To say that I underestimated just how difficult it would be to move our stuff from Hackney to Cernay is probably an understatement. One of my best friends (and now brother-in-law) Chris was on the receiving end of this mis-judgement: Chris had agreed to help me shift over our remaining possessions in a supersized Transit van a week after New Year once I'd had time to finish packing up and, importantly, after we had already sent almost 30 shipping cartons over by international freight. Chris arrived from Wales on the Friday night and after a brief inspection of the things to be packed up we went for a kebab (the proper sit-down sort, not a pissed-up Doner one - just to reassure) certain that we wouldn't have too many problems loading the van in the morning and heading off to France for me never to return. Unfortunately after getting up at the crack of dawn and loading for a couple of hours it became apparent that we were just as likely to fit everything in one van as it was for Anne-So to ever drop her French accent - Impossible! So plan B - text everyone I can think of in London for help with the remaining packing (Massive thanks to Simon and to Matt - and to Sinead for volunteering Matt so readily), and to quickly pick up a 2nd transit van. All this meant that the relatively leisurely 15 hour drive each way through the snow ridden motorways of Europe would now not be shared but driven in convoy twice in 2 days. Words can barely express my gratitude to Chris and as we turned up in Cernay at 4.30 am on the Sunday knowing that we needed to wake up and drive back the same day, the best I could do was a room temperature beer each. Still, if it doesn't kill you...
Perhaps its time for some brief first impressions of living in France.
1) It's cold! For some reason, perhaps because it's the clichéd thing to do, a lot of people have assumed we're moving to the south of France. Well, it's a big country (just ask Chris) and we're a fairly long way north in a pretty mountainous region. Everything is just as snow covered as it was when I left London except this isn't a "coldest in 20 years" event it's just how winter is. All winter. Every Winter. Still, my expensive habit of buying outdoor coats and technical base layers which, some say, was excessive for London is now coming into it's own :) Speaking of snow, I haven't been Snowboarding yet and my board is being serviced and ready on Friday so I will report back how the local slopes are when I know.
2) Everyone speaks French. Funny that. This has a couple of effects on me. Firstly, I can't really understand much when people talk to me, but I do try and listen with intent which in turn makes them think I understand perfectly and get's me into even more difficulty (I must master a look of completely confused incomprehension!). Secondly, a bit at a time, I'm learning more French. Certainly more vocabulary if not that much grammar yet. Lessons are to be booked soon.
3) The food's good! But buying it, and shopping in general, is very different to the UK and certainly London. Our little town has a few bakers, a couple of butchers and about 10,000 hair dressers (I can only assume that the average French person's hair grows at bamboo worrying rates). However, for a country that I've always thought of as quite rural/village focused, I've discovered that French people are Hypermarket obsessed! Cernay is a small 5,000 - 7,000 person town yet it contains more Supermarkets than say Nottingham, including one to eclipse any I've seen in the UK and which they are currently building an even larger replacement for! Crazyness! On Friday, however I discovered a small (tesco sized) Hypermarket that specialises in organic food from around the world - amazing! and the perfect antidote to the rows and rows of Alsacian food that takes up most of the others. No more fantasising over the Donnald Russell website for me.
So, enough for now. I'll try and write more and briefer posts in future.
Love and (French) kisses to everyone back in England!
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