Moving, cars & finding a place to call home

For some of us, the transition to the new place was a piece of cake. Denali, for example, didn't waste a minute wondering if this place would suit his needs. After a thorough sniffing of our new apartment's interior, he trotted out the sliding doors to his little fenced garden to begin watching the neighbors. Not more than 5 minutes later, he was back inside, paws in the air, ready for a nap in his new favorite place: the oh-so-wonderful-and-cold tile floor. Ahhhh...nothing like being home.

Truth be told, Ben & I took a little more time adjusting. We didn't actually end up moving in until the end of the day (last Monday) due to purchasing a car on the same day. Lucky for us, all the paperwork went through with the car and we were not only able to buy it, but just in time to load it for move-in. Talk about timing! The rest of our stuff ended up in a pile as we sorted out bedding & tried to make a list of essentials we needed ASAP from the store.

Our main room.

Thankfully, after a few days & a short trip to the IKEA across the Swiss border, we are finally feeling more like Denali - at home. We added a little bit of our own flair to our mostly furnished apartment. I spend a day or two going through the cabinets and boxing up some items we were probably never going to be used (i.e. the deep fryer I found in the cupboard with oil still left inside), and put them in the basement storage for whenever we move out. We replaced some of the old pots with some new ones; did a bit of cleaning since it hadn't been lived in for awhile; then, we sat down and had some wine to celebrate yet another move & another beginning. I am thankful to finally be living in a place now where we feel less like tourists on vacation and more like residence of this small French town.

For sure, there are still plenty of minor differences that remind us that we are not natives here. For example, having the washer in the kitchen, with the only means of drying clothes on a rack outside. Or having the bathroom and shower/sink in two different closet-like rooms. Or even the fact that we are allowed to have our "large" dog in this dorm-sized apartment. All of these things take some adjusting to and are constant reminders that yes, we are not in Illinois anymore. Or the US, for that matter!

In other news, we've been spending a lot of time trying to get the rest of our lives setup: finding an internet/phone provider, getting new numbers, waiting for our French cards to arrive, finding health insurance, getting bank accounts, navigating the logistics of living/working in two different countries, getting a passport for our dog so he can travel with us, etc. The list goes on. But we're slowly ticking things off the list, which means we're also finally settling down and able to find a rhythm in our daily lives. We're not completely out of transition yet, but its feeling more and more normal every day. For my sanity's sake, I hope that feeling lingers!

Thankfully, our new set of wheels has given us a chance to explore, so we've been taking the opportunity to head into nearby Geneva on the weekends. While the town we live in is great, there is not so much happening. But since we live so close by car to bigger towns and cities, we've been taking the time to explore! Thus far, we've gone on a free open winery tour in Switzerland, tasted a bunch of local cuisine, went to a music festival in Geneva, and have been to various dog parks around the area. (The French don't believe in dog parks, so we've been heading to Switzerland to get the energy out of Denali.) It has been fun exploring, and I'm looking forward to more. Especially being able to head up into the mountains for some hiking, once our crate arrives with all our worldly possessions. So here's to more adventures and more updates soon!

One Week In!

It's been a week since we've landed in our new home, and we are finding we like it quite well! Denali did amazing on the flight and we are now happily (temporarily) settled into the place we're staying until we find an apartment in the area. It's been quite the search, but we are hopeful to have a place by the 1st of July!

We could not have found a more beautiful & friendly place to spend our first few weeks here. We are at the base of a mountain, in a place with lots of sunny days and no mosquitoes and beautiful sunsets. The fields surrounding our little town are marvelous; I love watching the wind makes ripples in the wheat fields, like waves in the water.

Next door there is a pastry shop, which we have been frequenting almost every morning for fresh croissants. How could we not, when they are delicious and only 1 euro? It's like having a donut shop next door - only a thousand times more delicious!

This past weekend was a long one, in which we mostly ended up sleeping (still catching up on some residual jet-lag), emailing potential places to live, and going on little explorations of the area. We spent the better part of Saturday hiking up the Jura (the mountain beside us). I will say, Denali really was the winner as both Ben & I were out of shape going up from all our time in the flatlands! We stopped for lunch halfway and then headed back down. Sunday found us visiting a nearby church and then spending time getting to know folks in it over a long lunch. We didn't get back until after dinnertime, but it was a fun afternoon of visiting & meeting new people. Monday we didn't have much planned, so Ben went into work & I met him in the evening to catch the tram into Geneva. It is a beautiful city, bustling with people & dogs & boats & tours. We walked around for a long time, even getting to stop at Calvin's church before making our way back to the tram. We snagged some dinner at an outdoor restaurant, then headed home.

Perhaps my favorite moment since we've arrived was this morning, when a car slowed down next to me. I was a bit baffled, since I feel like I stick out like a sore thumb in this small French town. As he rolled down the window, he greeted me - and then began asking directions! I must have made some confused face, because he tried to ask again in a different way - before I explained to him that I didn't speak any French & couldn't help him. While I wasn't much help, I was happy to know that at least I looked like I knew where I was going! I hope that sometime in the not-so-distant future I can actually be of help to the next person who asks directions!

Follow me on FLICKR (jamiezcarlson) for more photo updates! Here's a taste of some of the places we've been thus far: https://flic.kr/s/aHsk8Zzpej