Monday, 13 September - Clermont-Ferrand

Today Fred has another 9 am meeting.  When he leaves, I catch up on some chores, then head out to pick up my neufbox - my key to the internet.  On the way home I bought wine glasses and a dish drainer.

I put down my purchases and head off to the local stores for milk, bread, lemon juice, flour,  and lunch.  At the bakery, I found a single serving salmon quiche for lunch and a "loaf" of Pain de Campagne, or country style bread.  I had the baker heat up the quiche for me, then headed home.  I relaxed with the mail and my quiche, then attempted to set up my PC and telephone using the neufbox. 

If we ever get it up and running, is is cheap - 30 euro per month with no contract and no deposit, for TV (which we don't have), unlimited long distance telephone (including international), and internet.  However, we signed up last Saturday, were notified the line would be active on Sept 11, picked up the router and the set up CD today - BUT the line is NOT active, and they only tell us it will be active by October 4.  We were expecting about 10 days, not 3 weeks.  It COULD be sooner, we just have to wait and see. 

They did tell us at the store today that we can copy the CD files onto a stick drive so we can set up our notebooks (they have no CD drive), but I will try that after I get our primary PCs up and running. 

After spending some time attempting the internet set up, I walked to school and sat in Fred's office to use the internet for an hour.  I got some posts made to this blog and looked up some recipes, including Veal Picatta, which we will make tonight for dinner.  I found that I had guessed well and had purchased what we need on my shopping trip this morning.t

At 3:30 we both headed to the bank to pick up our debit/credit cards, which we were notified by mail were in.  That actually went well, and we now have an account with money transferred from the U.S., cards, and online banking is set up and working. 

On the way home we stopped at the internet store to ask about the line and were told that the sales folks say 10 days, but the real maximum time is now 3 weeks (explained above). 

Then we went to a chain droguerie to find a sponge mop, to no avail.  I will probably go back to the neighborhood droguerie tomorrow.  I also found that I need a power strip to get the whole PC/router/phone set up without wires strung across the room.  Hopefully I get most of this done before my other classes begin - as I will be too busy then to run around town shopping all day. 

Fred reminded me that we have gotten a lot accomplished and he is right.  And finding this apartment with most things furnished was a lifesaver!  It's not just the money, it is the time it takes to find all the little things.  Of course if we had had to start from scratch, we would make do with less, but still - it all takes time. 

We were both tired, so had a little appertizer, then a salad, then cooked the veal and pasta, using a recipe I found online this afternoon, and it was WONDERFUL!!!!  Just the right mix of lemon, butter, and capers, and Fred got the veal so tender - YUM.

For those who know us well, we have been here since Sept 1  - not quite two weeks, and have only eaten out 4 dinners and a few lunches.   That means breakfast at home every day - George and Connie and Connie in Dover will not believe that.  We have eaten breakfast out for years.   Fred skips lunch some days, but dinner is usually later - like 7:30 or 8 at the earliest, so we do need a snack mid day. 

Tomorrow I need to find the power strip, then study.  So for now, I better hit the hay!

Tuesday, 07 Sept - Clermont Ferrand

Enjoyed another day of French language class.  It is raining today, so we got a little wet on the walk to school, but it is mid 60's and actually a pretty, but overcast day.  I am about ready to go home for lunch. 


I need to do a little shopping again - we need cheese and veggies - that kind of groceries we will purchase fairly often and in small quantities. 


I transferred money over the weekend from my US account - it will be interesting to see how long it takes to get to our French account. 


Tomorrow I have a full day of class, so will also do homework this afternoon. 

On the way home from school, I stopped at the store near school and per Fred's recommendation, picked up some canned cassoulet. When Fred got home, we walked down the street to get some cash, then around a few blocks to see what else is in the neighborhood. Then on to the cassoulet. This is a casserole made of white beans, sausage, and smoked duck. Fred can make it at home when he has time, but the canned item I bought was superb. We started the meal with a salad dressed with bleu cheese from the Auvergne, and ended it with fresh plums from the garden of a colleague at school.



We actually finished in time for me to spend an hour on the PC before retiring. The rest of the week, we have eaten late and been so tired, we dropped into bed after dinner.

Friday, 03 Sept - Clermont-Ferrand

Now we have groceries, so we start the day with the breakfast we love: soft boiled egg, cold ham and sausage, cheese, country style bread, juice, coffee, and chocolate breakfast cookies called Petit Dejeuner or "little breakfast". That should keep us until dinner!

Fred has another meeting, so he is off to school. There is a local market that is open on Tuesdays and Fridays. This is where various vendors come to a covered location and set up shop for just those two days.  Mostly I want to see what's there, although we have made another list, so I plan to go back to Leader Price today as well.

There IS a fish vendor, which is handy to know, but fred is the fish buyer, so I pass on purchasing and go to Leader Price.


After I put away my purchases, I head to school as well. I met Isabelle, my program contact, at the reception last night and told her I would stop by today to bring some documents and learn about French class.


I can start language class on Monday, even though my actual program doesn't start until Oct. 11. I will also start what they call a "cultural elective" which is group work with other students in my program.  I want to get to know them, so I will attend that as well.  I learn that the program being offered is my first choice: Masters in International Project Management.

There are 11 students here now, but about 20 more should arrive, most from Senegal, Cameroon, Ivory Coast. I am anxious to meet the students already here - I don't know where they are from, but I sure French class with them will be interesting.

After that meeting, I find Fred in the lobby and we head home for lunch. After lunch, Fred gets the iron out and gets his clothes ready to wear. I can be a little more casual - student style, you know, so I pass on the ironing.


We have a washing machine in the apartment. I spilled coffee all over myself yesterday on the plane, so I decide to try it out. It is small and takes quite a while for one load, but it works well. We have to leave before it is done washing, so I will have to hang the clothes on the dryer (not automatic) when we return home.


I have learned we are only a few blocks from a tram station, so at 3 pm, we walk to the tram and head for the bank. At this time of the afternoon, the tram is quite crowded.

Remember, this is a town of about 120,000, in a metro area of about 400,000.  It is really nice to have the tram and that people use it.

When we arrive at the bank, we learn that the lease contract has been approved (within the hour) and we can open the account. WHEW! I am glad to get this done as I would like to pay the rent.  We also need the account so we can get the electric service in our names and get internet service.

After the bank, Fred has an appointment with the info security folks at school, so I go off in search of shoe polish, dryer sheets, clorox, and listerene, all items that I have not yet been able to find.


I decide to stop at the supermarket downtown and find some other things we can use, but no shoe polish. I pick up the dryer sheets and a container of gaspacho to start our dinner, then walk on to the Schlecker, a "drugstore" like walgreens except for no actual drugs. I finally find shoe polish and something that might be clorox. I finally return home around 6 pm and Fred has just gotten home as well.

We have an appetizer, then go upstairs for our now daily talk with the landlords. Tonight we are able to report that we do in fact have a bank account and that they will eventually get paid. They are happy to see the insurance also.

They have offered to go with us in the morning to look into internet service. We don't want to waste their time in the morning, so we ask for clarification, and they pull up the online site for two different providers and talk us through the options. This will make the visit tomorrow faster.



So 10 am Saturday we will walk with them to the center of town to the internet office. In addition, they have found a phone number for the electric company where there are english language speakers and they tell us what we need to have available when we make that call.



About 7:30 we start cooking dinner of chicken breast, basmati rice, and eggplant. The landlords have given us a welcome present of bordeaux wine, chocolate cookies and a jar of jam. For this dinner, we open the bordeaux and play some music on my PC. Except for the fact that we walk everywhere, we are feeling very much at home!

Thursday, September 2 - School and Shopping

Fred learned at 8:15 am he has a meeting at school at 10, so he got up, got dressed, and walked off to school.


Have I said yet that we do not plan to have a car here, only occasionally we will rent one for a weekend trip. But here in Clermont, we will walk and take the bus or tram. There is a nice electric tram that goes generally north and south and around the center of town.


I set out for shopping, but first must have some coffee and something to eat. I head down the street toward the train station with my shopping basket (which the landlords have supplied with the apartment).


I scope out some of the shops and find just a block from our apartment a baker, a fruit and vegetable seller (the "fruitier"), a small grocery and all kinds of bars and restaurants.


I stop at a brasserie for cafe au lait and a baguette with butter - that will fortify me until lunch. Typical french breakfast is normally a roll or croissant with butter and jam and espresso.  I prefer the large coffee that is about half frothed milk - cafe au lait.


Then I am on my way to Leader Price. I haven't been in one, but am guessing it is a discount type grocery and I am correct. This is where I will buy paper and cleaning products, toothpaste, food storage bags, shampoo, bath soap, etc. I do find they have wine, so I select a bottle of Cotes du Rhone for 2.6 euro (about $3).


I find the coffee filters I need, and most of the other items on my list. I also pick up some food items I can't resist like Cantal cheese, a semi hard, white cheese from this region which is one of our favorites here.


I almost pick up more that I can carry and lots of it is heavy - so I purchase a Leader Price plastic bag with handles and then when I get outside, I move the bottles to my back pack and am ready for the walk home.


Recycling is encouraged here, so there are no "free" bags available at checkout at most stores. You bring your own bag or purchase one at checkout.

When I return home, I put away my purchases and head back down the street for vegetables, eggs, yogurt, etc.


In the small shops on my street, I get chicken for dinner, lettuce, eggplant, tomato, fresh strawberries, eggs, etc.


I also buy some instant asparagus soup for my lunch and head home. Fred has gotten free and is home as well, so we make a salad with blue cheese crumbles and a cup of soup for lunch.

Our next task is to open a bank account, so after lunch we set off for the bank where Fred had an account previously, thinking that would be a good place to start.


There is no one available for this sort of transaction, but I know there are other locations in town, so ask if it might be possible at another "branch". They say the earliest is next week and set an appointment for the following Monday. I am anxious to get this done when we are both available, so we go to another bank and ask the same question. We get the same answer - too busy today, but could make an appointment for Friday. Again I ask if someone might be available at another location in town.


They check the online calendars and find someone at the main Clermont location of Credit Agricole who can take us now AND there is an English speaker working there as well.


So we walk about 10 minutes to the other location to meet Angelique and Laurence, who speaks English. We have brought along everything we think we might need: passports, lease, work contract, etc.


They take our documents to photocopy, but on returning, tell us there is a new policy and the proof of address must be approved by another department and can't be done until tomorrow.


Good thing we didn't wait until Monday to start this!


So we ask about renters insurance (which is required by most landlords here) and get a quote on that as well, then make an appointment for Friday afternoon.  It feels like we have accomplished a lot even though we still have no account.


We walk back home, change clothes and go back to school (ESC) for a reception. When we return home, we report to the landlords that we have started the account process, but must return to finish on Friday. They have asked if there is anything we are missing or anything else we need, and I tell them we could use a can opener and a hall tree or someplace to hang our coats.


They search immediately and come up with the can opener, but will get a hall tree on the weekend.


We start dinner with an appetizer, then salad and bread, but decide we are tired and almost full, so we skip the chicken and rice and go straight for dessert. I have purchased a Chausson au Pomme at the bakery - this is like a small single serving apple pie and is delicious. We split it and are quite satisfied, but Fred thinks coffee would be good - he has had no caffiene today, so we have a small coffee and are off to bed - what a day!