Wow, that was a lot!

Beziers, France

7 April 2024

Dear Family and Friends,

The past week was busy and filled with a variety of exciting, fun, stressful, milestone and ordinary kind of events. I met so many interesting people that I am asking myself if I am underqualified to be here because I feel like I’m way less interesting than the folks I’ve met in the last week.

Easter Monday is a holiday here, so we planned a trip to Sete to see the tall ships. It was the last day of Escale a Sete, which is their festival of traditional maritime ships complete with music and food and costumes and tons of people. I had already been because I had an appointment in Sete on the previous Friday but intended to go along for the train ride. Things didn’t go as planned from the start.

The train station is about a fifteen-minute walk from the apartment. We usually walk down the main boulevard and through Poets Park. That’s the park I’ve posted many pictures of over the past few months.

The park is a great way to walk down the hill to the train station because it is graded and creates a gentler slope than the streets that lead down the hill to the station on the side of the park. It was a beautiful day and the park was filled with young families that had been participating in an Easter Egg hunt that was just kind of wrapping up. There were colorful decorations and lots of children still running about and plenty of adult supervision. We made our way to the bottom of the hill where the park has a war memorial just inside a large gate that opens out onto a busy street that you pass under to get to the train station. As we started down the stairs that lead to the gate we realized that the gates were locked. We turned around and headed back up the hill looking for a side gate.  All the side gates were locked. There was only one gate open and that was the one at the top of the hill.

Given that the train station is just fifteen minutes from the apartment and that the trains run pretty much on schedule, we didn’t allow enough time for this unfortunate detour.  By the time we made it back down the hill we were 10 minutes late for the train that had left the station 6 minutes late. Undaunted, Lisa hopped on the app and found that there was a “promo” train coming in 45 minutes for only 4 Euros.  We decided to wait. By the time the train arrived the station had filled with people, the small train was rushed, the train was so full that it there was no way all of the potential passengers would make it on, and when the doors were attempting to close but couldn’t, I was glad I was not on the train.

After that, I decided that this was going to be a bigger crowd than I wanted to deal with, I waited with Lisa for the next train but sent her off to the festival on her own. I made my way back to the apartment and called my parents for our weekly chat. Tuesday was going to be another big day anyway, we had our doctor appointments in Montpellier.

As part of the process of getting a long-stay visa that can be renewed without leaving the country you must visit the immigration office for an appointment with the doctor.  We had received our notice and were both scheduled for a 1:00 visit to Radiology and a 1:30 visit with a doctor. Neither of us had been to Montpellier by train and neither of us was familiar with the city so we were uncertain how this would go, but we set out on our journey planning to grab some lunch along the way. We made it through, got where we were going, had a few hiccups with language barriers, but we both got the documents we needed and will be eligible to apply for another year.

The radiology appointment was for a chest x-ray. This seemed like the thing that it was really all about. As soon as it was determined that there was no tuberculosis the form was stamped, the rest of the doctor appointment was mainly an interview about general health history. Seemed odd to me, if I had tuberculosis wouldn’t I have already spread it through most of the South of France? But I don’t know what I’m talking about. I got my stamp, insert happy dance here, I will not question the process.

The fun part of the day was meeting some other folks who were also working on getting their long-stay visas.  No surprise, we were not the only Americans in the bunch and we got herded together. We met a lovely couple from Florida, Kerry and Joyce, who are staying in Nimes and considering retiring here. Met a young woman from California who is here teaching English.  Kerry and Joyce and I compared notes while I was waiting for Lisa. We laughed at some of the questions and the reactions of the doctor and nurses. I’m sure the doctor and nurses were laughing at our responses as well. In the end, it was a long day, but felt like a victory.

The next big event was the signing of the compromise. The first step to purchase of the apartment, after the offer has been accepted, is a meeting where the concerned parties meet with a notaire. The contract is reviewed, the seller affirms his intention to sell the apartment that is described in detail, the sellers wife declares that she agrees to the sale, the buyer, declares their intent to purchase, the details are all affirmed and we all sign documents.  Then I, the buyer, go off to reflect for 10 days before a 10% deposit is due.  Once the deposit is paid we’re all pretty much committed. If the buyer dies, so does the deal. If the seller dies, the deal still goes through. Other than that, it’s pretty much a done deal except for the two months that the Mayor of Beziers has to decide if s/he wants the property.  That’s right, the mayor has right of first refusal.  Not at all likely that the mayor will want to purchase the property, but still it has to go through the process. That was a big day, and I’ll admit I slept like log that night because the night before I was restless and did a lot of tossing and turning.

The seller is an interesting fellow, the translator that I hired was fascinating to talk with, the process was really interesting, the documents a bit overwhelming, and the end result is super exciting. I’m going to have an apartment in the South of France. It still feels a little bit unreal.

On Friday night, friends that we have met here in Beziers had Lisa and I over for a dinner party with some other English speaking folks. This was a lot of fun! Shortly after arriving, we were sitting in the salon having cocktails and hors d'oeuvres when I was asked where I was coming from. When I responded I was coming from Chicago, one of the couples looked at each other, smiled and asked, did you buy a property yesterday? They know the seller and had spoken with him earlier in the day. He had mentioned that the buy of his apartment is from Chicago... I’ve mentioned it before, this is a village!   

We had a great evening, and it was so fun to meet some people who have immigrated to Beziers, have conquered the language and have made a life for themselves here. It was a lovely evening of food and conversation. Ginny and Earl are gracious hosts. Their guests were so fun and interesting I was only a little overwhelmed at being included.  I’ll admit, I couldn't help but think they are all much more interesting than I am.

The next morning, Lisa and I headed off to meet my cousins Jeff and Susie and their friends Steve and Ellen in Avignon.  A little hung over, and a bit groggy because we were out much later than our norm, we toddled down to the train station, taking the street because the park is closed at 6:30 am, and made our 7:01 train without incident. We had a very fun visit including the Pope’s Palace, lunch in the main square, and took a drive to Pont du Guard the site of the ancient Roman aqua duct that provided water to the town of Nimes. It was great fun and I can’t thank Jeff, Susie, Steve and Ellen enough. We caught an early evening train back to Beziers and we were both falling asleep on the couch by 9:00 pm.

To round things out, this morning my shipment of belongings arrived. Hard to believe that I’ve been here 3 months and today the 19 boxes of mostly kitchen stuff arrived. Just one day before I leave to visit y’all in the States.

I’m looking forward to visiting and I know that I will only see some of you while I’m there, know that if I don’t see you, I'm still thinking of you and I will be back to writing as soon as possible upon my return.

Bonne Journée!