Which leads me to La Poste. I'm here to make copies of my passport, French Visa, and the passport page displaying my entry stamp into France. The cost for copies and mailing the OFII form: 5€ by registered mail to the local OFII office in Bourg-en-Bresse.
At La Poste, we queued behind a long but orderly line. La Poste was extremely efficient—while two tellers at les guichets were helping people, an additional two employees were roaming about, answering questions for people in line and directing them to the automatic stamp dispensing machines. I've read about the French way of cutting the line. Was that in David Sedaris' book "Me Talk Pretty One Day" or was it in the "Sweet Life in Paris?" by David Lebovitz. This time I didn't see any of that...perhaps that only happens in Paris or bigger cities, but not in a small town like mine.
Now that I've sent in my form, the waiting begins. OFII will contact me in two to three months for an interview and medical exam which will take place at Bourg. At that interview, I'll need to produce additional documentation/proofs of identify, and pay a tax/processing fee before receiving my residency permit.
After La Poste, we continued to the bank but forgot it was closed Mondays. With the sun now out, and the temperature in the low 60s, we sat outside, sharing the small lunch I had prepared. Food tastes better when eaten outside with your fingers and with the one you love. We shared a baguette with pâté du canard and terrine du porc; an apple; smoked almonds from Mom; and milk chocolate with hazelnuts/raisins.
As R and I are going to our friends' wedding next weekend, we drove vers Annecy to purchase R's early birthday gift from me—a TomTom, good for this trip and others I hope we would take together this summer.
On motorcycles. My first time riding on a motorcycle was in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. I rode behind my uncle and it totally freaked me out as the traffic in HCM is intimidating (kind of an understatement). Bikers, motorcycles, trucks, cars all move together in total chaos—there are no marked lanes, and traffic moves in all directions.
Even though R is a very careful and good driver, I felt pretty nervous on the motorcycle the first few times. Now that I'm more comfortable, I've learned to lean into turns with him, sit so my helmet does not knock into his, and hold onto my handbar firmly without overstraining or gripping too hard. R and I have signals to indicate 1) something pretty to see 2) if I need to reposition my weight 3) if I want to stop for a minute 4) when going over big speed bumps. My behind is a little sore now after today's long ride. But it was so worth it—I like the thrill of the ride and the 360 degree view of nature around us. We drove through beautiful countryside, up and down mountainsides overlooking farms with cows resting under trees. At some point, we saw free range chickens roaming next to the side of the road. I always knew whenever we were approaching a farm—I smelled cowpies as we approached the farms!
Since we were so close to Annecy, we took the motorcycle to Lac Annecy. Picture a lake set at the base of the Alps with sharp peaks reaching out to the sky, some with snow still on them. Imagine living here —skiing in winter, watersports in warmer months, and hiking all year long. Annecy has been called the Venice of France due to the many canals in the city center. Even though I am in France, I still had a craving for rice, so R and I had a nice sushi dinner in a cute modern sushi bar (run by Chinese people). We were happily surprised by the quality, portion, and the cost 20€ (for a big plate of sushi with miso soup and salad).
Returning home, we found our vegetable garden had been tilled during our daytrip. Tomorrow's plan: plant our veggies, stop at neighbor P's to thank him for tilling the veggie garden, and then head to Geneva. While R meets with former colleagues, I'll look for a Swiss mobile phone and tour the University of Geneva (UNIGE) where I may be taking French classes this summer.
Really nice shots.. so green!
ReplyDeletePretty, pretty, pretty. Thanks for sharing the pictures, mademoiselle.
ReplyDeleteThanks ladies! It is so pretty here. I wish I had Shu Dan's camera though. What camera/model do you have? I should have bought one before I came here.
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