Cases are rising here in France and also in Spain. At some point, I may have no choice…In the meantime, here are a couple of pretty pictures:

I keep saying this, to myself and to everyone, but maybe next week I’ll have a real plan!

I really thought this was going to be the week when I would announce when I was returning to the States.  That’s what I get for thinking!  I’ve been on pins and needles all week, waiting to find out if I would be able to confirm that I have a companion for the flight.   After living in limbo for so long, I finally have a couple of options for people who could fly back to the States with me and the dogs (for a free ticket and a little cash).  If the first potential companion doesn’t accept, employing the second may require me to overstay my visa legally or illegally.  I’m pursuing an extension of my visa from the French authorities based on force majeure.  I’m still waiting on answers, so no plan yet.  Maybe next week…

I’ve learned to live in the present …one day at a time…since the beginning of lockdown, and I’ve also tried to completely tune out the annoying questions in my head such as When should I go back to the US?  When is it safe?  How do I do it?  Who will help me?  Will I get in trouble?  I’m good (probably great) at compartmentalizing, but it’s been a struggle at times.

I’m starting to think maybe France agrees with me!  About four years ago, I was diagnosed with slightly elevated blood pressure and the doctor prescribed a low dose medication to correct it.  When Covid struck and I read that hypertension was a co-morbidity for the virus, I started paying more attention to taking my medication every day (I was really bad at that) and checking my pressure.  I have a blood pressure cuff and my reading has stayed basically he same  — not high, but not low, closer to borderline.  But since I’ve been checking it in France, it’s been LOW!!  I don’t know what the difference is, but…it’s great!  I had one thought – maybe it’s lower because I’m not alone.

I don’t have much more to report this week.  I’ve been cooking a lot.  So, some photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know I write a lot about the dogs – but they are the source of all of my pain!!  And of course, the source of much of my joy.

Obviously, there’s the return to the US issue with them.  Then there have been the other issues – eating the chocolate, chasing the cats, being general pains-in-the-ass.  But now, there are the plums.  There are two plum trees in the backyard that drop plums by the dozens everyday.  One tree yields red plums and the other green plums.  The green plums are delicious – one of the best fruits I’ve ever tasted!  But, unfortunately, the dogs think so too.  And before I can find them all hidden in the grass each morning, they’ve gobbled them up, pits included.  After that comes vomiting and diarrhea – pits and all!  On the bed.  Yup.  Fun.

I save the best plums and throw the bad ones over the fence into an uninhabited area behind the house.  Sadly, I’ve thrown so many with my left arm (non-dominant arm) that it’s sore from flinging!  Ridiculous.

HAIR!  Since the dawn of time, I don’t think it’s caused such a ruckus as it has during the confinement!  My hair has never been this gray and hasn’t been this long since God knows when…decades!  The length has been kind of fun, but the color had to go!!  Six months of au natural was enough.

Better.

I’ve had a couple of new ideas about how I can get back to the States.  Still working on it. Again, stay tuned… and stay safe!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Photo is of the house across the street.

For 60 years, the label “Villes et Villages Fleuris” has been granted to municipalities throughout France to reward those committed to improving their quality of life based on their use of plants and flowers in public spaces, respect for the environment (management of natural resources and preservation of biodiversity), the development of the local economy, attractiveness to tourists, and the preservation of community.

Rogny is a village fleuri indeed!  One day while I was walking, I saw the municipal workers making their rounds of watering and caring for all of the town’s flowers that adorn the bridges over the canal.  I don’t think that’s a thing in the US.  They take a lot of pride in it.

     

I’ve been checking into the possibility of shipping the dogs home when the weather cools.  The cost I’ve been quoted from two different companies would be about $4,000.  That sure seems like a lot of money!  And I don’t want to do it because I want them with me in the cabin.  It would be much cheaper to buy a ticket for a human to accompany me on the flight, but Catch-22, it has to be an American.  And who would want to expose themselves needlessly to infection for the sake of Cassie or Cam??  But…

Then I discovered that United will allow a person to purchase a seat for their second pet.  This may end up costing as much as the hold, but it would be more acceptable to me.  If I choose this route, I would stay until my visa is expiring and then return to the US  in September.  The only problem is that I would have to fly out of Paris and possibly lose my free return from Barcelona on Delta.  Lots of details to figure out… it gives me a headache.  Still hoping for a blessing…

And lastly, today hit 101 degrees!  All fine and good (not really) if you have air conditioning…

So, you make do…with a blow-up pool!

   

It’s quite different here in Rogny compared to Begur.  It’s mainly flat, no mountains or ocean, but there is a very peaceful vibe of rolling plains of corn, grasses, and sunflowers.  And then there’s the canal with its seven locks.  Boats move through the canal, and also park there temporarily or permanently.

It’s funny how just crossing over the Pyrenees, there is such different architecture, different landscapes, different food.  On one of my first days in France, I went to the Super U grocery store!  I was looking for chicken broth to put on my dogs’ food.  In Spain, there is a half an aisle of chicken stock, seriously.  At a huge grocery store here in France, none.  In France, tons of varieties/brands of creme fraiche, but in Spain, none.

I usually sleep pretty soundly.  The dogs wake me in the morning to go outside to do their business by jumping, shaking, and generally letting me know it’s time.  But here, there’s the rooster.  OMG.  It cock-a-doodle-doo’s for hours!!  Ah, the peaceful country life!  But it’s part of the quaintness and a reminder of a simple, blessed life.

I thought I knew what it was like to live in a small town, but this town is really, really small.  It’s delightful.  It seems everyone knows everyone and all about each other!  My friend here has friends, so we are keeping busy eating out and eating at friends’ homes (all open air).  It’s great fun.  And I’ve really enjoyed trying out my French.  My favorite thing!  Now I get to say bon jour to folks on the street as I walk, and they smile and say it back.  It makes me so happy!  I’ve always loved studying languages, so this is the pinnacle for me – to get to try it out everyday.  I had to get a special dispensation in high school to take Spanish and French at the same time.  WORTH IT!

The latest news is that a group of airlines is urging the US and the European Union to institute a testing program for passengers to allow resumption of transatlantic air travel.  If and when is an open question, but there’s hope!

 

 

 

I’m moving now from Spain to France, switching languages from Spanish to French.  I hope to return to Begur in September, but…who can make plans anymore?  If there is a spike in cases in Spain or in France, will I be allowed to cross the border?  Are there unforeseen circumstances (unforeseen – ha ha, that’s a joke) where I will need to leave for the US from France?  Who knows?

Every time I leave Spain, it breaks my heart.  This time is no exception, and maybe even more so because (1) I don’t know when it will be safe to return and (2) it’s been intense this time.  Even though I’ve had limited human contact, what I have had has been intense – like it’s just us in this tiny bubble in the middle of the apocalypse.  I want to have a chance to come back here to say goodbye to my place, to my view, and to my friends.  I now have 8 friends (plus a few more acquaintances)!!  Who counts their friends??  I do, when it’s been a slow road to friendships.  I’m proud and grateful for them!!  I hope they’re “always” friends!  I’m counting on it!

It was CRAZY hectic getting ready to go.  I’m amazed I didn’t pull my back out lugging these heavy pieces to the storage unit down the steps and around the corner from my apartment!

I just read that they’re closing Barcelona down again — not totally, but asking people to stay home and saying they will take more drastic steps if the outbreak isn’t controlled.  I’m glad they’re jumping on it.

I think the town I am going to in France, Rogny les Sept Ecluses, has had no cases, so that is encouraging!

Au revoir literally means to see again. J’espere, Begur!!!

More from France next week!

 

 

My three-month sojourn in Spain has turned into five months (feels like a year), and now I’m preparing to close up shop and move to France for six weeks.  Je suis vraiment enthousiaste!

Every time I say I’m going to France, I think of the Coneheads!

As always, my life is a bit complicated.  I’m packing summer clothes, with a couple of sweaters and jackets, just in case, to wear in France; things I will leave here in the apartment’s storage closet – household goods and coats, robes, boots I only wear here; some winter clothes to take back to the US; and the clothes and things I don’t need for France but I definitely want to have when I get back to the states – I’m taking these things with me in case I have an opportunity to fly to the US from Paris.  This is bound to go perfectly, right?

I also have to try to clean and fix all the things I’ve broken or stained while I was here.  That is a challenge!

I’m going to pick up my new car next week.  France’s lease program of their cars (Peugeot, Renault, and Citroen) has a hard maximum of 175 days.  France is the only country that has this type of long-term lease available of brand new cars with total insurance coverage, no deductible.  It’s expensive, but less so than renting a car from a traditional car rental agency.  They deliver the cars to the Barcelona Airport.  So, I’m turning in the Peugeot for a Citroen.  I had a Renault last year and I wasn’t impressed, so we’ll see how the Citroen fares.  So far, Peugeot is my favorite – good acceleration (maybe too good, I got four tickets last year – by MAIL!) and most importantly, the GPS feature was easy to use.  The Audi I rented last year when the hoodlums broke the window of my Renault had a system that was impossible to intuit, and I couldn’t read the instructions, which were in German.  Helpful.

There are some things that I like to do that most people don’t.  One is grocery shopping  and another is moving.  I like looking at my things as I pack them away and then taking them out at the next destination and deciding where they should go.  I also like packing for trips which I’ve been known to do it months in advance!  As my friend Mario said, I’m a “monton de rara” – a mountain of weirdness.

One thing I am worried about now is that if I have to stay past September 20, I’ll be overstaying my 90-day tourist visa.  I’ve been told that it’s not terribly serious, but I really don’t like the idea of getting in trouble with the Spanish government.  It used to be run by Franco, and they still have the Guardia Civil!  If I’m not able to get out by the deadline, one solution would be to go to a non-EU country for 90 days before I return to Spain.  I thought of Andorra, which is not an EU country, but upon further research, that wouldn’t work because as it’s basically embedded between EU countries France and Spain, they don’t even maintain a border, so…nevermind.  And I’m not going to Morocco for 90 days!! I am seriously trying to get home, but I’m not willing to sacrifice the well being of my dogs.  And at this point, I’m in a much safer place.

I’m rambling…more next week.

 

 

 

 

I just watched an adorable seven year-old and her father on Facebook singing a song, “The Shallow,” from the Bradley Cooper/Lady Gaga version of A Star is Born.  It was really touching and as I thought about my situation, I too feel like I’m far from the shallow now.

In  two weeks, I’ll be starting a new adventure in a different place… France!  I have to vacate my apartment as of July 17 and August is THE most expensive month for rents on the Costa Brava — I’m told four times the amount of other months.  I’ve decided to visit my friend in Rogny-les-Sept-Ecluses, about an hour and a half southeast of Paris.  It’s quiet and pastoral and so far virus-free.  As someone said to me — I’ll be able to practice my French, eat croissants, and enjoy good wine and good coffee AND have someone to talk to!  Sounds great to me.

I don’t know when the EU will open to Americans.  According to news reports, the list of “approved” countries will be reviewed bi-weekly.  I’ll be able to return to my apartment in Begur on September 1, so with any luck, I can enjoy a bit more time here in paradise, say goodbye to friends, and return to the US in advance of the second wave of disease!!  Ha ha.  That’s with luck.  We’ll see how it plays out.  You know what they say about the best laid plans…

The weirdest thing happened the other night.  I took the dogs out at about 11:00 for a final pee, just out in the yard (where they’re not allowed).  They were both on leashes and we came inside.  I was watching Call my Agent on the couch – great Netflix series in French with subtitles.  I noticed Cassie going out the door onto the balcony.  Then, maybe 15 or so minutes later, I decided to close the door to the balcony to keep mosquitos out.  I looked, didn’t see her, and figured she must be inside.  I looked everywhere and I called her and no answer.  She always comes right away – just in case I have a treat or food!  I went back out onto the balcony, but nothing.  I went to the door and looked outside and didn’t see her, so I did another recon of the apartment and balcony.  When I went back to the front door and looked out, there she was, and she came running in.  I KNOW I didn’t leave her out there, so she must have either jumped or fallen from the balcony!!  Part of the ground below the balcony is dirt, but part of it is stone.  See photo of offender on said balcony, post-escape attempt.

She’s lucky to be alive.  She was found on the streets of Midland as a stray eight years ago (she must have escaped from a previous owner because she was very domesticated and house-trained) and she was flown to Houston by the Dachshund Rescue group by helicopter!  She was picked up in Baytown and delivered to me in the Methodist Hospital parking garage.  Of course she immediately did her trick of standing on her hind legs and “waving” her paws for attention.  She succeeded in escaping several times from my mother’s backyard and running down busy streets before capture.  And of course, there was the chocolate bar incident.  She must have a guardian angel dog.

When the news came out this week that the EU would ban Americans coming to Europe this summer, I wrote to my landlady to update her.  She had seen the news.  She has been reassuring me all along that my staying longer than my original lease was OK, but now, she’s telling me something different.

I do not blame her.  After being cooped up in an apartment in Barcelona for months, they want to come to their beautiful summer home.  I get it.  However, this throws a kink into my plans.

Now I’m looking for another place to stay for August.  Nothing can compare to where I’ve been these past months, but for the next portion of my somewhat ill-fated adventure, I need a place to park myself until my son can come for me and the dogs.

I have a Skype meeting with an immigration lawyer in Barcelona on Tuesday to see if it is possible to extend my tourist visa and/or convert it into a resident’s visa.  Otherwise, I could be in hot water with the Spanish authorities at some point.

Everything is up in the air.  I had a meltdown the other night after I got the email from my landlady.  My neighbors came and brought me a bottle of wine and talked with me until I calmed down.

Thank God for those guys!

I’m reaching out to friends here and rental agencies to find a place.  Updates to come…