Jule's Hikoi: Only 11 more sleeps

Eeek 11 more sleeps until I wave goodbye England and say bonjour France. So it's sorting and throwing; trips to charity shops; Vinted, Facebook Marketplace and EBay; cleaning and getting the flat ready for the next people; freaking out at 3am thinking I've forgotten to do something; packing boxes and suitcases and plastic boxes with the precious stuff; preparing all the documents needed to get our things through French customs; and dealing with the moving company who seem a little confused about what's needed.

I'd hoped writing it down might be cathartic, nope! I know from past experience about those last bits and pieces to take care of. At least this time it's a truck arriving at a similar time to us, not a long wait after a long sea journey. And a flight. A final one for a while.

I've been back to Carcassonne, on my own this time as Jules still doesn't have his passport with the French visa back. It was lovely seeing the floors done in the three level 1 bedrooms and having the fans fitted while I was there. Three rooms done, except for a replacement window and shutters ordered for one. The fans look great and best of all are big enough to work well with the bedrooms' high ceilings. I've ordered three more for the living, dining and kitchen. The new floors match well with the existing old tiles in the bathroom, toilet and hallway. The garish dark blue and yellow tiles in the bathroom? Well I guess I'm now at the place where they need to go. Much to the delight of everyone else involved lol!

It's a bit exciting really seeing things coming together, spaces finished and almost finished. Like the living and dining room. The ceiling and three sides are done, just the troublesome wall shared with the kitchen and needing decisions to go. My job this trip was to make the needed decisions; do the final two coats on the completed walls and ceiling, Monday and Tuesday's job; choose and collect the floor tiles for the ground floor; finish getting rid of the old plinth tiles; give the place a general tidy and clean where I could; and get stuff organised for when we arrive, like the internet. I managed to buy a big fridge freezer, delivery arranged for when we get there, and choose some other bits we'll need to get set up.

Thursday was an adventure with Andrea, heading to Bezier for travertine tiles and to scope out the best shop, Leroy Merlin. It was a lovely hot day, one where an outside lunch was called for. Leroy Merlin has so many of the things we'll need as we progress with the attic renovations, including the best bathroom stuff and the lights I'd been looking at online. The tile place, wow! A yard full of crates of beautiful, natural travertine stone tiles. The tiles were chosen and loaded into Andrea's van, well half of them as they were really heavy.

When we got to the house later in the afternoon, Andrea and I unloaded the tiles and stacked them in the living room. A very hot and dusty job needing a quiet beer in the back courtyard when done. The lovely man at the Tabac across the road, the place I buy the morning baguette and cold beer, watched on as these two strong and very dusty women carted the tiles inside 2 and 3 at a time. I was the 2 at a time person, they were heavy! I suspect we are the source of much amusement in the neighbourhood. A very local neighbourhood where people know each other and are pleased we're coming to live full time. There's so many AirBnbs and holiday lets in the area, typical given the number of tourists who visit each year, so the locals are really pleased we're not. And that we attempt to speak in French whenever we can.

My time in Carcassonne came to an end far too quickly and I was tempted to stay a few more days. With Dan the tiler starting on the ground floor tiling first thing Monday I suspect I'd have been in the way rather than helpful. I've just had a call from Dan and the first part of the tiling is done, ready for our furniture in 11 days. The kitchen will be done between taking the old kitchen out and fitting the new one. A job for later.