D-Day...

...dentist-day, in other words. I drove down to the little town of Luçay-le-Mâle yesterday for my 7:20 p.m. appointment with a Romanian dentist who set up his practice there two years ago. It was a very positive experience. I arrived early and walked around the center of town taking a few pictures — the weather was warm and clear. The town's medical center is located right behind the mairie (town hall), which occupies a building that was built as a hospital a century ago. Photo below.

How do I come to know that historical detail? Because as I was taking pictures, a man drove up and parked his car in front of the town hall. He got out and came over to talk to me. "I see you're interested in our public buildings," he said. I told him that I'm an American living in France and I do a blog on the internet where I post a lot of photographs. He proceeded to tell me some of the history of the town. I said to him: Vous êtes Monsieur le Maire, peut-être... "Would you happen to be the mayor?" Oui, he answered, with a smile on his face. I thanked him for the information about the mairie and the town.

A few photos later I walked over to the dentist's office. You can see it in the photo above, over and behind my little light blue Peugeot's hood. It's the modern building on the left. There was one other person in the waiting room, and I thought to myself that I might be there for a long time if the dentist had to see another patient before he could get to me. All I could do was wait and hope for the best. When the dentist came out to get me for my appointment, it was only 7:30. Not bad. I was out of there, satisfied with his diagnosis and treatment, by 8:00.

It turns out that Dr. Baescu, who told me he's 40 years old, set up practice in Luçay in 2018 and moved there with his wife, who is also from Romania. As we got acquainted, he asked me if I might be British. No, I said — American. He seemed surprised, but he smiled and asked me if I'd prefer to speak English or French. I told him either was fine with me, and he said he speaks fluent English so I answered him in English. His mother lives in New York, he said, and he's spent a lot of time there. In fact, he wanted to move to the U.S. and practice dentistry there, but the U.S. doesn't recognize his Romanian medical degree. France does. His English and his French seem to me to be equally fluent.

Above is a map of the area where Luçay is located, which is centered on the well-known town of Valençay (a famous château). You can see Saint-Aignan at the top of the map. The 35-minute drive from home to Luçay was very easy, even in the dark. As for the tooth that's been giving me trouble, the dentist said he thinks I won't need a crown, just a new filling. He x-rayed the tooth, put in a temporary filling, and explained in both French and English what his prognosis was. Then he gave me an appointment for 9:00 a.m. on November 2 to complete the treatment. The charge for the consultation was 23 euros, and more than half of that will be reimbursed by the national health service. I am very relieved to have again found somebody who seems to be a very good dentist.