Elsien's Traveblogue

Montpellier 6^th October 2011

Most of my books have arrived now, and our furniture from Brussels came a few days ago. It was unloaded at an incredible speed – one whole room full of boxes and furniture. I've now opened most of them, but couldn't do the book boxes until the shelves were up. They are now and the books are higgledy-piggledy piled up on them. We have one room – the study – we live in: clic-clac bed, one comfortable chair, table, folding chairs. The kitchen works, although we haven't got a fridge yet. The bedroom just has suitcases and bags of clothes in, also a laundry basket – there is a laundrette with WiFi nearby. We're waiting for more furniture, which we've bought from a friend of a friend: big dining room table and chairs, bed, wardrobe, buffet, fridge, TV... I'm still in the process of organising the removals of all that stuff: heavy, French, solid wood.

Until today we could have meals in the little garden, at the camping table. It's been really hot, 29 or 30 degrees, but last night big white clouds brought heavy gusts of wind, so it's gone chilly now, only 20.

The living room is still full of boxes, mainly empty now, some stuff that has to go to the 'cave', the basement room for which we only got the key yesterday. It's very dusty, so we had to buy a broom first …. We've been chasing paperwork: we've got an Internet and phone contract, but it won't be working for another day or two yet. I'll install it all today, when I've done the 'office space'. I'm doing my telephone work on my French Lebara phone, visits to the Internet cafe around the corner. It's good my students cannot see me, perched on a box, surrounded by boxes ... Not ideal, but I need the money, having spent all my savings on this place and the move! We also have to register the car in France and that seems like a major bureaucratic problem … I'm waiting for the French solicitor to send me the deeds of the apartment so we have proof of address … This solicitor has been worse than useless: gets paid 10% of the sales price and doesn't seem to do anything for it.

Yesterday we inspected our new furniture, today we take the car for another check-up as the French don't accept the Belgian M.O.T; I'll clean the walk-in cupboard so we can organise some of our clothes and bedding … The previous owner was a bit of a slut – you should have seen the oven! - so we've had to do quite a bit of cleaning. The painter, who redecorated the whole place for us (the walls and doors were blue, orange, brown, green, yellow and purple) also commented on the state of cleanliness … It's beginning to look nice though. The cream walls and white ceilings and woodwork make it look clean, light and spacious. Our study is beginning to look cosy with a book-lined wall and the kitchen is arranged better than the Brussels kitchen, so cooking is a pleasure. The bathroom will have to be refurbished when I have made some more money, but it works and the bath, shower-head and toilet are now lime-scale free....

Tomorrow we're off to an information day for new Montpellierains, meeting up with a friend and Sunday – well, see what the weather does, but the area is really beautiful … St Guilhem-le-Desert, perhaps?

posted by Elsien Gale  # 3:42 AM