Our Visa Story (So Far): From Research to Reality
Ralph and I are less than three months away from the big move to France! Finding somewhere to live was obviously a huge piece of the puzzle, but once we found the house, it was time to turn our attention to the next critical phase: visas. For long stays, France requires you to apply no…
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Paperwork, Pear Trees, and Progress
Our visit is coming to an end, and as I sit at the Bordeaux airport (which, fun fact, is both tiny and surprisingly janky), I find myself reflecting on the last few days. We’ve crossed off some major milestones with this logistics-focused trip — opened a bank account, secured home insurance, and got to know…
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Back in Castillon-la-Bataille
A couple of months have passed, and now we are back in Castillon to see La Maison de L’Amiral！ It was a long day flying from Stuttgart to Barcelona to Bordeaux, but we made the most of it with Spanish tapas for lunch in the airport. We decided not to rent a car to force…
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Our Home Purchase Timeline
It’s been a week since we got the news from the realtor and each day it sinks in just a little more. The offre d’achat has been countersigned and we are charging along. For once, everything is clicking into place, and it’s such a relief! There have been many times in my life where I’ve…
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The Search is Over!
After viewing thousands of houses online, reaching out to dozens of realtors, and visiting 20 houses all over France, we signed a contract! It turns out that our “unicorn” has a name – La Maison de l’Amiral (The Admiral’s House). It’s better than anything we could have ever imagined. It sat vacant for 25 years…
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On Pins and Needles…
I couldn’t sleep at all Wednesday night after seeing the house in Castillon-la-Bataille! I google mapped my way around the streets, taking stock of all the shops and restaurants. I learned about the town and got excited to see they’re involving the community to gather ideas for improvement (design thinking!). I found a swimming beach…
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Another Twist in the Journey…
What a difference a day can make! Yesterday I was chatting with some girlfriends and the topic of toiletries arose. As in “lawd have mercy how did we end up with all these things?!” That must have stuck in my craw because I woke up at 0400 thinking about all our toiletries, bedding, and other…
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Put Your Checklist Away…at Least for a Day!
You don’t have to “check the box.” If I’ve learned one thing during our time in Europe, it’s that you don’t have to hit all the tourist destinations to have a memorable time. In fact, Ralph and I have the best times when we just wing it! Take today, for example – our only “full”…
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Sunday Shenanigans in Southwest France
Ralph and I covered a lot of ground the last two days and we even found a contender! More to come on that (decisions, decisions) but here’s what we’ve been up to… Yesterday we left Pau and met up with two new friends, Mykle and Doug, to get a tour of Oloron-Sainte-Marie. They relocated to…
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Go to Pau!
Is it lame that we’re in bed by 9 pm and I’m writing this update on our trip to Pau? Eh – I don’t care. We did and saw a ton today and I’m happy as a clam. 😉 Lemme tell you a little bit about Pau. It’s a city of around 77k people in…
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Delightfully Disoriented 