La Rochelle

After all the traveling and the school visits we had time for one day of fun before school started. The kids really wanted to go to the beach. We are about 45 minutes to an hour (I don't keep very good track) from La Rochelle, which is on the Atlantic Ocean.

Wednesday we drove to La Rochelle and stopped at the tourism office (they are really helpful here) and asked about the closest beach. A small beach is just outside of town so we went there. My mom was able to walk to an old tower on the harbor and take in some history while we were at the beach.

Even though it was a little windy and chilly, the kids loved the beach.

After the beach we went out to eat in La Rochelle. There are lots and lots of restaurants overlooking the harbor. It was a lovely evening. Definately a town I want to visit again.

visiting new schools and school shopping

Tuesday was our first full day in France. We took the kids to visit their new schools.

Katie is the only one at middle school and we went there first. The principal gave Katie a big hug and welcomed her to the school. The principal doesn't speak English so she had an English teacher come to the front office. We found out that in Katie's grade there is a girl named Margot who speaks English and French. Her mother is French and her father is English. They put Katie in the same section as Margot. We got the list of school supplies needed. It was quite a long list! And it was specific. For example, a notebook needs to be a certain size with a certain number of pages.

Next we went to Gabi, Joey and Ellie's elementary school. We met all their teachers. Gabi and Joey have teachers who speak English. Ellie does not. Gabi and Joey also got a list of school supplies, but not nearly as long.

After the school visits we all piled back in the car for a trip to the Hyper U to get school supplies.


At the Hyper U were several large aisles of school supplies. 3 adults and 4 children should be able to pick out school supplies. After 45 minutes, we enlisted a store clerk to help us. She helped us for a little while. After another half hour we heard another shopper speaking English. Her and her son helped us finish up the list. They are from Wales and they have been living in France for a few years. When she saw us she said it reminded her of the first time she did school shopping in France. She is the woman who gave her phone number to Rod. She told us to call her if we have any questions or need help.
Joey is holding the reciept from the Hyper U to show how many items we bought.





The award for most school supplies goes to Katie!

At the Hyper U my mom ran into another English woman who was giving her information about the town.

Another time, when the kids were at the fish counter they jumped because a crab started moving. They didn't realize how fresh it was. A British guy started talking to them.



I don't know if there are really this many English people in the area or if we just ran into all of them at once!



Does it sound like we spent the whole afternoon at the Hyper U? It certainly felt like it!

phone number

A woman gave Rod her phone number at the grocery store yesterday.
Good stuff.

Arrival

We made it safe and sound to France!

The flights went smoothly. The 7 hour flight to France was probably the easiest part. The kids had their own TV to watch and they watched movies the entire flight.

When we went to the airport in Michigan we needed 2 vehicles to get to the airport. (Thanks again Lisa DesRosiers and Paul Grusche!) We only rented one minivan in Paris and we were worried about 7 people and 9 suitcases fitting in the rental car.

Fortunately, the rental car was an easy part of our travels. After we landed in Paris and got our luggage, the rental car company brought the minibus thing right outside the door to baggage claim. All the luggage fit in the back.

The drive getting out of Paris was probably the worst part. It was 2am for us, but 8am in Paris. Rod was driving and I was trying to navigate us out of Monday morning rush hour. No more movies for the kids and they were tired. They were complaining and we were telling them to be quiet. It wasn't a pleasant combination. Eventually the kids fell asleep and we got out of traffic. It was probably only an hour or two but it definately felt like the longest part of the trip.

Another thing about Paris in rush hour traffic - motorcyles. I wouldn't be surpised if I had a bad dream about motorcycles in rush hour traffic. Motorcycles zoom in between cars. If you are sitting in traffic next to a truck and there isn't room for a motorcycle to zoom in between then they will honk at you until you move. When there is space for them, they fly right on past. It startled me every time. One time there was barely enough space for a motorcyle to get past us so he banged on the hood of our car. But I will admit that I understand why they are on motorcyles, it is easy to get through all the traffic.

The drive from the airport should have been 4 1/2 hours but it took us 6 hours. The kids probably slept 5 hours. We were so relieved to arrive at the house. I was glad that I had already visited the house because I already knew the odd location were they put the lockbox. The kids were pretty excited to start exploring the house and yard.

Since there was no food we needed to go the store. All of us piled back into the minibus and went to the hyperU (sort of like a meijers). We had forgotten bags and the store does not give out bags. In the check out line the cashier was trying to tell Mom and I that the hairdryer came with a warranty. Warranty is not a word that either mom or I know. After a minute or two the man behind us in line started translating for us. When the cashier held up the bag of peaches and told us she couldn't accept them, the same man helped us out again and told us that we had to get a sticker in the produce department with the weight and price.

We went back to the house and had our first meal in France. Bread, cheese, lunchmeat, coleslaw, some potato salad thing (with a cut up hot dog in it?) We were going for a sandwich and prepared salad meal. I think Joey ate half a loaf of bread. He loved the jam we had bought. (I think they sell the same jam at Busch's!)

After we ate we got a second wind. Rod and Joey played catch. The girls did some unpacking (except Ellie - she discovered the barbies I had secretly packed for her)

We took a walk in the late afternoon to help us stay awake.

Packing and paintings

This week is all about packing and saying goodbyes. I am thankful we aren't moving away for good because goodbyes are hard!
Packing is really about getting organized and remembering all the little details. So I am a little distracted. In the middle of our packing week Gabi has decided to start some sort of project. I am trying to ignore it but she keeps bringing it up. She spent last weekend at Grandma Fracassi's house. In the living room at Grandma's house is a lovely painting of a ballroom dancing scene. Gabi told me she wants to make a 3D version of this painting. From what I can gather I think she is making some sort of diaorama. She started requesting a box, paint, wood, and screws for the Barbie's feet. I gave her a long lecture on how this isn't really the best week to do this type of project. I think she just rolled her eyes and began trying to figure out how to gather the supplies by herself. She is a persistent little thing. This morning I overheard Gabi asking her sister if she minded that a particular Barbie doll would have her feet screwed to a board. Of course, a fight ensued and that Barbie became the most precious barbie doll ever.

Too bad Gabi doesn't have an artsy mom that would drop everything to help her out.

French Consulate

We took a trip to the French Consulate in Chicago last week. We had to visit in person to apply for our long stay visas. I had 14 documents just for my visa application alone. Copies of my birth certificate, rental house agreement, bank statements, letter promising not to work, proof of medical insurance and an express mail envelope from the US POST OFFICE ONLY were collected by the Consulate. Their caps, not mine. I think I may have also given them my report card from first grade, but it is hard to tell. Oh, no wait, they wanted Joey's report card from first grade. Seriously.

The kids had their own separate list of documents they needed. But I have already blocked that out.

I think the French Consulate was testing me to see how many documents they could request before I cracked. But I didn't crack. Oh wait, yes I did. When we arrived the first question they asked me was whether I was applying as a student or a visitor. My mind went completely blank. I couldn't remember how I was applying. So I started mumbling about how I was going to take French classes and blah blah blah. Finally, I hear Rod saying VISITOR, she is a visitor. Then it all came back to me and my mind clicked back on. One word. I forgot one word.

They kept our passports with them. It was an eerie feeling leaving their office and leaving the passports behind. What if I wanted to pop over to Canada on a moments notice. What would I do then?

But now all is good. I got the express mail envelope today. We got back all of our passports with nice official French visas attached. I think we have passed the first test.

other blogs

Here are some other blogs to check out:

Vendee Blog is written by a witty Brit. He lives in the Vendee, the same region we will be in. I have sent him some e-mails with questions about cars, etc and he has been very gracious in answering my questions.

American mom in Paris I like this one because I think the writer has a good sense of humor.

Pret a voyager is about traveling and has lots of links to other blogs. There are some well-traveled people in this world.

Fabulously French has lots of style.

A taste of garlic is a review of French blogs. This one has more French blogs than I will ever have time to read.

David Lebovitz American chef living in Paris. He has written several cookbooks. From this blog I learned that flour is different in France. Good to know!