We're IN

Ten months ago we had an idea that we could run a French cafe, and now we are here. Early start on Wednesday found us in the Notaire's office at 9am for the signing. He likes to speak English even to J and everything is "No probs". He has a Chelsea pennant on the office wall so he cant be a bad person, even if he does act as a a tax collector.
So keys in hand we go to OUR CAFE. It is almost habitable as the majority of the drainage work has been done that needed to be done although everywhere is filthy and there are thousands of cobwebs and spiders in every possible space. The plumbers fitting the pump outside have kindly ploughed the whole area for us. It looks like a field. I could have asked if I knew the French for " In England we dig trenches with spades, so as to allow you to lean on them and look in wonder at the hole. Why are you so efficient that you had to use a JCB?" But I dont know the French so we have a big area of mud. At least he buried all the weeds.

Thursday we moved. Reasonably uneventful, except for me flooding the kitchen removing the washing machine in St Michel and numerous arguments in the road outside as we loaded a car and a van. This was because it was changeover day from right to left side of the road, and some did and some didnt, so the traffic chicaned all day. Add to this the fact that the water board were resurfacing the road with three lorries and a digger at one end of the road, and telling people verbally the road was "route barre" whilst the council resurfaced the road at the other end with four lorries and a digger and they also manually told people the road was "route barre". Our car and van were in the middle and tempers were frayed, a lot of anglo saxon language was used and a number of shoulder shrugs were seen. I could tell it was bad, no-one was kissing.


Thursday night we slept under a blanket of cobwebs and left footprints in the dust as we walked around the hastily made up bed. I was not flavour of the month, especially as there is a chambre d'hote next door which is clean and spider free. Still, you dont always think of these things and midnight is a bit late to change your mind. Added to the dirt and dust, and perhaps more influential on J's demeanour was the fact that we had just watched an abject French display on the internet that had seen Les Blues all but eliminated from the world cup with a display that was to be almost equalled by England the following day.

Friday we cleaned
Saturday we cleaned

Sunday we will clean

There isn't anything else to do, we cant cook, no bottles of gas. We cant go out, dont know where any clothes are and have nowhere to put them yet even if we did know.

But it's great and we don't regret the move one bit