American Croissants

Bodies in Motion

7/16/2014

It is amazing how quickly events set into motion gain a momentum of their own! After a month of exhausting preparation, we put our house on the market on June 22nd. Less than a week later we had accepted an offer, and our house is now in escrow. And in six short weeks we will be on a plane headed to France!

Our "To Do" list is growing exponentially as we prepare for our late August departure to France. Every day has been jam-packed with gathering material for our visa applications, figuring out what to pack, store, ship, sell and toss, plus making time to take Berlitz French lessons 5 days a week. We all feel like we have been tossed into a salad spinner!

The next big hurdle is securing the Carte Compétences et Talents (visa) before our departure. Our French immigration lawyer has almost finished assembling all of the paperwork, and then we will be at the mercy of the various government agencies to approve it and issue the visa. It is a bit of a concern because we are nearing the month of August, when almost all government activity in France grinds to a halt. Fingers crossed!

The other item of some concern was the house we will be leasing in Bedoin. We had only seen a few snapshots of the empty house, and since we are committing to a year there, everyone was imagining showing up to move into a ruin. Happily, some friends who live an hour away were nice enough to meet the owner at the property, and sent a glowing report, along with photos of the house and garden.

Although the past few weeks have been frantic and stressful, one thing has been abundantly clear: I'd rather be in a tumbled down ruin together, than in a chateau away from my family.

It is terrific to be together and working towards the same goal. On y va!

4 Comments

American
Croissants

TRADING HOLLYWOOD FOR LIFE IN THE
SOUTH OF FRANCE

La Maison Rose owners
Ken and Felicia Wallace are in the process of relocating from Los Angeles to Provence. Felicia enjoys handmade crafts, knitting and taking photos of the kids. Ken enjoys photography, writing, cycling and dinner.

Louise McGillivray

7/30/2014 12:27:30 am

Congrats on your exciting move! We have rented La Maison Rose three times in previous years and have since rented a larger place up Le Rougadu hill (4 bedrooms to accommodate all our visitors!). We've gone to Bedoin for 7 years in a row now - the first three in your lovely property! - and we love it! We arrive this year on September 6th.

Ken Wallace

7/30/2014 02:40:17 am

Thank you, Louise! We hope to see you back at La Maison Rose when you are traveling without the full compliment of guests (we will be living in another villa in Bedoin and keeping La Maison Rose as a rental). We arrive in Bedoin on August 28th--if you have time we would love to meet you for a glass of wine :)

7/30/2014 05:38:21 am

Hi Ken - we would love to see you in Bedoin - after all, it was our first stay at La Maison Rose that got us hooked on Bedoin.
Life for you in early September will probably be crazy - and we will have visitors for our first week or so there. But, we're in Bedoin for a month so a glass of wine together in mid or late September would be great. I occasionally connect to the web from Le Relais du Ventoux (on main street) because the house we rent does not have internet, so I'll try to connect with you. I've also printed off pictures of your villa - maybe our goal for our many walks or cycles will be to find your house! I can see from Mt. Ventoux in the background where it is generally. Best of luck over the next month - and we look forward to meeting you and the family in France.

7/30/2014 05:40:00 am

Bodies in Motion

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