Travel adventures

Last Wednesday there was a ladies' lunch at the lake in Treignac for a monthly get together and to give me a jolly send off. 

I started my journey to Spain on Friday and stayed the night in a hotel in Toulouse because the train and flight timetables clashed. I noticed a hairdressing salon opposite the hotel and had the brilliant idea of retouching my roots and having a trim. Three and a half hours later, I emerged looking like a cheap hooker with yellow hair on most of my head, with brown hair at the back. Was I furious? Yes, and didn't have time to correct the total disaster. The family was very nice and said I looked good (ha ha).

Julia, Ana, yours truly and Pili (Julio's wife)
As soon as the local salon opened, I was there like a shot. Now I'm a brunette again.

The journey itself went very well, without any incidents. I received a very warm welcome. I'm staying with my cousin Julia, who's 88 years old, but looks younger than me! She was a stunner when she was young. Julia made a delicious paella on Monday, and keeps feeding me all the time. It's a very Spanish thing... She has a wicked sense of humour and finally conceded that I looked like a hooker with the yellow hair. 

Cousin Josefina, my mom and Julia at a flamenco show. Two of them seem very emotional...

Paella!

We went to see an apartment on Monday afternoon. It's very well equipped, with top of the range appliances and comfortably furnished, with a/c and all that. The only snag is the old fashioned decor, with a lot of gold and horrendous pictures on the wall. The owner used to live there, so I kept quiet, not desiring to offend. I sent the link with photos to Billy and he agreed it looks like a museum, so we decided to call it a tourist attraction. Hey, if I have enough beds,a kitchen and somewhere to sit, the rest is immaterial. The rent is very reasonable for the location, a prime spot in Armilla. The building's entrance is spectacular, with marble floor, many beautiful potted plants and a modern elevator.

All I need to do now is register as a resident, open a bank account, transfer my pension and join the all-free, excellent Spanish health system. Julia's daughter is helping me navigate all the bureaucracy involved in the process. 

It's all very exciting and positive. Hasta la vista, amigos!

[I'm beginning to think in Spanish, a good sign.]

Back in France

I arrived in one piece, despite a few annoying mishaps. Plane delayed, missed the train, stayed in a hotel, which was good because it's not so tiring when the journey is staggered. Caught the first train the following day, no problem there, but the next train was cancelled due to an accident on the line, so we were taken to another station on a bus, in torrential rain all the way. The train was waiting for the bus, then I had another 2 hour wait for the next one. The reason for so many changes of trains is that Macron is messing with people's pensions and various sectors are having strikes. The train services have been disrupted since early April!

It was an emotional journey. Being back where I have so many memories is difficult, and on top of it, the weather is lousy, with non-stop rain and it's quite a chilly. I have only a couple of changes of warm clothes, so I need to go shopping.

I have been following the blog, but must confess that the inspiration to write posts is not there yet. I'll get better after I've had some time to recover emotionally.

Enjoy the chats, peeps! P, please don't forget to post another update about the fire. I hope Annette recovers quickly from her burns. Ouch!

Unexpected travel

I have some  news... When I entered the US, I had a visa waiver, so I was given three months stay, full stop. But we only discovered that the visa couldn't be extended (at all) when the border protection guys sent me an email saying they hoped I had enjoyed my visit and that I had only ten days to leave the country. Bye bye!

I still had a valid return ticket to Paris, and I will travel this Thursday. Fortunately, I have many friends over there and have already arranged a place to stay, with a very good, very welcoming friend.

I'm not quite sure what will happen next, but I know I can't stay with Dora on a full time basis. I'll apply for a proper tourist visa and try to spend the summers in France and the winters in Miami. Best of both worlds! 

I need my fellow bloggers to cover for me from Thursday until at least Monday, because the journey is brutal and I'll be jet-lagged. Merci in advance, peeps!

The good news is that I can take you sightseeing in the French countryside again...

Here's a taster, a place called Dampniat:

Les Tours de Merle

I miss France and decided to take a little tour of a fascinating place in the south of the Corrèze. The fortress was considered impregnable, but history intervened and parts of it fell in the wrong hands for a while. The lords of Merle prevailed, eventually.

This is from Wikipedia:

The Tours de Merle are the ruins of a castle in the commune of Saint-Geniez-ô-Merle, in the Corrèze department of France. It was a feudal fortress from the twelfth and fifteenth centuries, which was subject of a classification as a historic monument since July 30, 1927.

In the fourteenth century, Merle included seven castles, two chapels and a village, owned by seven noblemen from Merle. 

During the Hundred Years' War, the English took one of the towers and a castle in 1371.

In 1574 the Calvinists took the citadel, where they established a garrison, they were driven out two years later by the co-lords. But the fortress was abandoned by those who preferred to live in places that were more pleasant and certainly more accessible.

Very rainy day at the races in Pompadour

We had a good day despite the very heavy rain. Peter and I made some money, had a picnic with friends, and watched a girl do some lovely stunts between races. The last picture is of Woody, a prince of a dog, he couldn't be nicer! Please note his asymmetric "hairstyle." A ferocious dog bit half of his ear off three weeks ago in London.

A very enjoyable time was had by all

Five days pass very quickly, but we enjoyed every minute of it.

Between visits to friends, chilling at home, and an afternoon at the gorgeous arboretum in Chamberet, we managed to get some nice photos. Emi is totally adorable!

Storms, the internet and customer services in France

I've been offline because my modem went poof in the storms. That's what the provider said, after performing loads of tests remotely. They're going to send us a new box. The thing is, the box is now working perfectly. The problem was with their own network and they have now fixed it, but their helpline staff is totally oblivious about what goes on...

Et vive la France!

What time is o'clock?

The clocks went forward last night and I don't know if I'm coming or going today! This blog has a thing about clocks, so this should be interesting. It's about the oldest public clock in Paris. It's situated in the very heart of the city, the clock tower being the oldest remaining part of the Palais de la Cité.

It seems that shopping and drinking were high on the list of priorities for the old Parisians!