Don't Speak

For six days I was at a loss for words.
Not by choice, mind you.

I arrived home from the States with a mild cold but was feeling much better after just a few days of sleeping in my own bed. Then some hateful germs found their way into my body and it all went downhill from there.

Last Thursday started out as a very exciting day. I left early that morning for Béziers to pick up my citizenship dossier from the sous-préfecture, complete with a letter from M. le Président, the words to la Marseillaise and an acte de naissance that would allow me to apply for both a carte d'identité and a French passport.
The meeting went smoothly and afterward I wandered around the city, window shopping and running a few errands before seeing friends for lunch.

The dry cough and headache began halfway through my savory chèvre and honey crêpe and continued for the next 24 hours until I was able to see the doctor. Diagnosis: bronchitis and a sinus infection.
lovely

The Pharmacie sent me home with a bag of goodies and the days of stubbornly accepting the fact that yes, you are sick so just deal with it already, began.


For five days I slept, wandered around the house in yoga pants and slippers, watched two seasons of the wickedly funny series Weeds, drank copious amounts of tea and juice, took my medication and guzzled cough syrup, then slept some more.

Then suddenly my appetite came back.
I still couldn't speak without fits of coughing, but I was hungry! Tuesday I whipped up a batch of spicy Thai Fried Rice for lunch and Wednesday I tried this recipe for Duck Breasts with le Puy Lentils. I even baked some focaccia bread one day.

I am officially on the mend! Finally. Pin It

Photo du Jour - Saint-Nazaire Cathedral

The exterior of the apse of the Cathédrale Saint-Nazaire in Béziers.

"The typical postcard image of Béziers, Saint Nazaire Cathedral was also witness to the Cathar tragedy. The cathedral was first mentioned in the 8th C. In 1130, the master builder Gervais built a Romanesque church of which little is left today. In fact, it was burned down on 22 July 1209 as part of the Crusade against the Albigensians. It was said that the cathedral "split in half like a pomegranate". Rebuilt between the 13th and 15th Cs, it is still a superb example of southern Gothic architecture with magnificent frescoes, a fascinating organ case, and other interesting items." - from Découvertes de l'Hérault Pin It

This Morning in Béziers

Our visit to the sous-préfecture this morning went very well...

They did want to see us for the 10 year cartes de séjours.
The interview included questions to find out if we've integrated into our community and how well we speak French. It was all surprisingly simple and the man behind the desk was really nice and had a good sense of humor.
Don't know what happened to the cranky women who used to work there.

Another step in the right direction.
What a relief!

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What We Have to Look Forward to Tomorrow Morning

We have been asked to come into the Bureau des Étrangers at the sous-préfecture in Béziers for an interview. The first time ever. Hopefully it has to do with getting the coveted 10 year cartes de séjours, but we really have no idea.

The thing is, they didn't give us an appointment. That means we need to leave the house by 7AM in order to arrive before 8AM to wait in line outside (morning temperatures are predicted to be about 32-34 degrees F) so when the doors open at 8:30AM we'll get one of the precious few appointments that they dole out to the smallest number of people possible to interview before closing for the day at 11AM.

Looking forward to it. You betcha.

I'm not even worried about the interview part. It's the thought of standing outside freezing while we wait to take a number that sounds so awful.
Layers. Must wear many layers. And a hat.


(of course, if they give us our 10 year cartes de séjours, it will all be worth it! Here's hoping.) Pin It

Life as a Stranger

We need to move.

We love this village and we couldn't be happier with our sweet neighbors, the friendly owner of the épicerie, the great young guy who owns the bar, the patient and kind secretary at the Mairie and the helpful, supportive Mayor. But we need to get out of here!
More specifically we need to get the hell out of this corner of the Hérault département that is tied to Béziers and their hideously xenophobic Bureau des Étrangers.

Whenever I write about my difficulties with the folks at the Béziers sous-préfecture, afterward I'm sent notes of encouragement from other foreigners living in France. They too run into problems and have moments of frustration, and I find it encouraging to hear that others do finally manage to prevail.
Their experiences vary from préfecture to préfecture, but what is glaringly obvious is that Béziers in undoubtedly the absolute worst, most difficult, most evil of them all.

After my entire French Citizenship dossier was unceremoniously sent back to me in June, I haven't properly brought you up to date on what happened.
As I said before, all the birth certificates and marriage certificates have to be returned to the various states where they originated to get apostilles. Then those apostilles need to be translated into French. At €45 a page.
Ok, fine. Expensive, but doable.

But why do I have to wait until the randomly chosen date (in my eyes) of October 22 to turn in the dossier, you might ask? Our Mayor was also confused and sent them a fax asking them why.
Their answer:
you're going to love this...

Because that is when the Bureau des Étrangers sent out our first cartes de séjours. Not issued. Sent out.
Thus, they won't consider us as being residents for a full 5 years in France until that date.
Even though we arrived in March - 7 months earlier.
Even though my carte de séjour was issued in August.


So I have to ask...who lives in a region or city where the people working in the sous-préfecture/préfecture are decent human beings? Does such a place exist?
If so, we're moving there! Pin It

Photo du Jour - Béziers

A little part of Béziers that reminds me of Paris. Pin It

Photo du Jour - Colorful Camels

On Tuesday we had the massive sirocco that dropped sand from the Sahara desert all over the place. Then on Wednesday I went to Béziers and there were a dozen camels in one of the squares.
Did the storm drop them too?


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Photo du Jour

One of my favorite storefronts in Béziers. Pin It

Photo du Jour

The personalized cheese wrapping paper from my favorite Fromager in Béziers. Great little map of French cheese!

(enlarge the photo to read all the names) Pin It

Photos du Jour - Marché aux Fleurs

One of the best reasons to go to Béziers on a Friday - the Marché aux Fleurs along les Allées Paul Riquet. Pin It

Photo du Jour

I've walked by this at least two dozen times and I never really noticed it before yesterday. It is just around the corner from les Halles in Béziers, on a little side street that winds its way toward the Cathedral.

La Beurrerie Moderne - Is that like une Laiterie or une Fromagerie? Is this where someone used to make and sell butter? Pin It

Photo du Jour

La Bacchante au Biniou circa 1897

Taken in Béziers on the Place des Bons Amis.
A biniou is a musical instrument, similar to the bagpipe. Pin It

Photo du Jour

Les Allées Paul Riquet in Béziers.

Named for Béziers' famous son, the engineer and mastermind behind the Canal du Midi.

Les Allées is the site of numerous festivals and markets, with shops along one side, and bars and cafés lining the other side. This tree-lined promenade is host to a colorful flower market every Friday. Pin It

Photo du Jour

Old stone walls in Béziers. Pin It

Photo du Jour

La Cathédrale Saint-Nazaire in Béziers. Pin It

Photo du Jour

A welcoming square in the center of Béziers. Pin It

My Week

The week is almost over.
Had a nasty head cold so I slept my way through most of Tuesday and Wednesday.
Went into Béziers Thursday morning for a hair cut. The drive took much longer that usual due to la Police Municipale stopping nearly everyone at a major roundabout in the center of town which snarled up traffic forever.
Had 10 inches of hair cut off (see new photo on right) followed by a mild panic attack.
Feeling better now because, I know, someday, it will grow back.
Almost had another panic attack as I walked by a café we frequent in Béziers only to find a brand spankin' new Domino's pizza in it's place. Quelle horreur! I think Domino's is the true axis of evil and now they've invaded our little corner of France. Merde.
Today is my husband's birthday. His present didn't arrive yesterday (the expected date) nor today. After waiting for La Poste all morning, to not deliver his present, we drove over to the beach and had a nice lunch.
Happy Birthday honey! I'm sure your present will arrive someday. Maybe by the time my hair grows back. Pin It

A Day Out in Béziers

We go to Béziers a lot.
It is the "big city" where we go to run endless bureaucratic errands, visit the hairdresser's, for doctor's appointments, to buy impossible-to-find-elsewhere Asian groceries at an Asian épicerie, to drool over shoes and purses at little boutiques (that would be me, not my husband), to buy any necessary DIY stuff at Castorama, to eat some delicious crêpes or Chinese food and to browse at a wonderful little English bookshop, named, appropriately, Le Bookshop.


My ideal day in Béziers would begin around 10:30 in the morning. From our village it takes about 45 minutes to get there once you wind your way into the center and find parking. There are some charming little café's in the old part of town where I like to have a noisette and a pain au chocolat before running errands and window shopping.
First to Monoprix to see what's new and buy any make-up or hair products before heading down the Allées Paul Riquet to Galleries Lafayette to browse their shoes, purses and clothes.




Crossing les Allées, I head into the maze of little streets in the old quarter where I browse in shops like l'Occitane en Provence, Mango, paper shops, a shop full of wonderful kitchen utensils, pet shops, shoe shops and chocolatiers.
Le Bookshop is tucked away on one of these little streets. The owner, Deborah Bragan-Turner, sells English language books and greeting cards and the upper floor of the shop is a sweet little children's book section. Browsing through books is one of my favorite things to do, so I could easily spend an afternoon here!
Just up the street is les Halles, the covered food market. This noisy, smelly place is a fabulous French food shopping experience.
The ideal day also includes lunch. Partly because most shops are closed from noon to 2 pm so it's either eat or go home, and partly because there are some great little restaurants in Béziers.

Before I know it, my day comes to an end and it's time to have one last little coffee and head home.



We're going to Béziers again this Thursday. I got a letter in the mail on Friday that requires yet another trip to deal with bureaucratic incompetence. One benefit of our trip will be lunch at La Table Bretonne, a little crêperie with a beautiful, sunny terrace that looks out on the Gothic Cathedral Saint Nazaire. The savory crêpes are made using blé noir (buckwheat) and dozens of sweet crêpes are offered for dessert. The owner's, Jean-Pierre and Agnès Ponthieux, are a delightful, friendly couple and the restaurant is one of our favorite's.



La Table Bretonne
21, rue Viennet
34500 Béziers
04.67.49.00.66

Le Bookshop
18, rue des anciens Combattants
34500 Béziers
04.67.36.67.82 Pin It