Relearning Simplicity and Renovating Sympathetically

We have been living down here in the South of France for almost 3 months now and, as with most great love affairs, we have gradually and joyfully realised how attached we are becoming to this beautiful house, though we knew at the start we loved it. It takes a little time to get under the skin of a property like this, to give full rein to its grandeur, to breathe life back into its thick walls. Ideas abound for the use of all the rooms (not least the huge cellar with its own well). Its position, right opposite the 14th century Church of St. Julien, makes one feel almost humble.

From the top floor, where we have 5 or 6 rooms yet to be tackled, we can see the Corbieres Mountains and on a crisp clear day (of which there are many), the snowcapped peaks of the Pyrenees in the distance. Long views afford one good perspective: inspiration comes when the eyes can widen across the countryside.

I never cease to marvel at the colours and patterns of our tiled floors and we count ourselves lucky only to have to renew the kitchen floor which will be in wood; the rest of the floors are tiled and are intact, practically perfect. The Fleur de Lys symbol has long been associated with the French monarchy and is shown on many French postage stamps. It graces our small drawing room.



Mr. Fix It has almost finished his pipe runs for our 2 ensuites and I also marvel at his natural knowledge about all things plumbing: water pressure is far stronger in France and now that the basics are done, it will not be long until the ceramic shower trays are in and I can start looking for snazzy soap dishes, soft towels and the like (that’s my contribution…).

We still await permission to take down our tower and enlarge our balcony but with so many other pressing jobs, somehow this does not matter. And anyway, accepting the French way is paramount to a successful life in France and we have come to enjoy the slower pace and laid back attitude of this village. People look out for each other and young and old mix happily. We feel spoilt to be living in such a strong, safe community, knowing that we are surrounded by several stunning towns such as Carcassonne, Narbonne, Montpellier and Narbonne if ever we need a city fix.

I cannot remember which one of us coined the phrase “relearning simplicity” but somehow it has come to mean so much to us both in our middle years. Nowhere is this more relevant than here in rural France. It is hard to put into words but those moments of simple happiness, enjoying the sun, watching someone buying chicken feed in the local supermarket (!) or witnessing the same view that others must have done centuries before us, give us a feeling of peace as well as excitement somehow at how good life can be. We sat outside the stunning 13th century Cathedral of St. Just and St. Pasteur in Narbonne one lunchtime this week and Mr. Fix It turned to me and said: “Do you know, I have never been happier.” I have to confess to mentally taking some credit for this feeling of his but in truth it was one of those moments when we both knew the real meaning: we were surrounded by smiling people, the sun was shining, we were together with our 2 spaniels lying at our feet and no more words needed to be said.

In a little over a month we welcome more friends for a visit so for now we are cracking on with the work, watching this house become our home, whilst never forgetting to take time out to look around us.

There is an intangible feeling of joy here in the simple things of life; no-one appears to be chasing their tail, not even Eddie & Alfie.




Alexis
http://www.francebuyingguide.com/

At Work and Play

Watching a beautiful house such as this one regain its beauty is a joy. The day we first walked into the grand hallway and saw the stunning tiled floors, high ceilings and fine grey marble staircase we knew that all it needed was a huge dose of serious “TLC”. The proportions of the rooms are excellent, the ceilings are high and although there is a huge amount of work to do in terms of bathrooms, rewiring, kitchen fitting and the like, there is in truth little structural work aside from remaking the balcony outside (for which we still await permission) and knocking 2 rooms into one for our kitchen (done that).

Thus the space and light we have streaming through the long windows make the work seem – well less like actual work. Mr. Fix It is a natural: never happier than when covered in brick and sawdust. Occasionally he comes up with some great ideas too: “You know, instead of paying to get rid of the rubble from the knocked down wall and tower, why don’t we leave it outside in order to break down at a later stage to create a base for our future garden?” Our delightful French builder is fine with that so this pile of bricks (reminiscent of an entry into the Tate Modern I thought) will serve us well.



We received a letter from the Mairie asking for some more information on our balcony which we have now supplied and so await another letter telling us we can go ahead. If a house is situated close to a Church in France, the rules about altering the outside aspect are somewhat stricter. Still, Mr. Fix It’s excellent drawings and our desire to retain the character of this elegant building will, we hope, stand us in good stead for a resounding “Allez Y” in the not too distant future.

We are greeted by blue sky and warm sun each morning and took some time out to welcome Rosie, Mr. Fix It’s gorgeous daughter to our home for a few days. Bless her, all she wanted to do was pick poppies which abound in the fields and hedgerows and so she and I scooted off with Eddie & Alfie and suddenly the house was filled with vases of these stunning wild flowers. She and I persuaded Mr. Fix It to take a day off and we drove to Collioure and Port Vendres, 2 small coastal towns near to the border with Spain. In the early 20th century Collioure was a centre of artistic activity. Many artists such as Matisse, Picasso, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Andre Derain were inspired by the royal castle, the sun and the light.

"This feels like a real holiday,” said Rosie, sunning herself as we stopped for coffee by the sea. “We cannot believe we actually LIVE here,” said Mr. Fix It, “it still feels as though we are on holiday too, despite all the work”.

It was heart-warming to see father and daughter spending some leisure time together, Rosie away for once from exam revision and Mr. Fix It for once away from the brickdust



Mr. Fix It is now an authority on French plumbing stores and woodyards. I often wonder what they must think of this mildly eccentric Englishman, gesticulating and miming to describe some obscure shower fitting or pipe connector. Still, who was it who said that if you can make yourself understood you are ALWAYS speaking well? Communication can come in many different forms.

My France Buying Guide is very well thumbed now, Mr. Fix It takes great pride in referring it to it on an almost daily basis. www.francebuyingguide.com/guide.htm I confess I do not know how to plumb in a shower but at least I can help by finding out the best place to get one.

We have days when we feel we have not done very much to the house and other days when we can see that it is coming along apace. The goodness and simplicity of the people we meet helps us enjoy the journey and one thing we never have is a day when we wish we were back in the UK. After almost 3 months of being here, we feel as though we are at home and only wish we had thought of taking on this massive project before now.

Bureaucracy, Bikes & Roses

Napoleon’s influence remains strong in France. His “Code Civil” is still the basis of French law and thus bureaucracy rules here. This, coupled with a somewhat endearing laid back attitude to life in the south means we still await permission to take down the tower in our garden, reconstruct our balcony and change 2 windows into doors to the outside. I popped in to the Mairie this week to see if we had any answers yet. I was met with a smile and a very Gallic shrug: “Non, Madame, pas encore.” The good news is that if we have no news by this time next week, we can go ahead and start the work. Patience is a virtue and anyway, we have plenty to be going on with in the meantime.

Our builder took down the accro supports in the kitchen and Mr. Fix It and I have been measuring up and pondering the design. It is a wonderful space, panning out at the end where we will have our table and door to the garden. The sun streams through in the early evening and I look forward to the day when I don’t see beads of dust in the shafts of light.

Mr. Fix It dusted off our second-hand €60 bike and the dogs and I have enjoyed meandering along the bank of the canal close by, they on their 4 legs, me on 2 wheels. Cycling is very popular in France and we look forward to the Tour de France passing nearby very soon. The four of us, Mr. Fix It and I and Eddie & Alfie, have become a close family in the absence of our adult children who are now scattered around the globe each pursuing their own dreams. As I pedalled along at a leisurely pace, I thought of my son Saul who is quite incredibly about embark on a much longer “Tour”: a “Tour de l’USA.” He and his good friend Augustin, a French friend from university days, will set off in just 11 days’ time from west to east, travelling over 3,600 miles in 2 months. Why? To raise money and awareness for the most appalling of illnesses: motor neuron disease, from which his dear uncle, Tony Judt, suffers. I am full of admiration for them; their commitment, selflessness, bravery and desire to help astound me. Take a look at their website and feel free to spread the word around, everyone should know about this. http://www.moveforals.com/

I wish for Saul and Augustin a good tail wind and soft sunshine as we so often have down here in the Languedoc Roussillon. Meanwhile, I shall carry on with my own miniature “Tour de France” along the canal as Spring leads us into Summer.

Our garden design will have to wait a while but such is the beauty of nature that even in its rough, untouched state, it really is quite beautiful. The back wall is now covered in a beautiful ivy and we have roses aplenty. My dear stepdaughter, Rosie, is visiting us this weekend and I have taken great delight in picking some roses and greenery to adorn her bedroom. Even though we are frequently covered in building dust, little touches like this make a notable difference. My jasmine plant and herbs which I bought at the Flower Festival recently are thriving and we found a beautiful heavy black glass garden table at a knockdown price in our local Bricomarche. My list of stores and outlets can be found in my France Buying Guide: www.francebuyingguide.com/guide.htm

Eddie and Alfie don’t appear to have noticed that the garden is rather wild: they potter about amongst the roses and lie in the sunshine. We could all learn a lot from animals.

When the sun sets we are cosy in this grand house and still marvel at the beauty of our marble fireplaces. A glass of wine, a candle or two and some of those stunning roses lend a perfect atmosphere to our evenings here in France.

Welcoming Our Friends to the Village "Feria"

Last Friday evening we ventured out after the sun had set to the long promenade lined with plane trees in our village. We were met by numerous stalls, lights, people, music and much frivolity. The middle of the promenade was lined with tables and chairs, the idea being that you chose your meal, found a good spot to sit and joined in the conviviality. Eddie & Alfie loved it: the odd chip or piece of bread frequently came their way. Our delightful carpenter, Jean-Louis came and filled our glasses and introduced us to his wife, his son turned up with his young family. This was a truly French celebration.

As for DJ Fanjou: what a guy! We had expected something fairly low key, this being a tiny rural village. But not a bit of it: his show was stunning, with fantastic sound, great tunes, a laser and light show, smoke machine and the rest. “This is really professional,” said Mr. Fix It who knows about these things and before long we realised it was getting on for 2 am and our first guests were arriving the next day so we headed home, amazed at the sheer scale of this celebration.

John and his daughter Phoebe were our first guests. Although we have masses still to do, our house is perfectly comfortable even at this relatively early stage for welcoming guests. Mr. Fix It duly rigged up a couple of lamps in their large bedroom overlooking the Church, I draped a chair with a pale throw and cushion and adorned the marble fireplace with a candle or two and some roses from our garden. “Shabby chic,” said Mr. Fix It. Despite the work still to be done, somehow this bedroom looked so welcoming.

Phoebe loved the Feria. “The French are so friendly and seem calmer than people at home,” she remarked, with the clarity of youth. Spending time with a bright 12 year old keeps one young and I found myself joining her sliding down the huge blown up bouncy castle affair. Mr. Fix It declined: he gets enough exercise in our house he muttered.

On Saturday we watched the horses, ridden by gauchos, parade through the village to the small bull ring at the end. We watched the show, a simple affair of young matadors jumping over – actually cows, not bulls! On Sunday there was a mass at our Church, the horses standing guard literally outside our house as the priest blessed all animals: what a beautiful sight.

We could not let our visitors go back home without seeing the stunning “cite” of Carcassonne and the fortified village of Minerve. Fascinated by the history of this beautiful area of France, I bought myself a book on the history of the Cathars. Mr. Fix It is still astounded by the Cathar monuments which remain. “It took me a day to drill through brick and rock with a POWER tool,” he remarked, “how on earth did they build on this massive scale?” Perhaps this has given him the incentive (as if he needed one) to carry on apace with our house renovation, grateful that we no longer live in medieval times….

So our visitors have now left and we await with eager anticipation the permission to take the tower down in the garden, rebuild and enlarge our balcony and create doors instead of windows from our kitchen and small reception room to the garden. Jean-Louis popped round to see us yesterday, a simply lovely man, a true craftsman. It turns out he knows one of the people at the Mairie and understands that our aim is to retain the character of this house. No doubt he will put a good word in for us and next week we will have our permission. Then it will be all systems go and I will be spending many a happy hour in garden centres planning the layout of our outside space. My France Buying Guide always comes with me on these trips, what a useful tool this has turned out to be for us.

http://www.francebuyingguide.com/

But for now, we retain happy recent memories of times with good friends.