We are 'Officially' French!

Yes, that's what we have been told...Officially!

What makes someone officially French? Why, you dont know??

Bien Sur (of course), it is Owning a Trailer!!

Yes, we did it! We actually bought The Trailer!! Woot!

The fact that we now own the trailer, or have one at all is a freaking miracle! Serieusement!

We left home (by design) just after 9am, to travel to Civray, same place that was closed due to vacances, last week.  Arriving there around 10.45am, we went straight into the showroom. A queue was forming, and we were the 2nd up. People here dont mind waiting, it seems.
So, we waited for our turn which came quickly, and the Boss was called. Waz and the Boss had communicated online through leboncoin, the online sales site a bit like (but not) E-bay. One problem...Boss man told Waz that he instructed him (in the e-mail) to call ahead first! On our return and checking said e-mail communication, there was no such advice from the Boss man. Sigh.
I dont know what difference that would have made, frankly...perhaps they would have had the trailer in their yard, who knows.
The trailer isnt in their yard, and we would either have to come back tomorrow for it to be there, or we could go and pick it up in the next place we went last week. We opted for the latter, as there was NO WAY we were going home without the trailer, TODAY!
We sign up … I insist on having my name on the Facteur (invoice) also...this becomes something of a joke between Waz and the Boss. They think I'm stupid or something, lol, because when the time came to pay, Boss man asked if I would also like to pay(big smile on his face!!)! I called his bluff by pulling out my card...Waz already had his out, mind you.
France is not that liberated. Seriously, everything goes in the Man's name! Gah! And guess what happens when he croaks, unless the item is in both names?? You guessed it, no matter that the Will says he leaves everything to moi...I may not be able to use it, let alone OWN it, if my name isnt on  the ownership papers, or Carte Grise. This, by the way, we will get eventually...a bit like the house ownership papers, which we still dont have, almost 4  months later. The wheels turn slowly here en France!
Anyway, I digress...slightly. Now that the two of them have had their little joke on me, we walk away with the paperwork...oh! I forgot to tell you that you have to sell two of your grandchildren, two arms and two legs...and maybe a kidney for good measure!
Well, in actuality, they need copies of your passport, your driver's license, your latest utilities bill, the ownership papers of the car you are driving...and proof of insurance for the trailer. They usually dont let you drive the vehicle away without having insurance on it. Where else in the world do they require this? Seriously!!!

Merde!

We had everything but the insurance...my agent is on vacation until the 30th of July, and this news was greeted philosophically by the management and all those gathered there. That's ok! Send it to us when you get it, after your agent returns, ok? Also the electrickery bill...Oui, d'accord! Ok! No rush!!! ha!

The other store (same company) is 30  mins away. We were told we would have to go there about 3pm. It is 10.45am.  We cannot go straight there because if we did so, we would be almost at lunch time, which is sacred in France, and they wouldn't have had the number plate ready to install.

Pas de Probleme!  What to do in the meantime?
Civray is 5 mins away, so lets go and park and walk to the Centre Ville, the center of town, and have some lunch. I really didnt want a repeat of the dry baguette sandwich. Hmm....
Something was going on, because the minute we turned into the street to get to Centre Ville, there was a sign saying "Route Barre 200mtr". We went as far as a parking space was found and exited the car. It was HOT! 32C! We are back in the Vienne Sud, and there is no breeze in this place.

Voila! That is why there is a sign on the street...Tuesday Market! Excellente!

On the way we had to pass the gorgeous 12th century Eglise Saint-Nicolas. This is one of the best preserved 12th century churches we have seen...and we have seen a lot of them. Most churches in these parts date back to the 12th century, though you can sometimes find them from the 10th and 11th centuries.

 The level of intact detail was astonishing. I love to spend time looking at each different figure, because ALL of them are different. Marvelous stonemasons in those days.

 This was originally a horse, we believe. Not sure how the block of granite came to be in his middle, but that was probably added some centuries later, as happens.

 The doors and hinges in particular are spectacular.

 Turning the corner we entered the Centre Ville. There are cafes around the square, and a couple of Patisseries that we poked our noses into. We thought to find a café with a decently priced Menu Formule, but we smelled bacon cooking! Oh Boy!
This Englishman was literally cooking English- style bacon, cured by the butcher opposite him there, and you could buy a bacon butty either on slabs of bread or a burger bun. We opted for one of each, but no butter inside, so it was a bit dry. Not that we needed the butter as well as the bacon grease. It was a bit light on the bacon, only getting two slices each, and they cost 3,50euros EACH! Daylight robbery, but what fun! It was now 11.30am.
Not satisfied with this as a lunch, we went in search of a coffee...a Grand Crème, somewhere. First we poked our noses into a patisserie with a long line outside the door. This is normal at this hour, as everyone picks up a fresh baguette for lunch, about now. We didn't, we chose some pastries. Waz found a café Millefeuille, which was divine. Never had café flavored before. I had a citron (lemon) fancy thing which was divine...and the neighbors admired our purchases, rubbing their tummies...until we were leaving and they spoke Queens English....like almost everyone else we heard in town! Crikey...another English Invasion town!

 We ate our pastries alongside the grand crème in the bar. You can do that when the bar doesnt sell food. NOW we were full! That was lunch and we needed a nap, in  this heat.

We had seen on our previous trip last week, that there was a park running alongside the Charente River, at the bottom of town. We sought and found a suitable place to park and put our heads down.
In the shade of course.

 With so much time to be idle, it was good for us to just put our heads down, our feet out the door to catch the small breeze, and to listen to French Radio. The announcers usually speak slowly enough for us to understand what they are saying. Good for us to hear this!

 Half an hour early, we set off for the trailer place. I remarked last week that this town had NOTHING doing in it. Literally! There were plenty of cars parked on the street, but NOBODY was around.

 We decided to go for another coffee...it was 2.30pm. Nothing else to do, in this place. There was a truck stop and restaurant across the N10, so we drove over there for a coffee. Frankly, we have never seen so many trucks in one place before. There must have been at least 70 long-haul trucks. Drivers were eating their lunch on makeshift tables in the parking lot, enjoying a smoke and chilling. Everything stopped at lunch time! Our coffee was luke warm, and the restaurant was sparsely populated, so we stood at the bar and drank.
Time to go...just outside of this small town, is the Motoculture store with our new trailer.
VOILA!! There she is!
We specifically wanted a perforated crate on top vs a wire cage. The steel crate is better built, and though we paid more for it, we know it will last longer.

Next up...check that the brand new connection and tow bar, for which we had to sell the remaining Grandchildren back when we bought the car, would light up the indicators and brake lights on the trailer. Nil! Zilch, Nada! Bien sur (of course!) Murphey's law.

Fortunately for us, one of the staff spoke excellent English and she managed to get all the necessary done and checked, to find out that it wasnt the trailer that was at fault, but our newly installed electrical connection point. Merde! We had 120ks to drive without any functioning lights on the trailer. Let's hope we aren't pulled over, and that the traffic is light!

We arrive home around 4.30pm, intact minus lights, but light traffic and no problems otherwise.
Nothing is ever straightforward, is it!

E-mails to the installers of the tow bar et al, and he is very sorry this happened and we should take the car in as soon as possible for them to fix. What pisses us off, is that this might take half to a day, and we have to drive the trailer there also, as we doubt if this garage is equipped to test the connection without the trailer. It is another day when we aren't doing the things we need to do! Sigh!

We had arranged with our English neighbors to get together around 5pm today, and fortunately for us, they didnt arrive until 5.30 ish. We sat where there was some fresh air, though it was still almost 30C outside.  David and Nicole have lived here for 17 yrs, and it is fun learning how things work, around here. They were not surprised by our story, and they have a whole book of them themselves, lol.
Yes, one has to laugh!

Nice to sit and chat in English, and enjoy a good laugh at our mistakes and life in general. we are fortunate!

 Dinner was late, tonight. After a couple of Gin and Tonics I was history! Good thing we had frozen quiche in the oven! and some cole slaw left overs, lol.

It is still 28C, at 10pm. Time to go and have a cool shower and lie very still on the bed....with the fan on high, methinx!

Night night, A Bientot!