So here we are at the end of our European adventure and I am writing this from our new home in Santa Barbara. Bailey is at my feet sleeping on her side which is always a sign that she is going in for a big snooze. Our neighbors have invited us to a 4th of July barbecue at their house and we have just had brunch with our nephew Kevin and his wife Brianna. It all feels very surreal I must say because it was only yesterday that Bailey and I were in Paris.
The whole week was very strange and also action packed with all the final things that had to be completed for our move. On Monday I sold the car and that involved dropping it off in Avignon and fortunately Sandra was able to pick me up and take me home. The next day I had to take Bailey to the vet for her exam to certify her to fly and the day after that I signed the Acte de Vente which officially sold the house to the new owners. Due to a last minute schedule change I nearly missed the meeting to sign for the sale of the house. Our real estate agent and the new owners came by for a tour of the house before we went to sign. I’ve never heard of this but was told by some other people that this is quite normal. This was the first time they had seen the house since they visited in March and I could tell they were excited to see their new home again. After the tour and because I had been doing final cleaning of the house I was pretty exhausted so went to rest when I received a call from our estate agent to tell me that she was there. We had been talking about getting tools to lift the heavy drain cover so that we could read the water meter and I thought that meant she was outside the house. In fact she was sitting in the notaire’s office with the buyers in Menèrbes and apparently I was late. Fortunately I had already packed the car with Bailey’s crate which was the only thing that could fit in the back of the Peugeot 5008. Sandra’s vacuum cleaner was in the passenger seat and my luggage was already loaded too. All I needed to do was bundle Bailey into the back seat and drive like a mad woman to Menèrbes. When I arrived I apologized profusely and then realized that I had arrived at a good point because all I needed to do was sign since I was already very familiar with the contents of the Act de Vente. We signed and I congratulated the new owners and then told them that I would need a couple of minutes to gather my remaining things. I thought how funny it was that before that moment I had welcomed them into my house and now I was going back to their house. When I arrived they were already there and so I opened the door, grabbed my things and then walked out the gate for the last time.
During the week I had wanted to spend time with friends and neighbors to say goodbye but now I was running out of time and found the whole situation just too emotional. Laurent and Trish organized a lovely soirée at Laurent’s on Tuesday so we could enjoy his new pool. On Wednesday evening Sandra insisted on hosting an informal dinner at her home which we followed with a final sunset on my friend Sunset’s terrace. For my final evening in Tiny Town, my friend Trish invited me to stay at her lovely home in the village.
Early Thursday morning Bailey and I set off for our big adventure. First stop was a hotel at the airport in Paris for an overnight stay before the culmination of the adventure, a direct flight to Los Angeles. Our drive up to Paris was fairly easy but of course the closer we got to Charles de Gaulle airport, the more crowded the roads became and this slowed our progress significantly. When we finally arrived at the hotel around nine hours later I still had to unload our bags and the huge dog crate and then get the car back to the rental center. Fortunately someone from the hotel was able to help me and they stored the dog crate for me for the morning. I loaded a rather fed up Bailey back into the car and we set off for the elusive rental car center. Due to the pandemic almost half of Charles de Gaulle airport was still closed and that meant it was more challenging to drop the car off than normal. After dropping off the car I realized that I didn’t know how to get back to the hotel so I decided to go and get a cab. Several cab drivers took one look at the beautiful Bailey and just shook their heads but fortunately I managed to find one driver who would take us. Back at the hotel we settled down for a rest for we would need plenty of energy for the next day.
We arrived at Charles de Gaulle for our 7.15am check in in plenty of time and our cab driver went to find me a trolley so that I could load the crate, my suitcase and bag onto it. Check in was easy and we had managed to avoid the rumored demonstrations by the airport workers. All seemed to be going according to plan. Around 8am I dropped Bailey off at her check in point and that was when I had to load her into her crate and secure with with cable ties to ensure it could not be tampered with. She started to bark and instantly I was in floods of tears realizing that she had hours to go in this crate. There was nothing more I could do for her was what I told myself as the tears streamed down my face as I neared passport control. I continued on to my gate where for the first time I was able to sit down and got something to eat before calling my sister to assure her I was ok. “Is G picking you up at LAX?” she asked me to which I replied “He told me there’s a number 53 bus that goes from the airport to Santa Barbara direct” I told her, and there was momentary silence on the line before she replied “You’re kidding me”. I told her that I was kidding of course and she realized that I was ok.
Once on the plane, which was probably only at about 20 per cent capacity, I settled down to watch a movie to distract myself. All of a sudden I heard a faint noise that I recognized as barking coming from somewhere in the plane. Evidently Bailey was in the hold very close to where I was seated. We had more than eleven hours of flight time and so I approached the flight attendant to tell him that I could hear my dog in the hold barking. He was absolutely charming and assured me that in his more than twenty five years of flying, Air France had always taken good care of the animals in their care. He added that when the engines started she would probably fall asleep. After a while I could no longer hear barking and thought that she must have finally fallen asleep. When we landed the barking started again and did not stop until we were out at arrivals. My suitcase arrived at baggage claim and I went to the area where animals were brought to be claimed. All of a sudden I could hear barking that indicated that Bailey would arrive imminently. Unfortunately I could not release her from her transatlantic prison until we had cleared customs. She continued barking and the whole terminal heard her arriving as myself and an airport worker wheeled her through to customs. Someone in customs cut the cable ties so that I could set her free, but it was not until we were out in arrivals that I could release her from the crate. A delighted G was there to greet us and we continued on our nearly three hour long journey from LAX to Santa Barbara, a journey that should normally take around an hour and a half. However since it was fourth of July weekend there was much more traffic around than normal.
After touring the house which is almost empty due to the fact that the contents of our house were just leaving Fos Sur Mer that same day, I showered and changed so that we could take Bailey to the beach. The dog friendly beach where dogs are allowed off leash is a three minute drive from our house. Bailey made friends with another doodle and they played in the water together. As I watched them I thought about how incredible it was that just that same morning we had boarded a flight from Paris and now here we were finally in the ocean in Santa Barbara.
After spending four years and eight months in Provence we are no longe the French Bruemers. As I sat down to write this the first thought that came into my mind was “It takes a village”. We could not have done this without the love and support of our family and friends. All of you who helped me in these last few weeks especially, I can’t thank you enough. Or maybe I can when you come and visit us in Santa Barbara and we walk up to the gazebo to look at the ocean and watch the sun setting.
So what’s next? I’m not sure just yet however I have written the first draft of the book of our time in France. French Lessons: When Dreams Become Reality is the working title, so stay tuned for that.
Thanks for reading!
Les Trois Musketeers
French Bruemmers 