Week One in France

After arriving in France, Dave and I had been up for more than 24 hours and we could feel it. We were so exhausted that when we went to bed we decided not to set an alarm....15 hours later we woke up at 2pm. I guess this jet lag thing is real.

Our first week was a busy one, with lots of ups and downs. Trying to get Dave's Carte de Sejour (basically a residency card that allows Dave to stay in France) proved to be our most challenging experience. We made our way to the prefecture a few days after arriving in France, only to discover that every sign in the prefecture was in French and all the employees in the prefecture only spoke French (how weird it's like we're in France or something). After trying to figure out how to get the Carte de Sejour, we left feeling quite defeated and confused.  We decided to take pictures of the signs in the prefecture and try and decipher them at home, before returning later in the week.

We returned a few days later, feeling slightly more prepared with our translations and a few phrases ready in French. We got there early, knowing it would be busy and waited in front of the prefecture with many others for it to open. After waiting about an hour for our number to be called, we went up to the ticket window. We showed the man Dave's visa and said "J'ai besoin de carte de sejour". The man looked at Dave's visa and said "Etes-vous un etudiant?" .....I've got this one Dave, I thought. He's asking if you're a student. "Oui" , I replied.  This french thing is easy.....

The man replied in a stream of French (Holy cow he talks fast....what is he saying!?!).  After several minutes, picking up a word here and there, he handed us a small piece of paper. The paper had an internet address on it and from what I gathered it said Dave had to go on the website to make an appointment for his Carte de Sejour. Great....only not so great. According to the website appointments can't be made until August 15th and the appointments won't begin until sometime in September. Looks like this Carte de Sejour thing isn't going to be so easy. Hopefully, someone at the school that speaks better french can help Dave out with it. Until then, I better start learning some more French. Turns out it's helpful to know French when living in France...who knew?!

Besides that stress, it's also been quite difficult trying to get a bank account here. We've tried a few times, but with the language barrier it hasn't gone so well. We hope to track down an English speaking representative at a bank soon and hopefully by next week we'll have that figured out. France's business hours are different. Last time we went to the bank to open an account we were told the representative was on lunch and wouldn't be back til 2pm. It was only about noon when were there...that's some lunch break. Many establishments close for several hours in the afternoon so people can take long lunch breaks. That will take some getting used to, especially since most stores also close for the night at 7pm here.  All well, it's all part of the French lifestyle. We'll get used to it I'm sure. Hopefully, by next week we'll have our banking sorted out and it will be one less thing to worry about.

Now that I'm done with the stressful part of our first week, let me get onto the good stuff. France really does have a bakery on almost every corner and the baguettes are still warm when you buy them. GLORIOUS! I literally ate a whole baguette myself the first day in town. Hopefully all that walking I'm doing will counteract the bread I'm sure to consume. Not only that but wine and beer is cheap and is sold EVERYWHERE. I mean everywhere: grocery stores, gas stations, all over the place. Our mission is to buy a different wine every time we get groceries and keep track of our selections and likes/dislikes in our little wine journals that we brought with us. After one week we already have two entries and three bottles of wine waiting to be enjoyed. Life is good.

Good point number two. Not only do the bakeries have delicious bread, they also have other delicious treats and pastries. Let me introduce you to what I can only describe as Heaven. Meet the Beignet Creme:

Soft, sugary donut on the outside, light, fluffy whip cream like filling on the inside....that's right Ellen, everything's gonna be alright as long as these babies are around. I literally ate these two days in a row, somebody stop me.


While wandering downtown Toulouse we also randomly came across a clothing store that had an amazing roof top view, one of the best in the city in fact.

Beautiful!!

Last but not least of good discoveries in France we ran into this awesome Irish pub called De Danu.
http://www.dedanu.com/ 

This little taste of home had plenty of beers on tap, good food, and even a few English employees. It was a little nice hearing people speak English after struggling with our French all week. We ordered massive burgers that were delicious and had a few pints. The place was packed for the Eurocup, a match between France and Ukraine. It was fun watching this sport with the locals. Felt almost like how the stanley cup is back home. Everyone was so into it and chanting. Funny fact, they chant the first part of The White Strips "Seven Nation Army" anytime France gets a goal. I also decided that I can get used to watching soccer (or football as they call it in Europe). After all it's only an hour and a half and all the boys wear nice shorts. Plus, the atmosphere at De Danu was really fun and exciting. I think this will be our new go to pub. In fact we plan to head back there this weekend to watch France play again. I imagine many a night will be had here.

Wine, beer, baguettes, amazing scenery, pubs, beignet cremes ....I think I'll survive, even if I don't speak French yet :P

Until next time....

Au Revoir