Three months! This is as long as we could stay if all we had were tourist visas, so that all on its own is a weird feeling. I've been thinking about how to categorize each month here.
February was all about househunting, and therefore *FULL* of STRESS!! We were staying in a studio apartment in Palavas-les-flots, so we had wonderful walks along the beach. It was always cold enough to need a coat (liner in) with gloves and a scarf, although a few times I was warm enough at the end of the walk to carry everything :-) . We got sandblasted a few times - pretty fierce winds; we saw a few kite-surfers taking advantage of it, too. We had a car, so we found our way around to bigger stores in a neighboring town, and got reacquainted with driving.
In March, we had an apartment (signed the lease on the *last* day of February) in Sète. Every sunset was spectacular, and fully enjoyed by us looking West across the Étang (a large salt-water lake connected to the Mediterranean Sea). We were again without a car, so we spent a lot of time investigating the bus system and taking walks - both for fun and for profit :-) We got internet, a shopping caddy, and a bus pass; we veeeery sloooowly got through the basics of settling in. Spring arrived, and we had flowers and sunshine. Then rain. We tested out even longer walks; we went to a festival and planned a few more. I started leaving my gloves and scarf behind. I arranged for my immigration appointment, and Rick got his French passport - the roots are going in.
April couldn't make up its mind - I no sooner put my coat away, then it cooled off again! One day we worried about sunburn possibilities, and the next, I wished I had traded my windbreaker for my coat. *Everything* was in bloom! Our walks became perfumed sniff-fests (both in enjoyment and in allergic annoyance). Our sunsets calmed down and got later. We made it through a national holiday, went to a music festival, and took a trip into Montpellier to participate in the March for Science. I finalized my residency!!!! We survived our first French presidential election (part one), and are surviving the anxiety of waiting for round two!
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