CPAM

CPAM: not the kind of letter sequence which speaks to the heart. But it stands for the Caisse Primaire d'Assurance Maladie, the main pillar of the French health system. Some time ago I had tried to get myself a Carte Vitale, the passport to impressive French medical cover. Today, I finally had a response of sorts: yet more documents to fill in, but maybe cover in sight (though the delay may still be measured in months). Will keep you posted. In the meantime, it meant yet another trip to the post office, yet more photocopies, further queues and all the rest. Good job I am keeping well for the moment.

PS the vidangeurs were at it again, still stylishly dressed up to the nines, emptying the 'vaults' beneath the best restaurant in town, just next to our new house. Given that it boasts how much fresh Parmesan, lobster, etc. is used every year (and the measures are in metric tonnes), perhaps some of the blockage we were suffering before the weekend is actually cordon bleu.