Visa Application, Step Two

Wednesday, July 10.

Visa appointment? Check.

Because we both agreed it would be a lot easier to take this big step in our journey together (and because Molly has no other real way of getting to the French Consulate), Molly and I decided to make our Visa appointments together! We settled on Tuesday, July 9, just over a month before our August 16 flights to France -- late enough that we had all of our required documents and information, but early enough that we would have time to go back if something went wrong!

Molly arrived by train Monday evening. (Side note: I use Amtrak to get to and from school all the time, but for some reason, telling people I have to leave to "meet someone at the train station" makes me feel straight out of Downton Abbey!) Although I had entertained visions of us watching Midnight in Paris (a recent obsession of mine) and eating Brie while casually sifting through our well-organized Visa documents, that was definitely NOT the case.

C'est la ... Visa?

Tuesday, June 4.

If there is one thing in life that I have learned to dislike above all else, it is the visa application process. Seriously folks, it's the worst. Because I'm studying abroad for an entire semester, I'm required to have a "long stay" student visa (a must-have for anyone staying in France for over 90 days) and suffice it to say, it is not a piece of cake.

You can read all about the application process on the French Consulate's website, but trust me -- it's a very long and complicated process.