isn’t expensive and isn’t wasteful of energy, plenty of room for visitors & guests, a shower, a freezer - even a dishwasher & washing machine. But most importantly - plenty of space and some peace and quiet.
The cat loves it, and so do I.
Get your mobile phone out, you know you want to....and text.
An extra day in my favor
A few days ago I woke up convinced it was Saturday. I’d gone to bed the night before thinking it was Friday night and that the week hadn’t gone too badly. So I was pretty amazed that Radio 4, my computer’scalendar and even my iPhone told me it was, in fact, still Friday. I’d got the day wrong in my favor for once.
It had been a fairly productive week up until that point, and the extra day made it even more so. I finished it off with a trip down the valley to BUT (a kind of pikey French alternative to Ikea) where I spent a couple of grand on a cooker, freezer, dish washer, washing machine, bed and a few extra sticks of furniture. I also managed to fully empty my lock-up storage box and close that down. I was back in town in time for Friday evening apperros.
So that gave me the whole weekend to spend time up in Le Tour putting together flat-pack furniture and setting the place up. It’s nearly there. There’s still some significant work to be done, but I think I should have it all done by the end of this week, and movepermanently up to my mountain village retreat by the end of this week. I hope so - I’ve got my first dinner guests coming on Friday and I want to be ready.
Those Three Blue Chairs
Dave Gorman posted a photo:
Also here and previously...
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