One year later

Hi to you all back in Oz,well its taken a year but finally weve decided to set up our blog.We should have done it sooner coz so much has happened in our first 12 months in France that we'll have to give a rundown fo whats gone down.
Before leaving Oz we had a ridicuosly hectic,logistical nightmare of co-ordinating our move to France.We finished and sold our house,sold a lot of stuff,2 cars, furniture etc. packed our clothes,tools,kitchen etc,got married(finally).It was a crazy 6 months,almost surreal.
Heres a list of our past year

-April 23 2007,an emotional arrival at Biarritz airport greeted by Corinnes family
-No baggage!!!!
no clothes ,no surfboards(after being hit for $650 excess bagageat tullamarine,not very happy!)
-Arrive at chez Larran/Garcia-this is going to be what I call our shoebox,40 sq metres is going to be hard to deal with after being used to space.
-Organise Mobile phone,internet connection(with Orange France-bad choice and didnt realise what grief this incompetent company would amount to)
-Apply for Carte de sejour
-Too much red tape, its strangling me...AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
-look for a car for 3-4weeks, find a great little car,a citroen Picasso.2000 model ,low k's and only 4500euros
-We decide to put Lola into school for the last 4 weeks of the school year coz from April to September is a long time out of school.She is not exactly happy about it and is not easy for her as her french is still a bit sketchy and they are finishing their year so its all a little hard for her but she does really well and now restarting in September will be a little easier for her.
-Michel's health takes a downturn after looking promising.Were all surprised because he seemed so healthy.None of us realised how ill he really was.
-busy looking for housesand realise how expensive it is here.
JULY
-school summer hols
-tourist arrive in plague like proportions
-too many surfers,so I opt not to surf peak times during day,its crazy out there!!!!
-Richard (Dog) Marsh and his family arrive in Anglet from OZ doing the same thing as us with his french wife,as she pepares for the birth of their third child,a boy-Dylan.This is great for me as I get to hang out with another aussie surfer who has the same penchant for the amber liquid as me too.They also have two girls,A year older an a year younger than Lola?Great for all concerned!
-Start french lessons,private lessons with a retired teacher,great guy, now i realise how bad my french is.I have a long way to go
-Find a house in Saubion,about 30 mins from Biarritz and about 10 mins inland from Hossegor,its the old(mid 1800's)gate house for the Lagrollet chateau,needs to be extended and prettied up ,perfect for what I'm after .
-Michel's health deteriorates more and is hospitalised.I didnt realise it was the last time I would see this very special person
AUGUST
-Michel passes away and everybody is devastated.The funeral was very difficult for everyone
-Pauline(my sister ) arrives for a weekend and we show her the beautifil area that we live in.Great to see some family
-Summer mayhem here is in full swing
-Our freight from Oz arrives albeit late,and we stack it in our shoebox with us,not much room now
-I leave for the Mentawaiis and meet up with Redeye,Salmon,Gonga,Farms ,Tim,Darty, Caiden and Jolly for a coupla weeks on the high seas on the Addiction,surfing, fishing and drinking beer,great fun was had by all and great to see the lads
SEPTEMBER
-arrive back in France after a ridiculously long exchange of connecting flights.Padang,Djakarta,Singapore,Paris ,Biarritz
-Take possession of our house
-Danni (my neice)arrives for two weeks ,great to see her and hear her stories of her experincesin the states and Canada
OCTOBER
-I start my free /mandatory french course at Bayonne,merci President Sarkozy-at least the teachers are young and pretty
-Buy my van, from a physiotheropist that i need later and hes quite good and speaks english
-the family is still reeling after losing michel
-Start to draw plans for house,wow,a lot of research on the net searching for translations of building terminology that cant be foundin dictionaries,Moniques cousin is an architect so he is quite useful
-Corinne is searching for work but has been so busy with everthing involved in settling in that she hasnt had time to scratch herself yet.Its been so hectic she needs a break
-realise that the freight company have lost a box,oh nooo,all our winter clothes,lucky we are insured and its their mistake
-Submit buiding permit
-gets very cold before xmas and surfing heaps
-Xmas 2 weeks hols fro Lola.First Xmas here ,very strange indeed;Missing home
-New year, cold but mild beautiful days
-First big swell of the season 20 ft and what a sight,big and messy but really big!!!!
-Next 6 weeks the swell pumps but virtually unsurfable
- Building permit REJECTED!!!!!
-Comedy routine begins-present new sketches to Mairie(council),they like them and send us to DDE(independant town planner),DDE throws us out of office yelling and screaming that they get thousands of people like us everyday!And to get back to where we came from !!!Shock, horror
One hour laterCorinne and i are in the Mayor of Saubions chambers,She(very proud woman) loves us and says to leave it up to her.Sure enough she overruled him,Yeeehaaa
- back to the drawing board, chage the design and its now better and resubmit plans
-Been without french course for 6 weeks-red tape problem
-co's stilllooking for work and really frustrated
-Corinne get temp position
-Co's contract is extended,
-Start small reno for Rob(guy I met on my first trip here)
-Receive buiding permit,finally
-APRIL
-Surfing regularly and going to my french course twice a week ,my french has improved so much but still so far to go
-WOW? ONE YEAR!!!!!!!

Among all that -Lolas french speaking-Amazing
-Lolas homesickness
-my homesickness
-I hate France issues:living in a shoebox
-Orange/France Telecom (what a nightmare,too much to tell here)
-Organising to meet the Sutcliffes in Bretagne in July, cant wait!!