S and J's Big Adventure(s): 2026

Tuesday, May 5, 2026

It's already May of 2026!

May 6, 2026

What's been happening with Susie and John?

S & J's Big Adventures
in Pau at Residence le France

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It's been 7 weeks since we've moved into the new/old apartment...

We are loving the views from our balconies

and

Coffee in the mornings before starting the day

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I have started a Jig-saw Puzzle station

Am cleaning the old things like this wonderful painted screen

Screen - cleaned and folded up in the corner

Have been taking a zoom watercolor class with Kim Russo

Working on making/repairing things in the new/old apartment.

After sealing the curling wallpaper seams
the room looks much neater

I made a wall hanging for the entryway

with the help of new friends Katie and Shauni

and their sewing machine

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Easter Sunday, we welcomed the new day!

Celebrated with a feast with David and Christie ("Kate" as the locals call her)

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Out and about with Peter and Nicola

at Risto dit Vin

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Fuad comes to Pau for a visit with us!

Eating at Henri IV

Entering the Chateau Gardens

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We've been "nesting" and seem to be settling into this place to make it our own.

We are enjoying things with friends and hosting guests,

so I guess we'll be making this place our home for a while.

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Enjoying the views from "John's Chair" and the balconies

We are feeling like this is home.

Sunday, March 22, 2026

WOW! It's nearly the end of March 2026

Sunday, March 22, 2026

Many things have happened since the last posting of

S & J's Big Adventures

Welcome to Residence le France

We've now been in Pau for 2 1/2 months.
Since the last blog here is what has happened:

We settled in on the 2nd floor of Residence le France and fell into our routine of Pau

We started the process of registering our long term visa

I started a watercolor (zoom) class

Robin and Scott came for a week's visit, living 2 blocks away from us

Registered for residency, successfully, so we can yearly renew the visa for the next five (5) years

Started looking for a more permanent residence

As luck would have it, we heard about another apartment on the 1st floor (twice the size of the one we were in.) With references from our landlords, we were able to secure the apartment.

It's been about two weeks of waiting for the place to be cleared and cleaned; we signed a lease agreement on March 11 and moved stuff, bought a new bed and rearranged furniture before actually sleeping in the new/old apartment.

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Before...

After...

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Living space...

Living room & Dining room

Painting on hallway wall...
La Jolla Cove by Christie Dimon
(Housewarming gift)

We've been in this new/old apartment for a week now.

Every day brings new things to do and buy to make it our own.

We feel so lucky to be able to live in this spacious apartment that was once part of the Hotel de France, Pau, France, where royalty, government officials, celebrities and the wealthy resided in the 1800's. In the 1970's, the Hotel was converted into apartments and public office space. We are in the south wing of the hotel building.

The 95 year old woman who lived in this apartment has been the original occupant/owner since 1975 (or so.) We "inherited" much of her furniture and kitchen with all it's acrutriments; we only had to purchase a bed. There is one WC, 2 bathrooms (showers, one with a washer/dryer), a bedroom, living room and another large room that I am using as a studio/office space with space enough to put a futon couch (or "hide-a-bed") and chairs as another sitting room and/or guest bedroom. Lots of closet space and cupboards for our clothes and storage are in the entryway and hallways.

There still is a lot of cleaning and repairing to do to make it clean and presentable enough for John A. Berteaux, PhD and myself, but it is a beautiful apartment and I think we will enjoy it for as long as we can.