The Beginning (And Maybe End?) of the Great House Hunt

We started our house hunt this week and, if all goes according to plan, it might end this week too!  The rental market seems to be a little tough out here in Montpellier because we haven't had a ton of options, but I think we have 2 solid places that we'll be deciding between over the next 24 hours.  Initially we thought we'd like to live in a house with a yard for Figaro, not minding that it would most likely not...

One of My Favorite Days to Celebrate…

....is today!  Three years ago today The Hub got down on one knee and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him.  It was the easiest question I ever had to answer!  Since some of you may not know how The Hub proposed, I thought it would be fun to share the story today instead of writing a Hump Day post, so I hope you don't mind. The story starts in Chicago where I was hosting my BFF's Bachelorette Party...

Making Friends in Montpellier

Happy Monday Everyone!  I hope your weekend was full of sun, shopping, and sand like ours was.  The Hub and I had a great weekend exploring life outside of Montpellier's city center, thanks to some of our new friends.  But let me start at the beginning. Friday night we went to a Royal Wedding After Party at the French American Center.  We found out the FAC by Googling "Americans in Montpellier" (Google, how I...

French Bed Beard: Fig’s Diary

Hi Everyone, Figgy here!  Mom is getting ready to go to a Royal Wedding After Party at the French American Center, so she asked me to update you all on how I am adjusting to life in France.  All I know is, after we left San Francisco, we were in a car for a really long time.  Mom did her best to keep me comfortable by folding up my favorite UW Badger Snuggie for me to lay on.  Mom and Dad were drinking all...

My Greatest Invention to Date

Today has been a relatively uneventful day, but I do have 2 exciting things to share with you.  The first is that we met with Aneta, our relocation agent, to discuss a plan for finding our new home.  She did not seem super optimistic about the amount of options we'll have, but we're aiming for a house with a yard (or garden as it's referred to here) that is on the tram line.  We really want to make sure we have...

Hump Day: What We’ve Been Drinking

With all the craziness going on, it's been a few weeks since I've done a Hump Day post and I'm excited to bring it back!  We've been having fun with the whole drinking-during-lunch-thing they have going on here in France, and I thought that instead of focusing on one specific drink, today I'd tell you about some of the wines we've been enjoying here in Montpellier. I've shared with you our struggles with French...

Adjusting to Life in Montpellier

After nearly 4 days in Montpellier, we’re starting to create our life here.  The biggest challenge for me right now is that I hate the hotel where we’re staying.  The location is fine (although it would be nice to be a bit closer to the main part of town) and the staff is super friendly and nice, but the hotel itself is somewhere between a Motel 6 and a youth hostel.  And if you know me at all, you know that...

The Long, Sometimes Frustrating, But Definitely Exciting Journey to Montpellier

Like our Road Trip, our journey over to Montpellier was smooth sailing until the last leg of the trip…and a little bit beyond.  We started off at Cleveland International Airport.  My parents had to rent an SUV to hold the 4 of us, our 10 bags + a dog, but we arrived in record time and checked in with no problems.  The woman at the counter looked at us like we were crazy when we handed her 7 bags to check, but...

The End Of The Road

We made it.  We are in Montpellier!  Although it was not without its challenges, most of the trip went smoothly.  But before I get into how we got to France, I want to tell you a little bit about the rest of our road trip across the good old U.S. of A. First, we spent 2 days in Wisconsin visiting with our adorable nephew, Dylan, eating my father-in-law’s incredible homemade pizza, and visiting with family and...

The Almost End of an Epic Road Trip

After four straight days of driving, we finally made it to our first extended stop in Wisconsin.  The road trip was looooong and at times, painful, but we really lucked out with weather and traffic.  No problems!  We got a late start leaving San Francisco on Thursday and didn't get to our hotel in Salt Lake City until 6am.  Ouch.  Lots of 5 hour energy was consumed and I did my best to stay up all night with...