After a 15 hour long journey from Bangalore via Doha, we
landed in CDG on a bright and crisp Friday afternoon on the 15th of
August 2014. Though we were completely exhausted from the journey the
excitement of what lay ahead kept us going… well more than just going. After
all, our new home was waiting for us!
The immigration at the airport was super smooth and so was
the baggage claim. As we came out, we saw our taxi driver with an INSEAD board. How can one miss that
beautiful green and white logo.. and yes, we did have a moment then (‘This is
for real… it’s happening) :)
The taxi driver couldn’t speak a word of English but I am
lucky to be married to someone who speaks amazing French, so all I did was
listen to the conversation between my husband and the taxi
driver with wonder, trying to guess and make sense. It was also really simple for us to
get a SIM card at the airport. We bought LEBARA SIMs – cost us €10 for the SIM
alone and a few more euros for top-up. This SIM needs to be activated by either
calling the helpline or online. We did the latter – as soon as we got home.
It took about an hour to get to Fonty from CDG. Needless to
say, like everyone else, we couldn’t stop smiling from the moment we saw the
signboard with “Fontainbleau”. Soon, the taxi driver was on Rue Guerin – our
neighbourhood for the next 10 months.
First impressions – I loved it. The apartment block was very secure. We met the landlady who walked us to our apartment. It was just like in the photos we'd seen. We were more than happy – well, actually delighted!
The reason – not so much the apartment, which was by the way was perfect for the three of us, but more so by the warmth and hospitality of the landlady.
First impressions – I loved it. The apartment block was very secure. We met the landlady who walked us to our apartment. It was just like in the photos we'd seen. We were more than happy – well, actually delighted!
The reason – not so much the apartment, which was by the way was perfect for the three of us, but more so by the warmth and hospitality of the landlady.
What an amazing woman! About 78 years old but looked no more
than 60. Had the energy of a 40 year old – so inspiring, to say the least. She
had taken the effort to buy bread, butter and water for us. Seeing that we had
a small baby, she rang her sister and arranged for a baby cot with all the
bedding within an hour! Also, realizing that the baby may feel cold as the
building’s central heating was scheduled to operate only from October, she arranged a heater for the night and drove next morning to a near by town to buy a
radiator.
If you thought that was amazing, what would you say when I tell you that the next day she drove us around town, gave us a tour, dropped us off and picked us up from the supermarket when we couldn’t find taxis. Just one phone call and she was there in less than 5 minutes!!!
The word “nice” does no justice… I am so touched by everything she did – she didn’t have to go that extra mile – but she chose to. I wanted to tell her how grateful I am but she doesn’t understand English. At least to tell her how I feel, I want to learn French!
So my first impressions – well, bowled over by such kindness!
If you thought that was amazing, what would you say when I tell you that the next day she drove us around town, gave us a tour, dropped us off and picked us up from the supermarket when we couldn’t find taxis. Just one phone call and she was there in less than 5 minutes!!!
The word “nice” does no justice… I am so touched by everything she did – she didn’t have to go that extra mile – but she chose to. I wanted to tell her how grateful I am but she doesn’t understand English. At least to tell her how I feel, I want to learn French!
So my first impressions – well, bowled over by such kindness!
What a positive start to our stay here J Feeling very hopeful
about starting a brand new chapter of our lives!
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ReplyDeleteDo you still have the info on the apartment you guys had? I appreciate it :)
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