The days are stretching now and we realised this week that we have gradually adapted to the French way. We wake up to peace and sunlight flooding through our bedroom and make the most of the mornings to go out and about sourcing materials for our house. Then, almost as if by magic, everything stops for lunch! We paid a visit to Caune Minervois with its 8th century Abbey the other day and stumbled upon one of those unpretentious bars where the workers go for their mid-day meal. Eddie & Alfie were made most welcome and we loved the “prix fixe” menu, excellent value at just €12.50 with a glass of red thrown in.
Afternoons are the most productive and our new bedroom is coming along nicely. Mr. Fix It – the husband – has worked out a way to feed the pipes up there so that our ensuite can go in (please don’t ask me how, that is his department) and we can’t wait to move in there, extend our existing balcony and enjoy our morning coffee in the sun.
We need to get permission to extend the balcony, create a spiral staircase down and remove a rather ugly tower in our garden. However, this will simply be a matter of obtaining a “Declaration de Travaux” – rather like Building Regulations – and should not be opposed, according to Sue, the lady who is putting in the plans for us. If you are considering renovating in France you may be delighted to know that no permission is needed for any interior works at all, the French simply do not care about that. Anything which alters the exterior in any way however does need permission but the planning laws have been largely simplified of late and simpler alterations may not need full Planning Permission. You can find out more about this and other great hints on renovation in my France Buying Guide: www.francebuyingguide.com/guide.htm
We found a local builder who gave us a reasonable quote for taking down the wall in the kitchen, propping it up and inserting a steel so that we can create our large kitchen/diner. It pays to shop around: we had 2 other quotes that seemed way over the top, plus the chap we found was recommended by our local baker. He will carry this out after Easter so I hope by the time I write next week, our kitchen will be fully open!
Eddie & Alfie know their home now and have made friends with many of our neighbours. I have enrolled them in the local canine club too and their first class is later today. I just hope their French is up to scratch! Here is another aspect of French life that we love: that each village or “commune” makes a great effort to involve its inhabitants with clubs such as this one as well as sports clubs, social clubs and many others. The key to integration is to join in local village life: you will get out of it as much as you put in.
The warmer weather serves not only to make working on the house somewhat easier, it also means we want to explore our surrounding area. We are close to the mountains and the coast and last Sunday we decided to head over to one of the beaches on the Mediterranean, Valras Plage, with the dogs. We wandered along the promenade watching the children play in the sand and the dogs dipped their paws in the ocean. Parking was free and there was a great feeling of joy and relaxation, as if summer had just begun! We remembered how many times we had planned to go somewhere in the UK and it had taken us twice as long as it should, the traffic situation being so unpredictable. In France this rarely happens, the roads are excellent and uncrowded.
Afternoons are the most productive and our new bedroom is coming along nicely. Mr. Fix It – the husband – has worked out a way to feed the pipes up there so that our ensuite can go in (please don’t ask me how, that is his department) and we can’t wait to move in there, extend our existing balcony and enjoy our morning coffee in the sun.
We need to get permission to extend the balcony, create a spiral staircase down and remove a rather ugly tower in our garden. However, this will simply be a matter of obtaining a “Declaration de Travaux” – rather like Building Regulations – and should not be opposed, according to Sue, the lady who is putting in the plans for us. If you are considering renovating in France you may be delighted to know that no permission is needed for any interior works at all, the French simply do not care about that. Anything which alters the exterior in any way however does need permission but the planning laws have been largely simplified of late and simpler alterations may not need full Planning Permission. You can find out more about this and other great hints on renovation in my France Buying Guide: www.francebuyingguide.com/guide.htm
We found a local builder who gave us a reasonable quote for taking down the wall in the kitchen, propping it up and inserting a steel so that we can create our large kitchen/diner. It pays to shop around: we had 2 other quotes that seemed way over the top, plus the chap we found was recommended by our local baker. He will carry this out after Easter so I hope by the time I write next week, our kitchen will be fully open!
Eddie & Alfie know their home now and have made friends with many of our neighbours. I have enrolled them in the local canine club too and their first class is later today. I just hope their French is up to scratch! Here is another aspect of French life that we love: that each village or “commune” makes a great effort to involve its inhabitants with clubs such as this one as well as sports clubs, social clubs and many others. The key to integration is to join in local village life: you will get out of it as much as you put in.
The warmer weather serves not only to make working on the house somewhat easier, it also means we want to explore our surrounding area. We are close to the mountains and the coast and last Sunday we decided to head over to one of the beaches on the Mediterranean, Valras Plage, with the dogs. We wandered along the promenade watching the children play in the sand and the dogs dipped their paws in the ocean. Parking was free and there was a great feeling of joy and relaxation, as if summer had just begun! We remembered how many times we had planned to go somewhere in the UK and it had taken us twice as long as it should, the traffic situation being so unpredictable. In France this rarely happens, the roads are excellent and uncrowded.
So slowly but surely our house is taking shape. We have a long way to go yet but we do know that at the end we will have created a truly fabulous home.
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