Lori

I have to agree with Peter. I know many teachers who work on the black. I can't honestly think of any of my French friends who have not / do not hire work on the black. They all do - it is almost an art form of its own around here.... albeit only admitted in private circles. I have always been curious as to what happens to the customer of someone working on the black. I did look for my French macon and plumber/electrician (also French) on the two websites noted on the forum and couldn't find them. Though I have seen their card credentials and noted siret numbers and they are always talking about the social charges they have to pay and the difficulties of hiring competent work staff. I know they are legal, but how far is a customer supposed to go to verify the data given to them? Curious

I finally called in my order. Waited only 3 minutes on the phone, so I guess the .34 per minute wasn't TOO bad. I was getting to upset over the Internet thing. What a joke. C' est la norm...

Rollo - Yes, these folks are really nice people, but I cannot relate to the desire to have this leathery looking skin. Not to mention the skin cancer issue. They also tell me that it is considered " the thing " to be dark tanned in Holland... Oh well, to each his own. I have enough freckles to deal with..

Missyesbut - Yes, tried all those you named, like them, but don't find them at all close to the excellent Stilton I had at Xmas. I will try to find the Epicerie Anglais online.

Lovely

Tough question. I am usually here on my own anyway (with my daughter - 11 years old). Husband works in the Middle East, so is rarely here. We are from California. I doubt I would go back there. Don't really like what it has become - although it is still far better than the rest of the U.S.A. Since we are raising a child here, I suspect I would stay here as she is one of the main reasons we settled down (stopped moving all the time) in the first place. So, at this point, I say I would stay - me age 42 now, hubby age 47. Maybe its me, but I do think age comes into play here.

Thanks. Had no idea it was consider a Xmas serving.. Bruce - I don't really know where you are, probably far from me in the Vaucluse. You think I can find the V. Bruges in a shop round here? Thanks.

Perhaps it has been covered before, but can anyone advise if a good strong stilton can be found in France? online or otherwise. I'm American so don't have family/friends bringing stuff from England An English neighbor served a huge round of this cheese at a Xmas party and I am still dying to have some more. Any suggestions?

Don't forget the mess they make of the windows ... just finished cleaning all the yellow dots from them. Since the heat wave has started, we simply can't leave the windows closed - open windows means flies galore and that means window washing frequently. I can think of no good use for the flies. That is one of the nice things about the winter months. Fewer of them to swat.

I suppose we've gotten off track and the rest of the folks here will be bored with it all. So, I'll send you a PM so as not to drive them mad...

Ian, perhaps you didn't mean it to sound so harsh, but it did come across that way.

Apparently that is EXACTLY what happened. I spent two hours trying to key in my order (26 items). Then, when I finally got it all entered and ready to check-out, they turned off the website stating they were being inundated and couldn't cope. Said to phone in the order !!! Maddening. Similar things apply when using Credit Agricole's website - try emailing them a question using their "contact us" icon. You will never hear from them. Same thing when contacting Cegetel when our Internet server was not working. Called via telephone and was told I would receive a call from a "technicien" within 72 hours. They called 10 days later - had already remedied the problem. Hey, at least they called, that is more than I can say for most..

Why is it on the first day of the big Summer sale at La Redoute, the website just simply doesn't work. First I tried to place my order at 8:15 a.m. this morning. Screen says the site will be operating today at 9 a.m. Okay, I go about my business getting kids to school. Go back at 9:20 a.m. see the opening page noting the sale ... okay, go to put my order in and a server error page comes up. I can't sign-on, order, or even LOOK at the items on sale. Go away figuring I will try later. Come back at 9:50 a.m. to see a page that states the sorry, website not available at this moment, please try again later (in French of course, but I type faster using English). So, go back around 10:15 a.m. and now the screen is back to the we'll be open at 9 a.m. today. !!!! Why is it these things ALWAYS seem to happen here?? It seems the only thing reliable is to know that not much is reliable. And, I don't really want to spend .34 cents per minute to phone in my order. I did try, but after about 6 minutes on hold, I gave up !!! All this to try to spend some money !

I agree. Going out in the midday heat (these days) is just too hard on a body. Zaps your energy. However, I must say that our guests (from Holland) spend nearly every waking moment sunning by the pool - less the maillots too! That'll keep me away. I love a nice bronzed look, but looking like a piece of leather has never impressed me. They tell me they think the French look unhealthy with their too white skin..

Hey Paul - just read your profile. See you are a retired broadcasting type. Can you say where? I worked 12 years in the TV industry in the States. Do you miss it? Have to say I do... Lori

Hi Gyn Paul - Here are the exact ingredients: PIPIOL Solution pour application cutanee COMPOSITION: Levomenthol .......1.87 g Solution de formaldehyde a 35% ......9.35g Excipients: Ethanol a 96%, eau purifiee Pour 100 ml de solution Medicament autorise no. 332057.3 Laboratoire ZAMBON France 13, rue Rene Jacques 92138 Issy-Les-Moulineaux CEDEX Fabricant: Laboratoire M. RICHARD Rue du Progres Z.I. des Reys de Saulce 26270 Saulce-Sur-Rhone Sorry I don't have all the accents on my keyboard. So, yes, the formaldehyde is still in the product. Sounds terrible to spray the stuff on my skin, but it WORKS....

Thanks Mikey, I appreciate having that info. SO SO many things that we buy here can be had in the States for FAR less than what we pay here. It is often very painful to pay these prices. Is there any way we can verify, legally, that the product does not HAVE to have the NF certification on it? I have a copy of the law and it says they DO have to have the NF certification - which is the ONLY reason we bought here. Also, from what I have heard, the Gendarmes have not been fully informed as to what meets and what doesn't meet the legal criteria, making it impossible - for the time being - to make any inspections. This seems really really poorly planned, and yes, caused all of us, concerned about meeting our legal obligations, to go out and pay a fortune for items that may not even end up working.....

Hot here too (Vaucluse). Pulled weeds that were growing up in the driveway area - after several afternoon thundershowers. Did it from 8:50 to 10:45 am (had to wait until after I took my daughter to school). I don't remember EVER perspiring so much! Not a pretty sight. After doing that, I was so tired from the sun and losing all that fluid, all I could do was thumb through the La Redoute summer sale booklet and take a look at the news and the weather channel. Complete vegetable ...

Chrissie - I have heard similar stories from both French and expat friends here. I find it absolutely incredible, some of these stories. They indicate a CLEAR lack of professionalism. The branch of Credit Agricole, where we opened our account is quite professional - has the same staff for the last 4 years ! However, we ended up buying a house in a neighboring village where the branch is pathetic - at best ! Staff is CONSTANTLY changing, no one ever seems to ask for identification and there is no way they know these people - the counter staff is practically never the same .. So, whenever I have anything serious to take care of, I go to the branch where I opened the account (30 minute drive). I have told them how I feel and they understand, but alas, there is nothing they can do. Thank goodness at least THEY are intelligent. This on top of the fact that now the bank no longer accepts or gives cash. I guess this is to alleviate the bank robberies that seem to happen every day here (being cynical). In the long run, clients are supposed to fill out a cash form, place their cash in a plastic envelope and drop it in a box, where it is later picked up, by someone, and later, opened by someone. What exactly do we do when our cash deposit never shows up in our account. This happened to our macon - 5000 euros ! Took him weeks for the bank to finally recover the cash !!!!!! Sorry, but I am not a fan of the banking system here. I am always expecting to access my account and find nothing there. I still find the fact that your bank cashed an unsigned check incredible. Surely it must be in the banks general conditions that this is NOT done - no matter how well they know either party..

I too think the SPA is a great idea. If you don't have luck with that, we found a spectacular collie breeder at Frontignan Plage. We purchased the greatest dog we have ever owned from her. He was 8 weeks old at the time. He is 3 years now. If you would like to contact her, let me know and I will give you her email.

Here in Bedoin (Vaucluse), we've been living under the same restrictions since April ... Funny how many people completely ignore the rules. We see it all the time.

Don't know the area very well. Visited Collioure and Ceret and loved it. Hope you are happy in your new area. You will have to let us know.

suninfrance - we live in the Vaucluse (Provence) 30 minutes from Avignon. We see the scorpions from June onward - really depends on the year and the weather. Have come to learn that they are not the terribly deadly ones, but I still don't like finding them in my home. This year, we seem to have all kinds of insects flying and crawling around. It is hard to believe we are in a drought as we have had several rains this year that - I think - have brought us the huge amount of insect population...

This is exactly what I'm talking about...

Teamedup is right to note the website available. There are so many websites available that offer all this info. online. They are extremely helpful and cover a multitude of subjects. You should note them down as they will be your "friends." ....