Back in the UK for a brief trip – and my joyous return to France!

We have been living down here in the Languedoc Roussillon for almost a year now and with each passing month, the desire to stay grows stronger. It is as easy to take to living in France as a duck takes to water, we have found. One’s perspective on life changes and our homeland, the UK, takes on a different persona; or maybe the changes we see there each time we visit are more marked. Suffice to say that I could not wait to return home to France. As the plane sweeped over the coast at Beziers and back in to the airport mid-afternoon, the sun shone and the ocean glistened: an utter contrast to the start of my day standing on a sardine like platform waiting for the next tube and then being truly canned, sardine like again, as I entered the train. Oh, I am so glad to be back in France!

An early start this morning, easily achieved by waking up to the strong sun beckoning. I took this picture as I walked through our village to buy my morning baguette.

Mr. Fix It has been holding our French fort! I returned to a grand display of lilies, a handmade St. Valentine’s card and several noticeable signs of progress in our kitchen. The stained glass is just about in place and the plans for the design almost complete. As winter gives way to spring (it already feels much more like the latter), the sun takes up its glorious position of streaming through our front door in the mornings almost urging us to come out and play.

I am looking at the blue sky as I write and having seen a tiny bit of this in the UK (it’s not easy is it?!) I realise why it feels so different here. Why, it is a different shade of blue! It is a strong blue, almost azure. There is no grey. The task of renovating this grand house becomes easier in this climate. I think that, coupled with the space we have, the huge rooms, high ceilings and perfect tiled floors, make our project all the more joyous. We still have a long way to go but we can do it at our own pace: life is to be lived and enjoyed and living in France gives one the means to achieve this effortlessly.

We could not resist another visit to Marseillan the day I returned. As we sat in the sun with our glasses of fine French wine, we realised that the appeal of this lovely little port lies in its flavour of real life: it is not a tourist trap as such but a place where people live and work. We watched a fisherman bring in his catch and then looked up as the sun was momentarily hidden by the fine coloured spinnaker of a yacht coming in to moor up. The graceful old buildings on the other side gleamed. I could not help but compare this life with our previous one in the UK and be truly thankful that Mr. Fix It and I both hold the same dream.

Alexis
The Overseas Guides Company
http://www.francebuyingguide.com/