The France Property Buying Guide

Spring is officially here!

2011-03-24T03:40:00.000-07:00

We have daylight now till around 7.15 pm and from Sunday of course, the days will stretch further till well after 8.15 pm. What a difference an hour makes! We have felt Spring like for many weeks down here in the Languedoc Roussillon (there has scarcely been a day without at least some sunshine and many with clear blue skies) so our thoughts have turned this week to planning our garden space.

Outside space with a property is not so easy to find in these parts: this, the largest wine growing region in France is home to so many who spend their days working outside tending the vines and so do not have quite the same craving to laze in the sun as we Brits may have! One of the many reasons we hit upon this beautiful old house was its large courtyard space of around 200 sq.m. which is perfect for Mr. Fix It and I – and I venture to guess is fine by Eddie & Alfie – neither of us being hugely green fingered although still keen to have space to sit outside long into the evening as the summer days stretch ahead.

Having constructed 2 new doors with steps down which used to be windows on to the garden and either side of the double front door, the garden space instantly becomes almost fused with the inner space for a good part of the year. Even though we have yet to “do” our garden, I remember countless evenings last year when we sat outside with friends and family visiting; music, wine, laughter and of course Mr. Fix It’s famous barbeque on the go (another one of his talents).

Plans for our garden? Well here in the South of France swimming pools are very common. As you fly into either Carcassonne, Beziers or Montpellier you can clearly see swimming pools dotted around the countryside and it’s easy to see why: with over 320 days of sunshine to enjoy and temperatures often reaching into the 40s in July and August, a pool becomes perhaps not a necessity but certainly a sensible option. We have planned a small pool for one end of our garden, just enough space to cool off and practise a few strokes we thought. There is something magical about sitting close to water even if one doesn’t venture in and knowing Mr. Fix It, our pool will be well lit inside, lending a luxurious air to this space.

Most of our garden will be levelled over and paved but we will retain a portion at the opposite end from the future pool as a space for plants and 2 existing trees. One side of the garden is walled (I love walled gardens) with a strange feature in the middle which we intend to develop in some way. Ideas welcome, here it comes!

The season of Spring invariably brings with it a sense of optimism and new beginnings and here in the South of France there are notable differences as the days grow longer: parks and gardens in our nearby towns of Carcassonne, Narbonne and Montpellier are open longer showing off their fresh green colours, the pavement café tables are filling up and restaurants become busy both at lunchtime and in the evenings. A visit to the stunning ancient Cathar village of Minerve the other day and a delicious lunch sitting outside overlooking the massive gorge over the River Cesse renewed Mr. Fix It’s vigour to press on with work on our kitchen. As for me, until the day when our kitchen is finally in, I have no complaints: Minerve and so many other villages and towns here are so beautiful, so relaxing and reached by such leisurely traffic free, tree lined roads, I am quite happy to look far over to the mountains in the distance and enjoy the moment.

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

Have a look at my website at: http://www.francebuyingguide.comAlexisThe Overseas Guides CompanyFrance@overseasguidescompany.com

Kitchen planning – and more exploring in the sun!

2011-03-17T04:48:00.000-07:00

With a little help from a friend – the lovely Trevor who was with us last week – we have achieved a huge amount this week. Remember the picture of the window in the kitchen we were planning to raise in last week’s blog? Well I have news for you: it’s all done! Just raising this by around 9 inches has made a massive difference, not only aesthetically but in terms of light flooding in – not to mention now being able to see the sky above the terracotta roofs of our neighbours.

Our large white ceramic sink will be sited underneath this window and of course whilst the boys were working on it, I was already planning my pots of herbs and the like to sit neatly in the sunshine on the windowsill.

Between them, Mr. Fix It and Trevor dug out the floor and laid the plates and joists in order to level it off ahead of putting down our wood floor right through this room. Before this however comes the important task of electrics. Mr. Fix It says this is very simple – but then he would as he has done all this before several times in the UK! In France there is no ring main system, everything is done on spurs. Each appliance such as cooker, oven, hob, air conditioning unit, fridge, needs its own circuit breaker on the fuse board. Further, you are limited to 8 double sockets (prises) per spur and no more than 8 lights can be put on one lighting circuit. It is vital of course to stick to the rules and we have been lucky to find an excellent electrician to oversee what Mr. Fix It has achieved so far. You are at liberty to carry out any electrical works yourself but they must be approved by a qualified French registered electrician who will then issue you with a certificate confirming that the rules have been followed.

Mr. Fix It’s lighting plan for our kitchen is truly something to behold. With soft spots on the ceiling, hidden lights under wall cupboards and space for at least a couple of table lamps, I know that this will transform this space we have, as only good lighting can do. We have shopped around over the last year for wall lights, low voltage tracks and table lamps. It is a joy to look around the many “vides greniers” (street sales) and “brocantes” (antique shops) which abound in rural France. We bought this lamp for just €20 a few months ago. And yes you guessed it: I caught Mr. Fix It on a small wine break – well he deserves it after all!

As the old saying goes “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” and living in France renovating this house makes us feel that there is a great deal of truth in this. Thus it was that we headed out at the weekend and explored around and about in both the Aude and the Herault. Our house is just over the border in the Aude. We are quite literally surrounded by vineyards and are still finding new places we have not come across before. On a beautiful day here (of which there are so many) there is really nothing nicer than having a glass of wine, a leisurely meal on a “prix fixe” menu – oh, and meeting a young friendly cat. As Trevor said to us before he left to go back to the UK, you can see for miles around you wherever you look in this stunning part of France – and no-one seems to be in a rush to get anywhere.

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

Have a look at my website at: http://www.francebuyingguide.comAlexisThe Overseas Guides CompanyFrance@overseasguidescompany.com

Fun in the sun in France!

2011-03-10T03:37:00.000-08:00

It is so hard to believe we are still in early March down here in the Languedoc Roussillon. The sun shines most every day, each day is lasting longer and it will not be long before we are sitting out in our garden well into the evening. Despite the mammoth task we have taken on in renovating our house – or perhaps because of it! – we have been out and about this week to some favourite places and some new haunts, making the most of what this area has to offer: the bright sunlight, the proximity to the ocean and the space.
We took Eddie and Alfie to the beach at Agde, close to Beziers the other day. They bounded around like small children, bemused by the soft sand and splashing in the sea. This is a wonderful time of the year: there are few tourists but just a sprinkling of people out enjoying this balmy spring weather. Who can resist sitting in a pretty restaurant on a boardwalk overlooking the sea, eating freshly caught fish? Mr. Fix It and I could not.

There is something wonderfully unpretentious about the seaside here in France. In fact, overall we have found there is less “keeping up with the Jones’s” than we have been used to in the UK. I wonder if this is because of the space in this country. People are less stressed when they live in spacious surroundings and it is as if the French have less to prove to each other. There is also something intangible and extremely attractive about their way of life – a certain “je ne sais quoi” as they would say. They stop for lunch; they linger in cafes and chat in the markets. Mr. Fix It and I have noticed our own perspectives on life change over the last year since we have been down here, most definitely for the better.
A trip to a pretty village called Ginestas, just 15 minutes away from us, completed our weekend break from the renovation. We came upon a wonderful restaurant with a raised terrace and sat in the sunshine. These are good moments, ones when we still feel as though we are on holiday until we realise how many beautiful villages and towns we have right on our doorstep to lure us away from the work in hand: yes we live here, this has become our home.

Back down to earth with a bump on Monday and a good friend from the UK arrived to give Mr. Fix It a helping hand: and what a helping hand indeed. In just one day Trevor has dug out our kitchen floor and levelled it off ready for the new floor to be laid. This is hard graft and for jobs such as this it is your friends who are the best to call on to help. Eddie and Alfie gambol happily in the rubble: oh if only they could dig a little deeper and offer some help!

(With Trevor’s wonderful, hands on assistance, we will soon see the window in the above picture raised by around a foot. This will not only enable our sink to be sited underneath, it will afford us more light and views of the blue sky beyond the rooftops to the mountains in the distance. Maybe this is what life offers one here: the ability to look afar and combine a love of the present with a plan for the future. Isn’t that what life is all about after all?

AlexisThe Overseas Guides Company
Have a look at my website at: http://www.francebuyingguide.comAlexisThe Overseas Guides CompanyFrance@overseasguidescompany.com

Take a peek at some of our fine French features

2011-03-03T04:05:00.000-08:00

Mr. Fix It has been beavering away this week preparing for our kitchen floor: no mean feat since the foundations must take in his electrical plan as well as being solid enough to take the wood which will eventually go right through this large room with its quirky corner fireplace. Almost exactly a year ago we walked through the door of our house, feeling a mixture of amazement, trepidation and excitement at what we were taking on. I still remember this kitchen as it was: 2 rather grim rooms with a makeshift shower and WC at one end, scarcely big enough to accommodate a mouse, and a dull mud coloured sink at the other, long long past its sell by date. Mr. Fix It can be justifiably proud of his achievements to date.

Meanwhile I continue to revel in the features of our house, many in built, some left to us by the Church from whom we bought it. The floors, for example, are beautiful and in perfect condition, giving us inspiration for future wall colours. Our larger living room, with its square proportions, easily takes this pretty pattern.

I have always taken the view that it is vital not to take things for granted in life and to remain grateful and admiring of all the good things which come our way. A year on and this house continues to inspire me: the style is extraordinary and even now there seem to be new features to discover here and there. Each marble fireplace has its own style and colour. Look closely at these and imagine how the fine and intricate detail was created long ago.

We had a visit from “Monsieur le Cure” the other day (the priest). A smiling, friendly chap with a humorous twinkle in his eye, he looked up from our entrance hall, across to the kitchen and over to St. Francois, the statue which remains in a niche and seems to look over us. “A house like this must be treated in the same way as a beautiful woman,” he said with the assured air of someone happy in their own skin. “With loving care and attention.” With a sideways glance at Mr. Fix It, I think all three of us knew he was speaking to the converted.

Every now and again I venture to our top floor, waiting patiently for the Mr. Fix It touch, and discover something new. This picture, buried beneath various Catholic missives, came to light and we vowed to find a special place for it in due course.

Descending our grey marble staircase I always pause on the landing where our massive stained glass window panel allows in the morning sunlight. This feature is one of the loveliest here and can be seen as soon as one enters the front door.

So many details of this house are stunning in their own right but when looked at as an ensemble, they give it an air of grandeur and importance. The key to renovating it with flair is to emphasise the features and build on them to make our house into an impressive but comfortable home. We strive to look at both the finer detail and the bigger picture with that goal in mind.

Alexis

The Overseas Guides Company

http://www.francebuyingguide.com/

A feeling of Spring in the air here in France!

2011-02-24T03:49:00.000-08:00

“I can’t believe it is still only February,” remarked Mr. Fix It over the weekend, “just look at the blossom everywhere!” Nature plays by its own rules and the sight of glorious blossom in all shades of pink and white along the sides of the country roads here give us cause to feel that Spring is just around the corner. I drove over to the next village this morning: a wonderful open drive where you can see far into the distance. This one was one of those mornings when everything was crystal clear and the Pyrenees stood majestically in the distance almost willing me, it seemed, to reach out and touch them. Having returned a week ago from the UK, the sharp contrasts between these 2 countries is still uppermost in my mind. Driving is no stress; in fact it is a pleasure. The sky is almost always a strong blue; there is little dullness here. The ancient monuments stand tall, oozing their sense of history, coming into their own, we always feel, as the sun sets and they are seemingly magically up lit in a soft orange glow.

So as the days stretch out Mr. Fix It has been preparing the first stage of our kitchen renovation, clearing out the floor to prepare for the timber and joists which will play host to our huge strips of wood, waiting in the wings for their place in this house. Next will be planning the electrics, a huge task but one which affords us complete choice as to where we site sockets and lights. Mr. Fix It has a “thing” about lighting – a good thing! It is a vital part of making a house feel like a home.

Sunday saw our village come alive: a “vide grenier” or “attic sale” all along the promenade. Always on the lookout for artefacts for our house, we found a beautiful picture, some old iron “log holders” for some of our fireplaces and some exquisite linen (the French do “do” linen well). If you keep your eyes open you can usually find at least one item which may suit amongst the many stalls and the sense of community here is tangible.

We sat outside for lunch and for the first time this year, had a drink in the evening in our garden as the sun lowered. Sunset does not come till around 6.45 pm these days and if I can prise Mr. Fix It away from the “kitchen” with a tempting glass of wine (usually fairly easily achievable), then this is the time I think we both enjoy the most.

Our friends and family keep a track of our progress on this house and those who have visited thus far have immediately seen the potential offered by its huge spaces and grand proportions. It’s true to say that not everyone would have taken on such a project and we envisage quite a while until we can say it is “done” but since we have only ourselves as our judge, we can choose how we spend our time and much of that is spent enjoying life down here in the Languedoc Roussillon. A year on and life in France just gets better.

Alexis
The Overseas Guides Company
Have a look at my website at: http://www.francebuyingguide.com/

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

2011-02-17T03:35:00.000-08:00

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/

Join me as we plan the next stage in the sun!

2011-02-09T04:47:00.000-08:00

Every single day this week has been sunny down here in the Languedoc Roussillon. We wake up to stunning blue sky, not a cloud in sight and the days are stretching. Darkness doesn’t fall until around 6.45 pm now and the early evening light becomes golden and soft. It is easy to understand why so many painters found themselves inspired to capture this: the colours are outstanding here.

Mr. Fix It has his work cut out for him and has thus far achieved so much. So it was that we took advantage of this sublime weather (it is hard to believe it is only February) to put our heads together and think about our future plans for this house. Our top floor consists of 6 rooms and has stunning views over the terracotta rooftops and the mountains in the distance. We already have 3 large bedrooms and 3 bathrooms on our first floor and unless we were planning a hotel here, we realised we do not need, say 5 more bedrooms at the top! Mr. Fix It came up with a brilliant idea. We will open up these top rooms (many are simply stud walls) and create perhaps 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a living room. Having already taken several bookings from friends and family for the summer, this will create a fantastic atmosphere: space and privacy for everyone and enough room to host many people at the same time.

Mr. Fix It never rests for long: having pondered this idea for a while as we sat by the sea, he came straight home and put some rough sketches down on paper. One of the joys of having a house which needs work doing is being able, within reason, to plan it just as you would like it – and I can tell Mr. Fix It will enjoy making the most of the space we have at the top. Venturing up there the other day to give fruit to these preliminary thoughts, we looked down to the bottom and it is only then that the solid and perfect tiled floors come into their own. Our entrance hall is square and large and there are 2 great views from here: one to the small living room and the other through the double doors to the kitchen. I feel sure that Eddie & Alfie would agree about the space here: they seem to use a lot of it as a sort of doggie playground. Take a look!

But the sun won this week! We went to a small fishing port called Marseillan and sunbathed (yes, sunbathed in February) as we ate a delicious seafood lunch and watched the world go by. It is during these moments that we feel inspired to carry on with our renovation and although I have said it before, many times, we thank our lucky stars that we chose to come down here to the South of France to live.

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

A peek inside our beautiful French home

2011-02-03T02:55:00.000-08:00

It may sound rather odd when I say I am not sure exactly how many fireplaces we have here but it’s true: I think it is either fifteen or sixteen! Furthermore, all are in solid marble and all draw outstandingly well. In this house of over 3,300 sq.ft. we have, thanks to the Church from whom we bought it, so many wonderful features that we count our lucky stars every day at finding it for just €200,000. Just stop and think about that for a moment: where in the UK could you possibly find such a place, with its wealth of stunning artefacts, for such an amount? I still think of this as quite an extraordinary fact!

Scarcely a day goes by without us thinking about the potential of this house. Yes, we still have a mass of work to do to bring it up to its former glory but the square rooms, high ceilings and the stunning layout with its grand entrance hall and sweeping marble staircase give it such an air of grandeur that even in its present state of on-going renovation, it feels gloriously luxurious. I cannot emphasise enough how great space lends an air of comfort. I find I can ignore the dust and debris; even these two bugbears cannot take away from the beauty, peace and grace that seem to pervade this house. Why, even Eddie & Alfie seem to appreciate it, sitting as they often do in a sunny spot on one of the ancient tiled floors.

There is something magical about a log fire but lit or not, these old, solid marble fireplaces do take some beating. Like to see a couple of them? Coming right up!

As we bid January a somewhat fond farewell, Mr. Fix It has his work cut out for him preparing our future kitchen. He is, as I write, inserting the stained glass in what was once a door but will now simply be a feature at the side of the kitchen. Next stop will be to lay the timber and joists in readiness for our wooden floor which has lain for some months in our entrance hall, drying out and maturing. The joists must be laid ahead of the electrical layout naturally and I have every confidence in Mr. Fix It’s ability and tremendous eye to create a stunning light effect in this, the heart of the home. My task is to source the detail: taps, an oven and hob and then the fun part: wall colours and kitchen equipment, the latter of which we have mostly but I feel sure that fact will not stop me from finding the odd beautiful bowl, jug or candlestick to adorn the corner fireplace.

My dear mother in law, who is staying with us for a while, loves this French life. Naturally, she is used to her son drilling, sawing and the like and she spends many a happy hour simply people watching across from our house to the Church whilst he toils away. “Mr. Fix It is a good name for him,” she said to me the other day. “He was just the same as a little boy.” Ah, the acute memory of someone in her 90th decade!

So as the log fire burns in our sitting room each evening, we all have much to be thankful for as we watch our house become a home.

So January draws to a close, the days are stretching and we look forward to many more days pottering around the markets, quirky shops and fine French towns. Mr. Fix It as ever is still full of ideas and I admire his finesse. We have already achieved so much in this house and shall, I have no doubt, continue to enjoy the rest of what is to come.

Alexis
The Overseas Guides Company
Have a look at my website at: http://www.francebuyingguide.com

Mr. Fix It’s French finesse!

2011-01-27T02:30:00.000-08:00

Blessed as we have been this week with wall to wall sunshine, we have taken the opportunity to go out and about, meander through the stunning French countryside catching sight of the snow-capped Pyrenees in the background, walking Eddie & Alfie along the canal, amongst the olive groves and alongside clear streams. These crisp, dry and sunny winter days seem to blow away all the cobwebs and we find ourselves with renewed vigour to continue with our house renovation.

Our kitchen plans are coming along well, yet to be put into practice since there is still much preparation work before the hard graft of putting it all in. We have very high ceilings in this grand old house and Mr. Fix It will lower the kitchen one slightly in order to effect a great lighting scheme to shine down softly on the large space. This will be partnered with table lamps above our corner fireplace and hidden spots under the cupboards. Lighting is so important: it can make or break a room. Even with our kitchen in its present unfitted state, in the evening with just a lamp or two lit, a large church candle on the fireplace and dull light from the oven, the space feels comfortable and welcoming. Mr. Fix It has a natural talent for design and it shows. He also has a tremendous eye for finding items for this house; he can spot a good one a mile away! He came back the other day, filled with joy at finding some beautiful stained glass to insert in the door we are blocking off from our entrance hall to our kitchen. “Can you believe I found two pieces with a fleur de Lys emblem and two with a Tudor rose?” How very fitting! The glass is opaque, slightly beige/yellow which will tone so well with our plans for soft colours in this room.

Looking further ahead, we have found – but not yet acquired – some elegant posts which will hold up our balcony. Whenever we go to Carcassonne or Narbonne, two beautiful towns, we look up and note the stunning wrought iron balconies and posts and brackets underneath. If you keep your eyes open, you can find all sorts of ideas when walking around this beautiful part of France. In almost every town or large village there is a “brocante” shop – a kind of antique cum junk shop and we have spent many a happy hour rummaging around some of these. Occasionally we will find something which stands out and we know immediately that it will suit. I was delighted to find a pure linen bolster cover with our own initials embroidered on it. It must have been meant: there were no other initials available! Bolsters are rarely seen these days in the UK but are still popular in France and our large square bedrooms seem to invite such old fashioned comfort.

So January draws to a close, the days are stretching and we look forward to many more days pottering around the markets, quirky shops and fine French towns. Mr. Fix It as ever is still full of ideas and I admire his finesse. We have already achieved so much in this house and shall, I have no doubt, continue to enjoy the rest of what is to come.

Alexis
The Overseas Guides Company

Have a look at my website at: http://www.francebuyingguide.com/

Mediterranean winter sunshine to blow away the January blues!

2011-01-20T02:15:00.000-08:00

I don’t know about you but I often find the middle of January to be something of a low point: Christmas is long gone, the New Year celebrations are over, the bills are coming in and those resolutions are perhaps struggling to stay intact! Having spent the holidays in England with our family and catching up with old friends, we find ourselves shaking away those January blues however now that we are safely back in our French home still marvelling at the sunny winter days. As I write, the sun is streaming in through our windows, the church lit up ahead of me as if to say “cheer up, this is going to be a good year”.

Coming back to our imposing house, hungry again for the Mr. Fix It touch, we are relishing anew the space and warmth within its walls. Yes, winter is still here for a while but bright sunshine brings with it an immediate sense of happiness and Mr. Fix It is rightly proud of his efforts to install our central heating which works so well. Our house has very high ceilings and many people remarked that the heating may not be as effective as one would have liked for this reason. But it does! It is dry down here and those old cast iron radiators work so well. Coming down our marble staircase in the morning I often stop on the half landing to admire the beautiful stained glass window through which the sun streams.

It seems to us that French life is very much focussed on appreciating what the country has to offer: beaches, mountains, fine architecture, a wealth of history, wine, culture, cooking and traditions which date back several centuries. Sometimes the French can seem very set in their ways and reluctant to effect change. But we have found this is part of the charm of living here. Life is full of variety and in general the lifestyle is very relaxed. Lunchtime is still an important part of the day. At least one person each day says to us around mid-day “bon appetit”. Yes, there are fine restaurants but also excellent bistros and small restaurants with a “prix fixe” menu offering marvellous value.

Rome was not built in a day, as the saying goes, and thus we are taking our time over our house renovation, eager to get it all right. A year on, we have achieved a great deal but there remains much to be done. One thing we do know however is that we have no desire to live again in the UK, life here suits us – and so many others, young and old alike – very well. There is a feeling of stimulation undergoing a project such as this one and that, coupled with continually maintaining a feeling of still being on holiday, is what makes our lives here so joyous. Tempted to do the same? I do not think you will regret it!

Mr. Fix It and I wish you an easy passage through January – soon Spring will be on its way but for now the winter does not seem so bad, blessed as we are with that lovely Mediterranean sunshine.

Alexis

The Overseas Guides Company

Have a look at my website at: http://www.francebuyingguide.com/

Looking forward to a very French 2011

2011-01-13T05:57:00.000-08:00

As each year passes and a new one begins, most of us take time to reflect on what has been, what we have done and achieved and then to plan for what is to come. Mr. Fix It and I have enjoyed an extended break back in the UK to spend time with family and friends over Christmas and the New Year. We travelled through from our home in the Languedoc Roussillon by car, passing through 4 more countries en route for England, Eddie & Alfie sweetly ignorant of their increasing cultural experiences.

It occurred to us en route that we now feel very much a part of central Europe; that our perspectives have changed since we have been living down in the South of France for the best part of 2010. We feel as though we are on some sort of adventure and our connection with different European nationalities gives us great stimulus.

We achieved a great deal in this huge house in just under a year. A few weeks’ break from hard toil for Mr. Fix It can only have done him good: we come back refreshed, with renewed vitality and great anticipation for the year ahead. First stop: the kitchen! I confess to being extremely excited at the thought of finally opening my library of cook books and being able to rustle up a variety of dishes. Cassoulet, a hearty casserole from our region, has always been a favourite of mine and I have already decided that this will be my first “proper” meal once our kitchen is in. I will have to wait a little longer however: Mr. Fix It, ever in planning mode, is deciding on lighting, positions for appliances and sockets and heights of both worktops and “L” shaped breakfast bar. Yes, we still have a lot to do in the heart of our home but we will get there: watch this space!

Christmas in the snow with our family was a very welcome break. Mr. Fix It, ever the handyman, powered up a remote control helicopter on Christmas Day to entertain our small nephews and nieces although in truth, it was my 85 year old father (along with Mr. Fix It) who enjoyed it the most: there is a little child lurking deep inside us all!

The seasons in the Languedoc Roussillon are marked and individual and although it is quite a few degrees warmer than the UK and Northern Europe, the winter is still winter: crisp, cold dry air. One thing we notice though, since being away for a few weeks, is the sun: there is simply more of it here! Even a cold wintry day is usually bright and the sky is rarely overcast.

So we are happy to come back and set our minds to elevating this beautiful house to the level which it deserves. Even though the New Year has just begun, we already have several “bookings” from friends and family for the Spring and Summer months. Looking back for a moment and remembering visits from 2010, what we remember most is that without exception, each of our visitors has loved their time with us. Everyone, it seems, likes an adventure, many of us would like to do so. Perhaps it will be your time this year to buy your dream home in France?

I wish you much joy and happiness for the year ahead. I hope it brings you everything you choose.

We are happy to be back in this country of space and beauty. Mr. Fix It and I hope your dreams also come true in 2011.

Alexis
The Overseas Guides Company
Have a look at my website at: http://www.francebuyingguide.com/

Reflections on our renovation

2010-12-16T06:35:00.000-08:00

As the year comes to an end, we look back on our achievements in France. We arrived at the end of February and although the house was cold and in need of much work, its proportions were such that we knew even then, in its slightly neglected state, that we had found a great home. Those first few weeks were ones of settling in to our new life and I remember the snow blanketing our village and all around as we sat around log fires each evening and planned the first stage of the work.

One of our first major achievements was knocking the wall down between 2 rooms on the ground floor to create a huge kitchen – closely to be followed by the demolition of the pigeon tower in the garden. I remember both those times as being landmarks in our story: one can imagine the space which results from knocking down a wall but actually seeing the result is quite another thing. Thus it was that our garden took on a whole new aspect and the kitchen, with its high ceiling and great new space, already looked bright and inviting.

The tower was a big job of demolition but once down, made us realise how much light we now had coming in at all levels of the house. The ancient balcony, already crumbling, was next and the new one remains to be constructed in the year to come.

Opening out our big family bathroom was the next step ( hitherto we had had a rudimentary shower in what is now the kitchen!), closely followed by creating doors in place of windows at ground floor level in both the kitchen and the small living room. Then Mr. Fix It, always seemingly one step ahead, designed and installed our 2 ensuite bathrooms back to back.

We have had jolly times with visitors, both friends and family throughout the spring and summer; endless evenings sitting in the garden until the early hours when it was still warm until late September.

Central heating was a big job but is now safely installed. Our house, already warm with log fires each evening, took on the feel of a real home at this point.

As I write, we are staying with friends in Germany en route for England and Christmas time with family. It will be good to take stock, to plan for 2011 and for Mr. Fix It to have a time of rest, recuperation and celebration. We look forward greatly to the New Year and all it may bring, knowing that the sun will always shine on our lovely corner of the South of France and that next year our house will gradually become quite splendid.

I wish you the happiest Christmas, wherever you are and may the New Year bring you peace, prosperity and happiness.

Alexis
The Overseas Guides Company
Have a look at my website at: http://www.francebuyingguide.com/

The importance of light and space

2010-12-09T03:00:00.000-08:00

It is much easier to live in a house undergoing renovation if that house offers you space: with its high ceilings, large square rooms and symmetrical layout, this house fits into that category and was one of the many attractions it held for us when we first saw it. Living in France, one notices and appreciates space so much more – probably because there is so much more of it! Natural light is so important that we could not thrive without it. A room with large windows providing natural light and fresh air means greater productivity and verve: enter Mr. Fix It who has worked tirelessly over these last few months to bring our house back to its former beauty. Having light and space has, I have no doubt, given him increased impetus to carry on.

Our large windows allow us to look at the beauty of nature around us, to watch the world go by and marvel at the huge 14th century church which sits majestically opposite our house. They somehow offer a feeling of a greater connection between the interior and the exterior. We have been blessed with full sunshine again this week, and not a day goes by without our marvelling at how very blue is the sky and how golden the light before sunset.

We count ourselves lucky to have such wonderful natural light. Perhaps this lends inspiration for lighting in our kitchen. Mr. Fix It is as I write preparing his electrical layout plan for this and I know it will be quite stunning: soft lighting under the wall cupboards to show off the granite worktops, lamps all around and small lights from the ceiling pinpointing different parts of the huge space. The importance of good lighting cannot be denied and with our temporary kitchen in place already, a couple of lamps sitting on the corner fireplace, one almost does not notice the fact that we actually have yet to fit the kitchen. Yes, lighting can transform even the dullest room.

With Christmas fast approaching we have taken time out this week to experience local festivities. The run up to Christmas starts later in France but as soon as St. Nicolas (December 6th) approaches, every little village, every town seems to put on some sort of exterior light display: and how well it is done. We visited Carcassonne and sat in the huge square watching the ice skaters uplit from the ice in changing colours. Then as night fell, the trees all around became a blaze of soft colour, the huge centrepiece statue almost seeming to dance in time with the music.

We are leaving this week in the car to drive back to the UK for Christmas with family and friends, our route taking us through Luxembourg, Germany and Belgium. Mr. Fix It can take a well-earned rest from his toils and enjoy a glass of wine or two as we catch up with everyone in England. We wonder if Eddie & Alfie will remember their young days in the UK and whether they will miss their canal side walks here in France. I have a feeling they will go with the flow however, as we have done this year since we started work on this house. A little driving adventure lies in store for them but come evening time, wherever we are, they will be snuggled up to us no doubt, happy to be anywhere that we are.

Alexis
The Overseas Guides Company
Have a look at my website at: http://www.francebuyingguide.com/

Fantastic Mr. Fix It in full flow!

2010-12-02T04:33:00.000-08:00

Like a magician who astounds you with his tricks, Mr. Fix It has seemingly effortlessly started on the hard graft which involves making our kitchen into one of those rooms with the WOW factor. This, the heart of the home, means serious planning whilst the work is going on so that I can still come up with the odd casserole, roast chicken a la francaise or that great regional dish “cassoulet”, all in my mini oven which has served us so well. Thus it was this week that he has fixed us up a temporary kitchen in the dining room end of this room whilst he blitzes the future kitchen end, prepares the walls and floor for future units, oven, hob, fridge/freezer and granite worktops (can’t WAIT for those).

Nine months is a long time to last without a proper kitchen, a simply dreadful old sink and no freezer but I have always taken the view that everything is relative in life and therefore having this temporary kitchen now working, our new chunky ceramic sink plumbed in and even a cutlery drawer (!) in place, it feels positively luxurious by comparison. Naturally, we both have huge anticipation however for how it will be when completed and with 2 cast iron radiators giving out great heat, the corner fireplace begging to be lit and almost a proper worktop for preparation, we are most definitely over the worst and the transformation from its original state is quite extraordinary already.

Whilst there cannot be many of us who consider washing up to be one of life’s joys, I can honestly say that I don’t mind it in the least now, so beautiful and solid is the ceramic sink which will eventually be sited under the back window, waiting to be raised to give more light and afford us more space.

Mr. Fix It’s “Keep calm and carry on mug” serves as a great reminder to go with the flow during this kitchen renovation: Rome was not built in a day after all. One must not forget either that when installing a kitchen pretty much from scratch, a reward is that you can do what you like in terms of lighting, positioning of units and appliances, wall coverings and even doors and windows. We have grand double doors leading into the kitchen and another door has suddenly become somewhat redundant so we will instead make a window at the top giving on to the entrance hall and thus the whole room will seem as though it always was just that: one room and not two knocked into one. Little by little, this stage of our renovation is coming along: watch this space!

The sun continues to shine every day here in the Languedoc Roussillon and I was able to tear Mr. Fix It away from his toils one day this week to walk the dogs by a stream and indulge in one of those typically satisfying “prix fixe” menus in a local French bar cum restaurant nearby. The colours of the trees and landscape as well as the mountain views remain stunning as winter approaches and we revel in that wonderful sense of peace and space as we watch Eddie and Alfie bound along, utterly unconcerned with anything to do with our house renovation.

Not a week goes by without a comment or two from one of our neighbours or passers-by on our progress in this grand old house. Mr. Fix It can be utterly proud of himself as the work continues and we become more and more used to the French way of life. One only has to take a long view, not only through our home but through to the years to come to know that this project is turning out to be quite the most rewarding tone either of us have ever undertaken.

Alexis
The Overseas Guides Company
Have a look at my website at: http://www.francebuyingguide

French cuisine is on its way!

2010-11-25T02:46:00.000-08:00

Like children with a new toy, this week has seen us revel in our newly installed gas central heating. We have concrete floors which retain warmth and these old fashioned cast iron radiators chuck out wonderful and even heat. We still wake up to the sun shining through our full length windows but it is cooler now, so the incredible hard work of Mr. Fix It and Justin, our boiler engineer, was undertaken in the nick of time.

So, warm as toast and basking in the Autumn sunshine during the day, we turn our attention to our future kitchen. This is a great space, around 28 x 14 ft, widening out at the “eating end”. Although I have become used to cooking on our mini oven – indeed a casserole cooks as I write this; it is amazing what you can rustle up in such a small appliance - after 9 months of having no real kitchen to speak of, I am greatly looking forward to this next stage: planning and fitting our kitchen, putting soft lighting in, having a breakfast bar to linger at with a coffee in the mornings, listening to music from the huge speakers which Mr. Fix It has owned for many years and which will nestle underneath the units.

Mr. Fix it is raring to go (his energy is boundless) and his plan on paper looks both slick and functional. Buoyed up by thoughts of fine French cooking from the wonderful cookery book he gave me “Rotis of France”, this coming week will see him putting in the groundwork and me clearing a space at the kitchen end, ready for the wall and floor treatments ahead of the units going in. So it was that we headed off to Ikea in Montpellier to look at kitchens, find a sink, lights and the like and the planning mode will soon become execution mode.

I look back to when we first arrived here, this kitchen space we now have as 2 rooms then, almost begging to be uplifted. The day the wall came down was another one of those days to remember: here suddenly was this new space.

We already have our floor: old pine strips which Mr. Fix It will be laying in due course and I have had the happy task of sourcing taps, lights, an actual kitchen and deciding on which oven to install. The corner fireplace lends a cosy air to this space and with 2 radiators opposite, we envisage many convivial evenings around our dinner table, candles lit, music and hopefully some fine French cooking. We had a taste of what was to become when we had a visit from some of family recently. Why, even Mr. Fix It turned his hand to some cooking.

The concept of DIY is relatively new in France but it is my guess that it will become more and more popular over the next few years. There are some great appliances around however and our American fridge/freezer arrives Thursday, ready to take its place in the new kitchen. This next stage of our renovation is a big deal; after all, the kitchen is the heart of every home. With Christmas fast approaching and a visit to Germany and then to England to spend time with our family on the cards, Mr. Fix It is determined to start the process now and to have it up and running by the end of February. Watch this space!

Meanwhile, Eddie & Alfie keep us grounded. They don’t care about the kitchen and have no interest in our house renovation. They only know that they love the long walks by the canal, sitting by our log fire and tucking in to French dog food: life could be worse for them and for us.

The heat is on!

2010-11-17T03:43:00.000-08:00

We all have days and weeks in life which turn out to be little landmarks and which we will remember in years to come. This week has been one of those for Mr. Fix It and I. Yes, you guessed it: our central heating is on, fully operational, fired up and HOT! The bespectacled “monsieur” turned up again just a few hours ago, inserted our gas meter in the wall outside and put the gas on. With a flick of a switch – actually 2 switches since we have 2 boilers in the cellar – Mr. Fix It swung the heating into action. I have watched him pottering to and fro, in and out of the rooms where he has painstakingly fitted these old radiators, as proud as a child who knows he has written a great essay at school.

We look back a mere 5 weeks and note this fine achievement: the road being dug up outside to create the gas run to our house, endless holes drilled into floors and alcoves to receive over 150 metres (!) of copper piping, 2 boilers fitted in the cellar, 9 radiators plumbed in on ground and first floor, sheer hard graft on the part of both Mr. Fix It and the lovely Justin, our English boiler engineer. I feel a small celebration coming on, perhaps that good bottle of red wine I mentioned last week. This one should do the trick…

I confess I would not know where to start when it comes to installing heating in a grand old house such as this one. Mr. Fix It never fails to amaze me with his knowledge of such basic matters. This is more than DIY. He could, in my view, so easily have been a plumber, tiler, car mechanic or heating engineer and his attention to detail is meticulous. A standing joke here in France has been when we meet friends and neighbours around the village and get chatting, as we have done this week at a huge “vide grenier” in our village and I am complimented on my French – to which Mr. Fix It chimes in: “but have you seen her plumbing? Not a pretty sight…” So yes, you guessed it again, we make a good team, he and I, and my lack of knowledge of HOW to plumb notwithstanding, I sure have learnt a lot of French plumbing vocabulary (well, you never know when you might need it).

I am not sure how comfortable it would have been living without heating until mid-November in the UK. Lovely though it is to be up and running, we have in truth not really needed it to date; such is the mild climate down here in the Languedoc Roussillon. Each day has offered full sun, the colours remain outstanding and the sunsets magical. November 11th was a holiday here, to remember the Armistice of the First World War. The weather was sublime and we had a day out in the lovely city of Narbonne.

Village celebrations continue as the lovely autumn season is now in full flow and Friday night we attended a wonderful “soiree deguisee” or fancy dress evening at our local bar. I had no qualms about dressing up as a Spanish dancer, sleeveless in the mild evening air. Mr. Fix It was a cowboy, a persona that does not become him: his work is of anything but a cowboy! We danced the night away, Mr. Fix It’s French coming along apace now as he enjoyed a well-deserved glass or two of red wine. I am not sure I can say the same about my plumbing ability but please continue to watch this space: you just never know.

Alexis
The Overseas Guides Company
Have you been to the main site yet? http://www.francebuyingguide.com

Sunny Autumn days in the South of France

2010-11-10T05:31:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe we are now well into November as the sun blazes down over the colourful vineyards each day. Mr. Fix It flew back to the UK for his dear daughter Rosie’s graduation ceremony at the beginning of the week so for 3 days it was just Eddie, Alfie and I scrunching the leaves along the canal, basking in the autumn sunshine and sitting by a log fire in the evening.

Aside from being a proud Dad back in the UK, this trip gave Mr. Fix It the chance to fall back and regroup, play about with our kitchen plan on paper as he flew north and soothe the callouses which have appeared on his hands from using heavy power tools to drill holes for all the pipe connections to our radiators. Putting central heating in a huge property such as this is a big deal and as proud as Mr. Fix It is of Rosie, I too am proud of him: not only of his ability and foresight (the first time we ever saw this house he clocked the small alcoves in many rooms, as if tailor made to receive pipe runs between floors) but of his energy and enthusiasm to get this huge job done and dusted.

Such is the bureaucracy in France (one does get used to it!), we were obliged to wait for the “monsieur” from Gaz de France to sign off our works and issue a “Certificat de Conformite”: the pipes underground, the location for the boiler, the flue etc. A rather serious, bespectacled chap turned up and gave us the “ok”. Next step: to make an account with one of the 5 gas companies who estimate future usage from the size of the property and await another visit, no doubt from another bespectacled “monsieur” for our meter to be installed in the box outside our gates and finally, for the gas to be put on. This is imminent and no doubt the day it happens will see Mr. Fix It opening one of his finer bottles of Minervois wine.

Meanwhile not a day goes by without my amazement at the balmy days and truly fantastic colours in this, our first autumn season in the South of France. Nature offers us great ideas, I have always thought and as I drove twice to Toulouse Airport to take and pick up Mr. Fix It for his trip to the UK, I marvelled at the sheer reds and burnt oranges all along the way. Even the middle section of the autoroute boasted glorious colour and I began to plan for our future decoration and paint colours as I listened to classic romantic French songs on the radio. Space and stunning surroundings offer inspiration.

Mr. Fix It returned from his trip, happy to be home. “Three days there was enough” he said, “it was so busy, I had forgotten how people race around and how congested the roads are in England. Plus it is at least ten degrees warmer here in France.” The sun shone as he emerged from arrivals and it was hard to know who was the happier to see him: me, Eddie or Alfie.

I am not sure how long it takes to truly integrate into another country. Maybe the length of time is different for each one of us. Both of us having always been truly committed Francophiles, we have taken to French life as a duck takes to water. The secret is to love the differences, all of them, and take the whole package on board. This we have done with gusto as we continue to work on this beautiful house, always taking time to look up at the blue sky, along the tree line and down into the canal waters and thus see this autumn season in its full glory.

Alexis
The Overseas Guides Company
Visit the main website at: http://www.francebuyingguide.com/

Another little view of our French home!

2010-11-04T04:07:00.000-07:00

As we continue with our huge renovation project down here in the Languedoc Roussillon, we have nonetheless taken time out every now and then over the last 8 months or so to welcome friends and family down here. This, we find, is one of the joys of living in France. Rather than spending just an evening together as we did in the UK, we can spend real time with our friends and enjoy their company as well as revel in their interest in our work. Mr. Fix It is more than happy occasionally to down tools, tootle off to some neighbouring village for lunch and enjoy the company of old friends with a fine glass of Minervois. This week saw us doing just that as we welcomed some of our family down here for a few days. We paid a visit to the old Cathar stronghold of Lastours where we happened upon a Michelin starred restaurant, set on the site of an old factory, nestling beneath 2 Cathar chateaux. Life could be worse!

“This house is splendid,” mused Steven, a lawyer by trade and therefore not one to offer false compliments. We showed them around proudly and sat at our kitchen table for the first time. A log fire in the corner, soft candles and lighting, a little music, some robust red wine and delicious delicacies from the wonderful market in Narbonne: why, we almost forgot we don’t actually have a kitchen fitted yet! So this was a landmark for us: we could see how convivial, warm and cosy this space will be when it is properly up and running.

Our rooms are mostly square and large with high ceilings, our floors splendidly tiled and intact. Although we have a great deal still to do, this house becomes somehow more “lived in” each day. Standing majestically opposite the 14th century church of St. Julien, it invites great interest from passing folk, its Flemish architecture standing out amongst the French houses alongside it. We often wonder about its history, a mission for me in store whilst Mr. Fix It continues to pipe in our remaining cast iron radiators in the entrance hall, kitchen and one of the bedrooms and we await the final “oui” from the monsieur at Gaz de France.

Now in the heart of the Autumn season, fetes and gatherings abound in the villages surrounding us and the colours on the rural landscape are quite astounding: reds, oranges, yellows, browns each take their place and sometimes mingle amongst the trees, vineyards and leaves. The sun is still with us, now lower in the sky but still bright and golden until early evening.

The long views over the hills and mountains which surround our village render us humble: there is a real feeling here of humans having worked the land for over two thousand years. As we continue to bring this house back to its former glory, we marvel at the Cathar monuments, often seemingly precariously placed at the top of a craggy rock, and wonder at their ability to build so magnificently in those ancient times. Mr. Fix It can take heart: his knowledge of house renovation is paying off bit by bit and as the work continues, we revel in this Autumn season here in the South of France.

Alexis
The Overseas Guides Company
Visit my main website at: http://www.francebuyingguide.com/

Come with me inside our French home!

2010-10-26T02:02:00.000-07:00

Excitement mounts this week as one by one, thanks to Mr. Fix It and Justin working happily in tandem, the radiators are being piped in and we look forward to finally having gas central heating installed in our house. I marvel at their speed and when that Friday feeling came, we went to our little bar for lunch, a welcome and richly deserved break for these two hard workers. With Autumn now upon us, the vines and plane trees have turned to burnt oranges and reds and yet we are still blessed with strong sunshine each day and count ourselves lucky to be living in this bright and beautiful climate. Nonetheless, we have sat by a log fire most evenings now that the air has turned a little cooler.

Mr. Fix It can be justifiably proud of the work he has done, the progress he has made throughout the last 8 months. He is a member of the “old school”, that is to say his motto seems to be that if a job is worth doing, it is worth doing well: a fine attitude. It takes time and energy to be meticulous but it pays off in the end and so it is that over the next couple of weeks I invite you on a mini tour of parts of our house where huge improvement has been made so that you can see for yourself.

Come with me now and step inside for a peek!

Small sitting room with fleur de lys tiled floor, marble fireplace, cast iron radiator piped in

Bedroom overlooking the garden, another radiator piped in and another marble fireplace

One of the ensuites, large soft tiles and oblong shower tray

The other ensuite, almost a luxurious bathroom!

Another bedroom, light flooding in from the left where we created a new window to receive the morning sun (and another marble fireplace)

There is something magical about this house: the atmosphere is one of peace and space and I have yet to meet anyone, be it our visitors from the UK or French friends, who has not looked up with an expression approaching awe, not only at the scale and proportion of the rooms but at the amount of work there appears to be in store! Yet it is because of those two things: scale and proportion, that we find it easy to live amongst the dust and debris. Renovating any property can bring with it moments of hardship and I will be the first to admit that I look forward greatly to having an actual kitchen and good lighting. But notwithstanding its present state – work in progress – we feel comfortable and nurtured here. I can only imagine how glorious it will be when it is finished, our balcony in place and garden landscaped.

That day, whenever it will be, is a long way off and in the meantime life down here in the Languedoc Roussillon continues to be full of happiness for us both. Creating a beautiful home, particularly in this stunning part of France, is something I would not change for the world.

Alexis
http://www.francebuyingguide.com/

It's a gas (naturally)!

2010-10-19T01:57:00.000-07:00

Heating a grand old house such as this one takes some planning. Mr. Fix It, as thorough (and knowledgeable) as ever, has given much thought to this very important stage of our renovation. Having scoured “Le Bon Coin”, the French internet selling site, for cast iron old fashioned radiators, we now have 11 of these ready to be fired up. We will need more in the future of course – our top floor has yet to receive the magic Mr. Fix It touch – but it has been all systems go this week to work out the pipe runs, the location for our 2 boilers and the positioning of each radiator on both ground and first floors. We have a huge cellar! So the boilers will be sited there, vented to the outside with a grille at garden level.

Next step: finding someone to help Mr. Fix It get it all working. Here is where it pays to make an effort to ask around, get talking to people, be sociable. Now Mr. Fix It’s French is not perfect by any means but he is well passed that elementary “restaurant French” stage (as he would put it) and so it was that we found ourselves chatting to an enormously likeable Frenchman at our bar recently who was, like most people here, very interested in our house renovation. His face lit up as though he had discovered some new invention: “Vous allez rire,” (You will laugh) he said, “Je connais un anglais tres sympa qui pourra vous aider” (I know a very nice Englishman who will be able to help you) Enter Justin, who lives in Carcassonne with his wife and young family. He has advised us well and this week sees Justin and Mr. Fix It working each day to get the heating system up and running. “I love it here,” he offered one day, “I do go back to the UK to visit family occasionally but can never see myself living there again.” We could not help but agree with him.

Not one to be standing idly by, I suppose I could call myself Mr. Fix It’s mate this week. As the gas connection finally went through to the cellar, there was plenty of clearing up to do: every little helps as they say.

Meanwhile the vines, now emptied of their grapes, are turning a glorious colour of burnt red and the French Autumn sun has become golden. It still streams through our bedroom window in the early morning and stays with us till 7 each evening, giving a soft, gentle light as it goes down. Eddie & Alfie enjoy long walks crunching through the leaves beside the canal and this beautiful season is here to be enjoyed, as yet unsullied by thoughts of Christmas. We had a great day out in Caunes Minervois one day, meandering around the old streets and celebrating the “chestnut” fete. Who on earth would think of arranging a fete around chestnuts but the French, we asked ourselves! Quirky it may have been but the atmosphere was so special: generations mixing, a small band playing and a general feeling of relaxation.

Thanks to our lovely Mayor, who contacted Gaz de France to hurry them along, we will have our natural gas connected this week and the boilers will start to hum. We have been lucky, we know that: not everywhere in France has natural gas and to have been able to establish this here is something for which we will be eternally grateful.

We look forward to having our heating up and running very soon but meanwhile marvel, along with the animals, at the gentle sunlight which graces this beautiful village every day.

Alexis
http://www.francebuyingguide.com/

Creating Connections in France

2010-10-12T02:37:00.000-07:00

We have watched the guys from Gaz de France work tirelessly this week digging up the road, inserting our meter in the wall outside our gate and installing the pipe run which will run the natural gas to our house. A great and very jolly bunch of guys, they offered to dig through further to reach our cellar where the pipe will connect to the 2 boilers and afford us central heating. Admittedly, these situations are helped by being able to joke with them in French. A smile goes a long way, a “petit café” even further and thereby we have a great connection.

We have been down here in the Languedoc Roussillon for almost 8 months now and have yet to experience the Autumn season. The air temperature is a little cooler now but the sun is still hot and golden. We have watched the leaves slowly fall, the shadows still long beneath them, their colour rust hued. Autumn fetes abound in local villages: the chestnut fete, the lemon fete, the garlic fete: people go to great lengths in these communities to involve the locality and we have felt very much a part of it. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why we love our life here: we seem to have established a connection with people that was harder to find in the UK. I still love the way everyone says “bonjour” when you enter a shop or meet in the street. It is so simple to make friends here.

October 5th was a special day for Mr. Fix It and me. Having known each other for several years through friends, this date 2 years ago was our first proper meeting on our own and what a day it was: an instant connection! So now in France, we decided to celebrate this great day and drove to Narbonne for a wonderful evening. Built by decree from Rome in 118 BC as a trading post along the then newly constructed Via Dolmitia, this city grew to become the capital of the Roman province of Narbonensis and one of the most important cities of southern Gaul, as it then was. Now, it is a beautiful city, graced by wonderful architecture and rightly proud of its situation alongside the Canal du Midi.

Autumn brings its own rewards, the colours on the landscape here in the South of France become golden and thoughts turn to log fires in the evening. Our kitchen awaits the Mr. Fix It touch: plans for its design are already prepared on paper and I look forward to the day I can indulge in some great culinary delights in what I know will be a wonderful room. But for the moment, as always, we are determined to enjoy our life here whilst planning the next stage of our renovation. This huge project would not be for everyone and if I had a pound (or a euro) for every French friend who has walked into our hallway with that very French “drying thumb” gesture, I would be a rich lady! Little by little, however, our house is taking shape and the space and grandeur of this building go a long way to making up for its present – and temporary – shortcomings.

We feel a huge connection with the French way of life already and still marvel at the strength of the blue sky above us. Why, even one rose has stayed with us as summer fades away.

Alexis
http://www.francebuyingguide.com/

Mr. Fix It and Family

2010-10-04T02:09:00.000-07:00

Familiarising ourselves with the French way and becoming a real part of the village seems to have come easily to us. This has been largely helped by our 2 cocker spaniels, Eddie & Alfie, who greet everyone they meet with loving wags and licks. Thus it was that we met Justin the other day in our local bar, a young English boiler engineer and dog lover. Mr. Fix It was in planning mode (as he frequently is) and although his French is coming on apace, it was with some relief that he was able to discuss our heating requirements with a fellow Englishman, well established in the area and totally au fait with the “normes” or general requirements in France for where and how to site boilers, pipes and the like.

We have a huge, dry cellar and Justin advised us that we should go for 2, rather than 1, boilers side by side, to be placed in the larger part of the cellar with flues giving out to the garden. “November was glorious here last year,” he offered smiling. “But you are wise to get this going now; you will be warm as toast throughout the winter with these grand radiators and a few log fires on the go.” Mr. Fix It is justifiably proud of the 9 cast iron radiators he bought on line and seemingly magically connected the first one in our large entrance hall just this week. Neither of us have any doubt that if the dogs could do, they would help and so their interfering noses as he worked on this first one endeared us to them even more.

The soft late summer sun continues to shine, the last few tractors are still harvesting the grapes and we continue to meet Dutch, German, Spanish and English people on late summer breaks by the canal. Somehow one feels much more centred living down here in the Languedoc Roussillon: there is a vibrancy that comes from mixing with our fellow Europeans. Friends who visited us this week looked in awe at this grand house as they walked in: it seems that everyone is bitten by the same lovely French bug when they come here and we found ourselves looking in estate agents’ windows to encourage their dream of buying a property down here. One of them said we were brave taking this on – there is still a huge amount to do – but could see the continual reward which comes as each improvement is made.

Our evening barbeques are not yet over, it is still warm enough to sit outside until late and although our mini oven serves us well, I start to look forward to the day when our kitchen will go in. I can visualise black granite worktops, sleek finishes and soft lighting as I make our morning coffee watching the sun rise in the east. The plans are down on paper, the logistics left in Mr. Fix It’s capable hands. I know this will be quite a stunning space.

Meanwhile Eddie & Alfie, our immediate family here now, with our adult children spread around the globe, help us in a way they cannot understand. Happy to be wherever we are, they have somehow enabled us to integrate into this little community perhaps more easily than we would have done otherwise: France is a dog loving country. One only has to look into their soulful eyes to realise that being here in the Mediterranean sunshine with them as we continue with our renovation has an added meaning. It all seems so easy.

Alexis
http://www.francebuyingguide.com/

Taking a Long View

2010-09-24T02:33:00.000-07:00

Late September has always been a favourite time of mine. Not only is it my birthday month but each one brings forth memories of cold crispy Autumn weather in England when I was a child. Here in the South of France however, the sun continues to shine, unwilling to let go of the summer and as I write this morning sitting at our garden table watching the morning light softly bathing the Church, a handful of metres away, I know there is nowhere else I would rather be.

Having already transformed our house from a rather sad individual, seemingly craving attention, to a warm and welcoming home over the last 7 months we are able to sit back and take a good view in our minds as to the next stage of renovation. Although we have a very long way to go (we have yet to touch our huge top floor with its views over the rooftops) we have taken the view that it is important to enjoy life and do as the French do: work to live, not live to work. The view of our visitors is interesting too. Having had several members of our family and dear friends to stay over the last few months, Mr. Fix It and I noticed that every one of them seems relaxed and happy here. We don’t have a kitchen yet, no wardrobes to speak of, the garden is yet to be tackled and the sun lights up the dust and dirt but the only comments we have had from our guests have been along the lines of “This is wonderful, I wish we could stay longer.” “The house is fabulous, what a find, I wish we could do something like this.” It is a delight to see our house through the eyes of others.

Last weekend was a celebration of “patrimoine” or heritage. France’s Heritage Days give visitors a chance to peep behind the doors of many historical monuments and thus it was that the Mayor offered guided visits up to the bell tower of our Church. Mr. Fix It climbed the 200 steps to the top with his camera – he had always wanted to inspect the roof of our house. “To have a bird’s eye view for a minute was stunning,” he reported. “What a sight!”

Thanks to a good word from our Mayor, Gaz de France will start the work to connect natural gas to our house on October 11th. An extremely jolly little man turned up on Monday with plans and photographs of the existing gas point and the run through to our house. He told me he had been to see the Mayor who had pretty much told him to “get on with it” since the village will be making improvements to the paving in due course between our house and the Church and the gas connection must of course be carried out in advance. We have 9 cast iron radiators ready to go and now must source a boiler and work out pipe runs under the kitchen floor – easily done at this stage. Although it is hard to imagine needing heating as I write in the sunshine, I think back to early March when we arrived here, lighting 4 log fires each evening to keep warm. What a joy it will be to have central heating this coming winter!

Meanwhile we take great delight in taking a long view, looking at the larger picture and a birthday trip to the Pyrenees this week allowed us to do so in style. There is so very much to be enjoyed in this beautiful country.

Alexis
http://www.francebuyingguide.com/

Letting in the late summer sun

2010-09-17T08:57:00.000-07:00

Renovating a large house such as this one takes time, thought and massive energy. Being blessed by the Mediterranean sunshine every day however, fuels all three. Mr. Fix It continues to amaze me with his effortless enthusiasm and ability to restore our property sympathetically. This week he has worked tirelessly to fine tune the 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms we now have up and running. Although it will be some time before they are “finished” (we have yet to decorate, put in wardrobes, finish off the lighting etc.) they are each beginning to look rather like some grand country house hotel rooms and we take great delight in choosing a different bedroom now and again in which to sleep. Little touches like towel rails, loo roll holders, shower fixtures, glass shelves make such a difference and Mr. Fix It seems to somehow magically deal with such detail, anticipating my desires. Everyone needs a Mr. Fix It!

The sun continues to shine and our evenings are blessed with soft peachy light as the moon takes hold and Venus shows us its glory in the western sky. Whilst Mr. Fix It has been – well fixing it – I have taken it upon myself to thoroughly clean some of our windows, many of which are full length. I have always loved full length windows, they lend a glamorous aspect to any property and in this climate they truly show off their glory. Our garden bedroom, still awaiting its balcony outside, sees the sun dancing in from early morning and sweeping away the dust from the huge windows has made a great difference as we awake. I look forward to the day, still some way off, when we plan our top floor with its 6 or 7 rooms waiting for the Mr. Fix It touch.

It’s true that one can get used to pretty much anything in time and so we have hardly noticed the pile of rubble which has remained in our garden, there being plenty of space to BBQ and sit outside in the evening warmth. Still, it was with a great sense of joy that I watched our builders finally removing this earlier this week and now we can see the space we have outside and begin to make our garden design. Before that however, we await our gas connection – helped by our Mayor who has put in a good word for us to Gaz de France – and it will soon be all systems go to install gas central heating ready for the winter.

Every sunset this week has been stunning but on Tuesday it truly took our breath away. We walked by the Canal du Midi with Eddie & Alfie and were astounded to see the entire sky develop the most beautiful colours I have ever seen: a vibrant blue, sharp pink and soft orange seemed to mingle together. There was no wind, the canal simply reflected the colours and it seemed as though everyone there was united in awe at this, one of nature’s spectacles. As the sun slowly lowered over the horizon and we watched the stars appear in this seemingly huge sky, we counted our blessings and wished that all of our loved ones could be with us to experience this, really quite spiritual moment.

www.FranceBuyingGuide.com

Two Fortuitous – and Very French - Meetings

2010-09-10T08:27:00.000-07:00

Mr. Fix It picked up a call from Sandrine at the Mairie on Tuesday. We had heard word of plans to improve the area outside our house and in front of the Church (less than a stone’s throw away) and we were invited to meet right there at 6 pm with the Mayor, various neighbours and others, to find out what was planned and offer our views. This was the first time I had met our Mayor, a lovely teddy-bear like cuddly chap with a firm handshake. “Vous avez une belle maison la,” he told us (as if we didn’t know) “Le village vous plait?”. A resounding yes from us, many handshakes later, our views of the proposed improvements taken into account, we looked forward to a one to one meeting at the Mairie a couple of days later.

This first meeting was fortuitous because we were able to mention our application to have natural gas installed up to our house ahead of the winter. Since the Mairie are planning works to improve the “place de l’Eglise”, our application would surely be met with some interest and priority.

So it was that yesterday we had an audience with the Mayor in his office. He had already been in touch with “Gaz de France” to ask them to treat our application with some urgency. Digging up the road outside to connect our gas should obviously be done ahead of the proposed works for the village. Time and chance was again on our side.

I asked our Mayor if he was happy about so many English people coming to live in this beautiful part of France. “We welcome English people” he told me. “People are people and the English folk who live here are happy to integrate into the French way of life. I hope you are happy here too” he said with a twinkle in his eye. I told him about this blog and he was keen to include it in our village website. It takes two to tango, I thought. If you are prepared to take an interest in your surroundings, the people who live in your community in France, you will be rewarded with friendliness and warmth.

So we await our gas connection and meanwhile can look ahead to a warm winter, log fires in every room and the ambient background heat from our future central heating. For the moment, however, the sun still shines bright and strong, summer is not yet over and the shadows in the early evening sun are long.

The wine harvest has begun in earnest and we have watched many a tall tractor go by ready to pick up the heavy grapes from the vines to take back to the “caves” which abound in this area. The vines last some 25 years or more, grow for around 2 to 3 years before they are harvested and we are spoilt for choice when it comes to choosing a decent bottle. This, after all, is the largest wine growing area in France.

Yesterday evening I took a walk around our village as the sun gave out its last peachy rays. This is always a special time here: the light is soft and warm and one is unlikely to see more than a tractor or grape picker on the roads. I arrived back at our house to see the sun flooding through the stained glass window on the half landing from the west. Aside from realising that our marble staircase could do with a dust or two (a minor impediment in the greater scheme of things), I thought to myself that here is where I would rather be: we have the time and energy to nurture this house and Mr. Fix It and I consider that we have found our home.

www.francebuyingguide.com/guide.htm

Time and Chance

2010-09-03T05:50:00.000-07:00

The paths we take in life, I have frequently thought, depend to a large extent on time and chance. Some people we meet, some places we go can be either a momentary diversion or a life-changing experience. There are times when had we gone the other way, taken a different job or bought a different house, we would not have followed the same path. Life may have been entirely different. I feel constantly lucky that I met my husband, the notorious Mr. Fix It, relatively late in life and that we both held the same dream: to find and then live in a beautiful house in France.

We have been here for almost exactly 6 months now, and I can scarcely remember a day when the sun did not shine. We are often asked if we miss anything about the UK and in truth we simply do not. We are surrounded by vineyards, mountains, space and never fail to feel our spirits lift as we drive out from our village, eyeing the Pyrenees, still snow-capped, away in the distance, watching the dappled light fall beneath the plane trees.

We have been blessed with a visit from my dear mother-in-law and sister-in-law this week and have seen our surroundings anew through their eyes. “People don’t seem to hurry here,” said Pam, my sister-in-law, “they seem somehow more content with their lot. There is less fear here, life is to be enjoyed”. Indeed, Pam has been so taken with the area, she decided to stay a while longer: there is much to see down here and the tranquillity has given her not only the ability to rest but to have renewed vigour before she goes back to her life in the UK.

Mr. Fix It and I have thought back to the last 6 months and to what we have achieved in this huge house. It is a process of enjoying life to the fullest whilst still planning on the next stage of renovation. Our kitchen plan is perfect on paper and when I look into this large room, light flooding through from east to west in the morning and the reverse in the evening, I can visualise how it will be when the wood floor is down throughout, the sink is sited underneath the west window and the granite worktops are in place. As I look through to the garden I can see our family and friends sitting around a large table only lit by candles, music playing through our huge speakers (already in place in fact) in the ready-made alcove. This, along with installing central heating, will be our next large phase of renovation. Much though I have become used to making do with our mini oven, makeshift worktops and rudimentary cupboard space, I know I will be thrilled to have a large and beautiful kitchen, the heart of the home.

So this week has been about planning and making time for our family. We enjoyed a wonderful day out to the great city of Narbonne, ambled around the cathedral cloisters, walked along the avenue of trees by the canal and soaked up the summer atmosphere.

It is hard to believe that half a year has gone by since we crossed the Channel to begin our adventure and life here in France; enough time, one might say, to become familiar with our surroundings but not nearly enough to complete this massive project. We have found that somehow it is possible to enjoy the journey and live life to the full whilst looking forward to the end result. Time and chance have looked on us kindly so far and for that we are eternally grateful.

Alexis
http://www.francebuyingguide.com/

Beauty and the Heat

2010-08-27T05:10:00.000-07:00

Mr. Fix It and I drove out of our village yesterday and across country to the market in nearby Rieux Minervois. The beauty of the hills, vineyards and olive groves in the strong sunshine is simply breath-taking and we were lost together in the same thoughts: how lucky we are to be surrounded by such rich and stunning countryside. Looking long into the distance, seeing the tips of the Pyrenees and the earthy colours of this Mediterranean landscape would warm the heart of the toughest soul. We determined silently to retain our huge appreciation of this region, however long we live here.

The weather is glorious: very hot, very sunny and clear blue sky every day. I walked to the edge of our village this morning and snapped a few shots before the real heat of the day took over. Being so far south means that the contrast between sun and shadow is far sharper than ever we have known in the UK.

With temperatures no less than 35 and many days up to 40 degrees, Mr. Fix It has had a week of relative rest and we spend each evening until late sitting outside and planning our next stage of restoration of our beautiful home. I say relative rest since one day he drove up to Toulouse to take possession of 9 cast iron radiators which we had found on the site “Au Bon Coin” at a knock down price. As Ludo, our lovely friend and owner of our bar, helped Mr. Fix It take the radiators off the van, I was suddenly rather glad to be female: these radiators are a dead weight. For now they stand alone in our garden but once painted and in place they will enhance the character of this old house. We await hearing from Gaz de France regarding extending the natural gas and then we will be sourcing a boiler which will be sited in our huge cellar with natural vent to ground floor level. In this heat it is somehow hard to imagine needing any heating at all and winters are not usually freezing cold here but this is a large house and not to install any heating, despite our numerous fireplaces, would be a little foolhardy. When we arrived here in March there was thick dry snow for a few days, for example, and although this is unusual here, present day weather patterns are ever changing all over the world.

Aside from the beauty of our surroundings which always give us cause to celebrate, this week saw our Renault go back to her French roots! The process of changing the matriculation from English to French number plates is somewhat lengthy but we followed every step and went to the Prefecture in Carcassonne to collect our “Carte Grise” or log book and receive our new number: AY-130-PR. The new number plates in France have the department number written on the right-hand side and it was joyous to see Alain, our friendly mechanic, drill the plates on – a process which took around 3 minutes after months of administration!

On Tuesday evening, the full moon shone brightly above us. Mr. Fix It and I lingered outside as we do and thought of our good fortune in finding this house, this village, this region. To see the Church at night, no more than 20 metres from our front door, softly up lit and standing so majestically really does takes one’s breath away.

A Little Planning, A Little Stock-Taking

2010-08-20T02:38:00.000-07:00

They say time flies when you are having a good time. We realised this week that we have been down here in the sunny South of France for almost 6 months now and that phrase does ring true with us. It seems as though with each week which passes, time speeds up. One of Mr. Fix It’s favourite phrases of late is: “I still feel as though I am on holiday.” This, despite the enormous tasks he has already undertaken to restore our beautiful house, tells a tale of its own: if life feels like a holiday, it cannot be bad.

Settling back into our house after the joys of my daughter’s wedding in Kent, we have this week taken time to plan our next stage and also look back on what we have achieved so far. The sun continues to shine, the temperatures remain very high and Eddie & Alfie still rejoice in their regular walk by the canal.

Having achieved a great deal in the last few months, our attention now turns to planning our kitchen and putting in heating. Our kitchen is large and light. Now that we have a door and 2 graceful steps giving out to the garden, I can easily visualise warm gatherings around our table as the sun streams in from the west in the evening. The kitchen part will cover around a third of the space, with an L shaped granite worktop serving as a natural break between this and the dining area with corner fireplace. We found a beautiful black glass topped dining table some time ago which will fit perfectly in this space. A true bargain, we went back to buy another which will stay outside where we sit these days with our wine until late most evenings. We already have our floor: old pine planks waiting in our entrance hall until we are ready to start. Our carpenter, Jean-Louis, found this for us: local recommendation is always the best.

A neighbour of ours was telling me about “Au Bon Coin” – a tremendous internet site for anyone undergoing house renovation in France. Mr. Fix It spent a day looking at second-hand old-fashioned radiators and found 9 which will suit us at a real knockdown price and not too far away in Toulouse, for him to go and pick up. My task was to find out if we can connect gas to our property. Not everywhere in France has natural gas but we knew it is already connected in parts of our village. A trip to the Mairie was my start followed by a visit from a chap at “Gaz de France” to locate the nearest point to our house for the gas. This bore fruit: if the existing point is no more than 35 metres from your property, they will connect it at little cost and happily we fit into that category. We will not need the heating for some time but planning ahead, particularly in France with its extensive bureaucracy, does make sense.

Despite days when we feel we have not achieved a great deal, we looked back this week at all the improvements we have carried out to date: the demolition of the tower in the garden, opening up the kitchen, installing 2 ensuite bathrooms, creating doors where there were windows at ground floor level, creating a large window in one of the bedrooms has been no mean feat.

All the way through however, we have taken time out to live and enjoy this lovely area of France. One never tires of seeing the strong sun glinting through the majestic plane trees.

It is Mr. Fix It who deserves a large pat on the back, I am so happy for him that life feels like one big holiday.

Alexis
http://www.francebuyingguide.com/

A Joyous Celebration Away From The Brickdust

2010-08-13T03:16:00.000-07:00

We left the sunshine and the brick dust behind for a few days and flew to the UK to attend my daughter Natasha’s wedding to Sam. Sometimes in life we make our own luck and so it was that this beautiful celebration at a romantic outdoors location in Kent was perfect in every way. As the early evening sun came out to join us, I felt a moment of sheer joy as I watched my dear daughter sing and dance in her wedding dress.

To watch our extended families celebrating this, the happiest of marriages, was a delight. Natasha simply glowed and as I helped her get ready during her last moments of being single, I thought back to the day she was born and wondered where the time had gone. Occasions such as this happy one allow us to take stock and remember that life is to be enjoyed.

Having welcomed my son and his girlfriend Ana to our home ahead of the wedding, our good friends who came to take care of Eddie & Alfie enjoyed a week of celebration here in our village. The summer fete took place the weekend we were away and they were struck by the friendly and safe atmosphere all around us. Having renovated the house to at least a functional level so far, with 3 beautiful and spacious bedrooms to choose from, it was heart-warming to know that our dogs could stay in their own space and that our friends could enjoy something of a holiday as well.

We were welcomed home by 2 wet noses and 2 helicopter tails. To be back in the warm air of the South of France makes us happy and Mr. Fix It is now planning what he calls his “second phase”. Our kitchen design will be high on our list of priorities as well as installing heating ahead of the winter. This week sees us sourcing radiators, air conditioning units and the like.

Having had such a wonderful family time we are also planning ahead to next summer when we hope to welcome as many of them as would like to come. The house is large, open and welcoming and we have yet to meet anyone who has not been open mouthed in admiration at its proportions. Since the day we moved in here I have dreamed of a time when we can welcome everyone to this beautiful part of France.

Many people think of moving to France at some stage in their lives and I am truly lucky that Mr. Fix It and I shared just the same dream. When we drove down here on March 1st this year I can remember wondering what I would miss about the UK and hoping that the huge project we were taking on would not cause us to wonder if we were doing the right thing. I can say with hand on heart that I have not and do not miss one single aspect of life in the UK – and I know Mr. Fix It agrees. Even when it snowed in those early days here and we had to light 4 log fires to keep warm, I have never wanted to leave. Now that we have enjoyed the company of our family and friends and they know they can come and visit us here, that feeling is simply reinforced.

So as we toast my daughter Natasha and her husband Sam at the start of their married life together, we also toast ourselves, this house in all its grandeur and our own contentment at knowing this is our real home.

Alexis
http://www.francebuyingguide.com/

Time Out With Family

2010-08-06T05:18:00.000-07:00

Renovating such a grand and beautiful house as this one takes time. The beauty of it is that we are not “under the gun” and are able to enjoy the journey, have some leisure time and savour every moment. Now that the first floor (thanks to Mr. Fix It) is largely rewired, replumbed and, dare I say it, reasonably clean, we rejoice in being able to welcome friends and family to witness the fruits of our labours.

So it was this week that my son, his girlfriend and cousin, came to visit us. As with all our visitors who have followed this blog, seen pictures and even movies of our home, they are still incredulous when they first set sight on this house. “Is that it?” asked my son Saul. “That’s it,” I said. “It’s huge!”

The days before they arrived saw Mr. Fix It fine tuning the ensuites, the bedrooms and – quite incredibly – even finding time to plumb in our new dishwasher. Lights on, beds made, fluffy towels on the rails and even a rose or two in vases in the bedrooms gave us a great feeling of happiness: now the house can show herself off and the sense of space lends a feeling of grandeur. Why, even Alfie seems to notice how hard we have worked.

This coming week we shall be going back to the UK for my daughter’s wedding. Scattered around the globe as many families now are, it will be thrilling to be together again and celebrate Natasha’s happiness on her big day. Eddie & Alfie will stay in their home here in France and we have now been joined by friends who will take care of them in our absence. As Mr. Fix It barbequed countless chicken legs and sausages outside last night, we toasted our good fortune with our family and friends. Coming from New York, Brazil and the UK, the magic of this wonderful corner of France has worked on all of them. We have had a few days of great company, fine food and wine as well as laughter and warmth.

The sun continues to shine, the brick dust becomes less as we go on and although we have yet to plan our garden and have become somewhat used to our mountain of rubble, we feel an enormous sense of pride at what we have achieved over the last 5 months. Summer is now in full flow, fetes abound in all the little villages here and the sun continues to shine until late in the evening.

Life is about moments and this week we have had several to cherish. As we toast my daughter on her big day, my dream is one day to have all of our extended family come and stay. Our top floor remains untouched, dusty, almost ghost-like but each time I venture up there I sense that it is waiting for its moment to shine out.

Pictures can speak a thousand words and our special time this week with some of our family will remain in our thoughts as we continue to renovate this beautiful house.

Alexis
http://www.francebuyingguide.com/

Magical Mr. Fix It

2010-07-30T02:55:00.000-07:00

Strangely, with a massive project such as this one, it is sometimes the little touches and not so much the large improvements (such as creating pipe runs, opening up doors, doing up bathrooms) which make one’s heart sing. Mr. Fix It was on his own for a few days this week whilst I returned to the UK to see family. “You will notice a difference when you return,” he told me, fully aware that there is little point explaining to me exactly HOW he does what he does, just that the end results will be there for me to see.

After a mesmerising welcome home from my 3 male housemates (Eddie and Alfie were ecstatic to see me and I think Mr. Fix It was not far behind) we came home and I was led upstairs to the first floor which, although by no means finished, is now graced with 3 large bedrooms, a family bathroom and 2 beautiful ensuite shower rooms. Rewiring this floor was a big deal and we had somehow become used to not having light switches yet, instead plugging in extension leads all over to light up each space as we went along. “Take a look at this,” said Mr. Fix It proudly. He had not only put all the plug socket switches in, he had installed lights in both ensuites, in the hallway and in the now double aspect bedroom. Not only that, he had put up towel rails, mirrors and glass shelves. At last I could unwrap my Floris soap from its wrapper and fold up our big fluffy white towels over the rails.

I confess to being so delighted with these little touches that each morning since my return I have lingered in all these rooms, not yet decorated of course, but beautifully lit and welcoming, and imagined myself in some sort of country house hotel. What a delight it is to know it is not a hotel but our home.

Jean-Louis, our carpenter, turned up to install the full length shutters over the new doors at ground floor level on to the garden. They make a huge difference and once painted, will lend the exterior of our house a graceful air. I have decided that Jean-Louis is Mr. Fix It’s French counterpart: of the same generation, he holds a similar old school work ethic and as we enjoyed a glass of wine in our garden yesterday evening and admired the new shutters, he told us somewhat sadly of how his art is dying out, that with the quick fix alternatives one can obtain in home stores even here in France and the lack of enthusiasm of younger folk to learn a trade, the attention to detail and craftsmanship is not the same as it used to be. Although he speaks no English and Mr. Fix It is not quite fluent yet in French, they understand each other perfectly. Communication goes beyond words.

Our evenings are spent outside, contemplating life, love and the next stage of this project. We know the sun will be up bright and early the next day and even though we have been here for almost 6 months now, still wonder at the majesty of the uplit Church so close to us as night falls.

Although we have a great deal still to do and don’t even have a kitchen fitted yet, I am continually grateful that we somehow found this house, this village where we have been made so welcome and that Mr. Fix It works on seemingly effortlessly to create a beautiful home for us.

As for Mr. Fix It and I, we still feel as though we have just begun: each little piece of renovation in this house brings its own reward and despite our having many more days and weeks of work to go, we enjoy the simplicity of life, the flowers, the natural beauty of this countryside and thank our lucky stars every day.

Alexis
http://www.francebuyinguide.com/

Views From The Top

2010-07-23T05:20:00.000-07:00

We bought our house from the Church: previously it had been used for catechism and Sunday school teachings for children. I still remember walking into the grand hallway for the first time and seeing a registration table at an angle, poised in front of the statue of St. Francois de Regis (who still graces our entrance, we have become rather fond of him). The original owner was, we think, a Flemish businessman who built it around the turn of the century in a style totally at odds with French architecture. Either the bureaucracy was not so stringent in those days or the Flemish businessman had enough cash to influence people! Whatever the reason, she stands imposingly opposite the 14th century Church of St. Julien and hardly a day goes by without someone standing outside the huge Church door and looking up at our house, such is her grandeur.

The Church were happy to leave the bits and pieces of furniture and religious artefacts in place – although Monsieur le Cure (the priest) will come by one day to take back some of the dusty books at the top.

Our guests have left us and we have had a week on our own, Mr. Fix It fine tuning the 2 ensuites and starting to connect the electrics on the first floor. The top floor, still awaiting a loving touch, has a magical quality: the 6 rooms are large and afford great views over the rooftops and I have taken great delight exploring their contents. We have huge candelabra, some borne by angels with wings for which we will find a place in the future.

Often when one walks into an old house, one has an immediate sense of atmosphere. The minute we first saw this one, we had a good feel about it and others have commented on this too. Religious or not, there is a feeling of tranquillity and safety here somehow; dirt and dust notwithstanding, we feel as though our house is always smiling at us. The graceful marble staircase winds its way all the down from the top floor and the urge to slide down the banisters is sometimes quite overwhelming.

With summer now in full flow, we relish the hubbub of life in our village. It feels like home now and we feel at once a sense of familiarity as well as admiration for its beauty each time we drive through the promenade lined with huge plane trees. Stephanie and Ludo, who own our bar, have welcomed us with open arms – Eddie and Alfie too. The pace of life is slower, the sun far hotter and the colours and light far sharper than we remember in the UK.

Soon we will be turning our attention to our kitchen – although I confess I have got quite used to our mini oven and lack of cupboards or decent lighting. It is amazing what a feeling of space can do. Mr. Fix It continues to gain my admiration with his attention to detail and fine ideas for design. Why, he must be enjoying it all.

We don’t know how long it will take us to fully renovate this lovely house but we are loving the journey and look forward one day to welcoming both our families down here for a proper celebration. Until that day comes, life really could not be better.

As for Mr. Fix It and I, we still feel as though we have just begun: each little piece of renovation in this house brings its own reward and despite our having many more days and weeks of work to go, we enjoy the simplicity of life, the flowers, the natural beauty of this countryside and thank our lucky stars every day.

Alexis
http://www.francebuyingguide.com/

Days In The Sun, Nights On The Tiles

2010-07-16T02:58:00.000-07:00

The tranquillity of the early morning in our village is truly something to behold: the sun, already warm and welcoming, rises over the rooftops, the birds emerge from their hidey holes in the Church (and the top of our house…) and there is a great feeling of peaceful anticipation for the day ahead. As the mercury rises, the boulangerie opens and the dogs sniff out early morning worms in the garden, it becomes very easy to see through the ever present brick dust and marvel at our good fortune in finding this graceful house.

It is still something of a novelty to be able to walk down our new curved steps and out of either of the doors – until recently windows - to the garden. Each morning too I look up to the new window in one of our bedrooms. The difference this has made to what already was a light and gracious room overlooking the Church, is quite extraordinary: double aspect now, an easy breeze running through it, it is quite simply stunning. Our new balcony awaits and I imagine myself one day soon writing as I am now from outside this very room, morning petit café and dogs beside me.

Mr. Fix It has finished tiling our second ensuite shower room so we have gone, somewhat proudly, from one tiny and rather rough makeshift shower off the kitchen when we first arrived, to 3 decent bathrooms upstairs in just over 4 months. Each day our house becomes lovelier and everyone who comes through her huge front door and enters the square hallway with its high ceilings, eyes naturally drawn to the pale grey marble staircase and huge stained glass window at the turn, gasps at her natural beauty.

We have had guests again this week and so have explored our region a little more as the heat of the day takes its hold. The summer is in full flow as every village or town makes its own fetes and concerts. We celebrated Bastille Day here, sitting at our little bar until late in the evening, strolling through the night market and then watching the fireworks add to the stars above at midnight. Bastille Day, called “Fête Nationale in France, is the French national holiday, celebrated on 14 July each year. It commemorates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, held on the first anniversary of the storming of the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789. The symbol of this is the birth of the modern French nation and the coming together of the French inside the monarchy. The feeling of community is ever present here but on this day more than ever there is cause for celebration in every village and town.

So the days are sunny and the nights warm and somehow one adjusts to a different way of living in this Mediterranean climate: it has not seemed strange to find Mr. Fix It toiling and tiling away as the clock strikes midnight. Then as the day dawns and the village awakes, we see people making the most of the sun before it reaches its full heat around mid-afternoon. A little like the early mornings, this is a quiet time until at 5 pm our epicerie and boulangerie open again, the bar starts to see workers and visitors alike enjoying an early evening drink and the older folk mingle on the promenade to discuss their day, their news and their lives.

As for Mr. Fix It and I, we still feel as though we have just begun: each little piece of renovation in this house brings its own reward and despite our having many more days and weeks of work to go, we enjoy the simplicity of life, the flowers, the natural beauty of this countryside and thank our lucky stars every day.

Alexis
www.francebuyingguide.com/guide.htm

Space, Light and Air

2010-07-09T02:02:00.000-07:00

It is hard to remember a day when the sun was not shining here in the Languedoc Roussillon. Even when we arrived, witnessed thick snow and sat by log fires in the evening, the sun glinted through the trees making the white ground sparkle. Now, as summer is truly underway, the temperature has gradually soared – each day is around 35 degrees or more - and the heat remains until well into the evening. The village is awash with colour, the straight line of plane trees seems sharper than ever before and the space, light and clarity of air lend us massive perspective: life here is to be enjoyed, cherished, embraced.

Mr. Fix It has been working through this heat to get our 2nd ensuite bathroom up and running: I marvel not just at his knowledge of all things electrical and all things plumbing but his determination to renovate this house with such grace. The large grainy tiles we bought are square and perfect – yes he fitted those too – and so our new showers feel like sheer luxury. The 2 ensuites are side by side, not huge but big enough for each to house a large oblong ceramic shower tray, a square basin and loo.

The bedroom with the newly constructed window is glorious: light on 2 sides, stunning views of the Church, our garden and the little road beyond. Mr. Fix It took down the inner door to this room and raised the gap at head level so it truly is a large ensuite bedroom. The ensuite on the other side will serve the bedroom which looks square on to the garden – and is by far the warmest as it faces east and soaks up the strong morning sun.

Although we have yet to make our new balcony, which will run the length of both of these bedrooms, the pigeons still sit and coo on the sill, protecting the eggs which remain in their makeshift nest. When the tower was still here, Mr. Fix It was sometimes on the verge of taking dummy pot shots at the pigeons who, true to say, did rather mess up our lovely door steps and once even took the liberty to use Mr. Fix It’s forehead…. So imagine my intrigue when I saw him rigging up a cardboard sunshield to protect the box nest from the direct morning sunlight. Mr. Fix It seems to think of everything and although possibly loathe to admit it, feels for these pigeon parents trying to nurture their eggs.

Our carpenter, Jean-Louis, has arrived here early most days this week to avoid working in the deepest heat of the day. We discuss football, door hinges, types of plaster, babies (his son’s wife has just presented him with a new grandson) and joke about the unreliability of English weather and getting older. He is a wonderful man, like the “old school” artisans I remember from my childhood, taking real pride in his work. He has fitted us the 3 new doors, 2 downstairs and 1 upstairs and they look beautiful: they are large and graceful with 4 double panels of window down to I suppose waist level.

Yesterday evening I strolled out to the promenade with the aim of taking a few photos in the lowering sunlight. The lovely couple who own our bar were themselves sitting out and I joined them for a glass of good Languedoc-Roussillon red wine. An English couple we know a little joined us, tanned and smiling. Inevitably, the conversation gets around to life in the south of France and trying to list the reasons why it is so joyous. “Clarity of air,” said Jenny, the English lady. “The Mediterranean climate,” said Ludo, the owner of the bar. “Space and light,” I offered.

In truth, it is all these things and more that makes life special here. There is an intangible quality of peace and fulfilment amongst this community and it is rubbing off on Mr. Fix It and I day by day.

Alexis
www.francebuyingguide.com/guide.htm

Reflection, Anticipation and Enjoying The Moment

2010-07-02T04:20:00.000-07:00

When you really think about it, life is a mixture of all of the above, each has their place. It is important to look forward, to plan and to remain positive. Reflecting on what has gone by has its place too. Memories are something we all treasure and the path we take to arrive at where we are now makes us what we are. Enjoying the moment deserves recognition however: it is soothing to appreciate the now without nostalgia for the past or worry for the future.

We have been in all 3 zones this week: celebrating our first anniversary of marriage as we did yesterday, we had cause to reflect on our meeting, the joy of knowing this was right, then our mutual desire to buy a property in France to work on. Then we look at the house and realise we are making progress each day and try to imagine how it will be, say, this time next year. But finally we have enjoyed the company of good friends and have had several moments of sheer joy, sitting out until the early hours in our garden, backed up with rubble which somehow does not seem to matter.

The opening of the window in one upstairs bedroom has made a huge difference: the light floods in from 2 sides and now that the ensuite is up and running, one could almost say this was a luxury hotel suite (ignoring the brick dust of course).

It is stunningly hot and the temperature does not reach its peak until around 5 pm. We have taken days out with our friends to explore this beautiful region and laughed our way through several meals sitting in the dappled light afforded by the plane trees in our village. We have watched children play on their bikes or roller skates, Eddie & Alfie bounding around together along the canal.

Our builders have made curved steps to match the front door below the new openings at ground floor level and it is still a novelty to walk out from either of these instead of the front door. Our garden table sits next to the rubble in the garden but the scale of this house and outside space is such that one hardly notices. Using some of the rubble as a base for the garden is a great idea and it will not be long before we are planning this space. This Mediterranean climate means greater outdoor living and Mr. Fix It has already found time this week, aside from practically rewiring the whole of the first floor and putting in showers in the ensuites, to put together our BBQ.

When undertaking a project of this size it is occasionally easy to forget just how much there is to do but having our friends here reminded us to at least take a look again at our second floor. The marble staircase winds up again from the large first floor landing and here at the top of the house are 6 – or is it 7? – more rooms waiting their turn to be beautified. The views over the terracotta rooftops and on to the mountains from here are stunning.

Our baby pigeons are now fully grown and one has literally flown its makeshift nest this morning! The other teeters on the edge, about to take its maiden flight and lo and behold 2 eggs have suddenly appeared. Having taken the tower – and the pigeons’ home – down, we seem to be unwittingly creating a pigeon sanctuary nonetheless!

Mr. Fix It and I sat outside until the early hours on the eve of our first anniversary, still amazed at our good fortune, not only in finding each other but in finding this beautiful property. The work goes on and there is still much to do but we will always be able to look up at the stars.

Alexis
http://www.francebuyingguide.com/

Restez Calme Et Continuez

2010-06-25T03:44:00.000-07:00

“Keep calm and carry on” – that well known phrase taken from a poster brought out at the start of World War Two to raise the morale of the British public just happens to be one of Mr. Fix It’s favourite phrases. Why, he even translated it into French for me and mounted it in a frame to look much like the original and it now graces our hallway, somewhat fittingly I feel, perched below St. Francois de Regis.

This week we have had cause to reflect on this phrase as the bulk of the structural work has got underway: the tower is gone, we now have 2 large openings on the ground floor where we are making doors instead of windows and upstairs we have opened up what we had thought was once a window but in fact was simply a façade. To achieve all this has in reality meant living amongst falling masonry, mountains of rubble, thick brick dust everywhere and constant noise.

To add to this, our local commune decided to pick this week to dig up the ground at the side of our house to replace leaking water pipes. There was one afternoon when I was sitting at my computer, wiping the screen as I wrote whilst listening to the diamond drill breaking through solid concrete above me, heavy machinery digging into the roads outside and Mr. Fix It cutting wood with one of his heavy duty English power tools upstairs. I had to laugh: I felt like a war correspondent carrying on regardless – there comes the phrase again: “Keep calm and carry on!”

We are overjoyed at the gradual result of this heavy work however. It is always joyous to see the light come in and this house is bathed in it from dawn till dusk, particularly now we have made doors on to the garden. The dust and mess will be easily cleared before too long and once the rubble is gone there will be little, if any more structural work.

I chat to a lovely lady each day who sits outside her house, just steps away from ours. She loves to watch our progress and said she is delighted to see so many English people in our region, why did I think they come here? I replied that the climate has a lot to do with it – and people like her have a lot to do with it: once you make an effort to integrate into the community, you are rewarded with smiles and friendliness. Mr. Fix It and I are always aware of this strong spirit amongst the people here: they just seem to have got it right! A smile and a cheery “bonjour” go a long way and kindness is rewarded with kindness.

Our visitors arrive this weekend and Mr. Fix It and I look forward to some outings in the hot sun: it is gloriously warm and still light until gone 10.30 pm each evening and he will no doubt relish getting out of these 2 ensuites (yes they are ALMOST finished!) to enjoy some richly deserved leisure time along the Canal du Midi, perhaps taking in some wine tasting in one of the numerous “caves” here, ambling around one of the many markets and contemplating life in the South of France outside in our garden.

We will have been married for one whole year next week and this, the happiest of years for us both, has flown by. Our good friends will be with us as we celebrate our anniversary, perhaps in one of the Michelin recommended restaurants close by. After that it will be back to work on the house, content in the knowledge that we have each other, a beautiful house in the South of France and a huge amount to look forward to in this most beautiful country.

Alexis

http://www.francebuyingguide.com/

Seeing The Light!

2010-06-18T02:51:00.000-07:00

We are greeted each morning on the dot of 8 am with a firm handshake from our cheery builders. I make them a “petit café”, we discuss the French World Cup team’s lack of team spirit and with a “boff” and a shrug, they set to work outside, now rendering the wall which remains after the destruction of the tower and ancient balcony. Yes, the tower is down! Yes, we can see the light amid the rubble!

This was no mean feat: unbeknown to any of us, the tower contained 2 heavy iron water tanks and needed all 3 of the builders to extract. I watched in trepidation one day as one of them beat away at the edge of the tower with a heavy hammer, perched precariously on the scaffolding tower. They have made no fuss about this, have simply got on with the job and really seem pleased that WE are so pleased with the result. These builders have been deservedly recommended to us.

We have long imagined how our garden would look without the tower, how big the space will seem and now we have the reality at last: one has a real sense of width and space, the large trees at the left side forming a natural break from the hot sun. Eddie & Alfie seem like mountain goats as they explore the mound of rubble and occasionally dig, perhaps hoping to find the odd scrap of something delicious only to dogs.

The pigeons of course are confused: no balcony, no tower, no home. They have had to fly away to find another place to nest. That is, except for a few: on the first day one of the builders picked up 2 tiny baby pigeons, almost featherless so perhaps just a few days old. We found a box and made a makeshift nest for them with twigs and earth and put them on the sill outside our bedroom. Lo and behold, the mother came back and we have watched her all week, sitting on them, feeding them, nurturing them. They are still there, flexing their little wings ready for their first flying lesson and even Mr. Fix It checks them out each morning, won over by their helplessness and perhaps relieved that at least one pigeon family has withstood the demolition of the tower.

Our fuseboard is in and the new cabling for the 2 ensuites almost done. Now it is plastering and tiling and the builders are, as I write, opening up the 2 windows on the ground floor which will become doors on to the garden.

It is always a good idea, as I mention in my France Buying Guide www.francebuyingguide.com/guide.htm, to make the acquaintance of the maire. Our maire paid us a quick visit the other day, intrigued and hopefully pleased that we are restoring this grand house to its former glory. He and his wife are popular in this village, they are good people and one has a real feeling of purpose and pride in the community as one walks along the promenade.

“Is it my imagination,” asked Mr. Fix It the other day, “or does this village become prettier each day?” I knew instantly what he meant by that. Now that we feel we are a part of it and have the comfort of some routine here, it looks so beautiful. We feel both lucky and proud to be able to see through the brickdust and know that we have much to look forward to living here in the south of France.

Alexis

Demolition In Progress

2010-06-11T02:27:00.000-07:00

“Ca va pour demain a 8 heures?” asked our builder when he popped in after work on Wednesday. “Ca va” we said, and do you know, he and his brother turned up at 7.45 on Thursday morning, armed with scaffolding towers, heavy breaking tools and huge smiles. Now, it is sometimes a dangerous thing to generalise but our experience of English builders has mostly been such that when they say, for example, 8 o’clock, we think they mean 10 o’clock, and when they say tomorrow, they mean next week….

As I write to you this morning, the balcony is almost down and they are now tackling the huge steels which held it in place. Next job: the tower! We are impressed with their attitude: they get on with the job, stopping only – as the French do – for lunch and a morning and evening “petit café”. We can already see the difference in terms of light and space in our garden and although the dust and rubble abound, it is truly exciting to see the exterior of this beautiful property take shape.

Eddie & Alfie – now almost fluent in French of course – nose about amongst the rubble, not bothered in the least by the mess. The pigeons however are having to find a new home and we notice them flying across to the top of our Church, no doubt aware that God loves all animals and will doubtless allow them in. We noticed a cat peering out of one of the small windows of the tower this morning, perhaps hoping to profit from the pigeons’ moving home day in some way. Several neighbours look up as they pass by on their way to the boulangerie for their morning croissant, interested to see the works in progress. So we really have set the cat amongst the pigeons. You know, I just couldn’t resist getting that in...

I cannot emphasise enough the benefits of local recommendation. Our builders came to us after a chat I had with our local epicier and we have now found a charming and capable electrician after the couple who own our bar, recently refurbished, gave him a good write up. He spent an hour with us going over what we can and cannot do. Although one can have plug sockets in bathrooms here, they must be at least 60 cm. from the water outlet and cables must be buried in walls to a thickness of 3 cm. He will come next week to install a huge fuse board and will connect enough cables to serve our 2 ensuites and 3 bedrooms: the remainder will be done as we go along. After that Mr. Fix It will be tiling and fixing up lights and those soft towels and elegant soap dishes I have been dreaming of will finally be put in place.

Our bar will be filled tonight with guys from the village watching the France v Uruguay World Cup game. Mr. Fix It is so taken with living in France that he is now rooting for them – although I have a sneaking feeling that he will be cheering England along too once our guests arrive in a couple of weeks’ time. But today it is “Allez France!”

Meanwhile we are blessed with strong sun until late each evening and love the greater contrast of light and shadow which being so far south offers: no wonder so many great painters were inspired to come to this region of France. Mr. Fix It seems to be equally inspired, perhaps the more so because he – and I – take time to enjoy life here, think about what we really want to do and always stop at some stage during the day to look around us.

Alexis

http://www.FranceBuyingGuide.com

Let The Sun Shine In

2010-06-04T02:49:00.000-07:00

Our house stands gracefully just a stone’s throw from the 14th century Church of St. Julien. Such is France’s pride in its historical monuments, permission to alter the exterior of one’s property is far stricter when that property lies so close to a Church. Thus it was that Mr. Fix It took painstaking care over his drawings and details of what we intend to do to alter the exterior of our house. This paid off: after just 5 weeks, we received notification that our plans have been approved!

Unlike the UK, you can do what you like to the interior of your property in France. When it comes to altering anything outside however, you must first apply to your local Mairie and play the waiting game in the hope that the Maire approves of your plans.

This house is unique in its design: it was built roughly 100 years ago by a Flemish businessman and one can only assume that either the rules were less stringent at that time or the Flemish businessman carried on regardless and no-one had the heart to make him rebuild it! It stands out amongst the Languedocien architectural style here, its beauty, we feel, lies in its symmetry and shape. Why, it almost looks as though it is smiling at us!

We are blessed with sun, warmth and light each day and now that our permission has come through, the tower outside will soon be no more and the pigeons will have to find a new home. Although already flooded with light in the morning, our new bedroom will retain the sun’s rays far longer once the tower is gone and we will be able to plan our garden, using the rubble from the tower as a base to level it off. When Mr. Fix It is not fixing things, he really does come up with some great ideas.

The ancient balcony, now dropping and broken, will come down and we will create a new larger one along the length of our new bedroom, with a spiral staircase running down from the first floor to the garden. I foresee mornings of sipping coffee in the sun on this new balcony, then wandering down to tender our garden. We will also create doors where there are now windows: one going out from the kitchen and one on the other side of the front door going out from the small drawing room. This beautiful Mediterranean climate means far more outdoor living and further plans include making a summer kitchen/utility room at the side of the garden and a small pool at the other end.

We sat outside our little village bar the other evening, Eddie & Alfie at our side, and tried to put into words why it is that we feel so fulfilled, so peaceful and happy here. Aside from the wonderful climate and the beauty of the hills, mountains and vineyards which surround us, there is somehow more of a feeling of mutual respect and less envy than we remember in the UK. People work to live, they don’t live to work, lunchtimes are sacred and folk look out for each other.

A friend asked me the other day if we had encountered any anti English feeling. The answer is a resounding “no”. Our village has welcomed us with seemingly open arms and we marvel at the characters we have met, from our craftsman of a carpenter in his blue overalls, to the chatty chimney sweep who popped in yesterday, enamoured of Eddie & Alfie, to the old man I met in the market the other day with his much loved Yorkshire Terrier, his constant companion, he was telling me since the death of his wife.

So I suppose it is the sun and light coupled with the sheer goodness of the people which give us a feeling of relaxation and peace here. By the time I write next week, we will have said goodbye to our tower and our evenings will be spent in the garden looking up at the strong blue sky, ready to let the sun shine in bright and early in the morning.

Alexis
http://www.francebuyingguide.com

Relearning Simplicity and Renovating Sympathetically

2010-05-28T02:16:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-21T01:52:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-14T05:28:00.000-07:00

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"

2010-05-07T01:42:00.000-07:00

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.

French Village Life

2010-04-30T03:13:00.000-07:00

Mr. Fix It and I were musing over life, love and France the other evening (not necessarily in that order) over a fine glass of Corbieres wine in our local bar. This is a small village of just over 1,000 inhabitants but there is cause for local celebration at the moment since the bar has been taken over by a lovely young family who are fast making it the hub of the village. They do an excellent 3 course “prix fixe” menu at lunchtimes with a quarter of wine and coffee thrown in for €12. Eddie & Alfie are welcome here and indeed in most restaurants. Being creatures of habit much like ourselves, they have become used to lying quietly by our side watching the world go by and wagging at the odd child who comes up to admire them.

"The French seem happier in their own skin,” said Mr. Fix It, noticing a large family with 2 very young children and a couple who appeared to be grandparents, “and they happily mix the generations.” He is right: young and old alike socialise here and the frivolity seems inherent, not simply induced by drinking too much wine. We got chatting to an older German couple who have lived here for some 30 years and invited us for an “apero”. They said they had been welcomed with open arms from day one and felt now more French than German.

So our village has come alive in the last week or so and the flower festival was a great success. Unable to resist a bargain, I bought several herbs for my kitchen windowsill: I may not have a fitted kitchen yet but my mini oven and I have managed to create some outstanding meals and the herbs are steadily growing in the sunlight.

This evening sees the start of the 3 day “Feria” and we have watched the preparation all week as little stages, bandstands and temporary bars are created. By all accounts, this a great tradition in these parts and we look forward to joining in this evening’s entertainment with a meal, drinks, a torchlight procession along the main promenade and even DJ Fanjou playing some (hopefully) decent tunes; no doubt a picture or two in next week’s blog.

The other thing we have noticed is that the French takes great pride in their community: the dustbin men do a twice weekly round, the streets are always spotlessly clean and there are communal bins dotted around. Not only that, everyone says “bonjour” as we go about our local shopping and on dog walks. We have been here just over 2 months now and have to pinch ourselves because although there is much work to be done on our house, we still feel slightly as though we are on holiday. How lucky are we to know that this is not a holiday: we can live happily and safely here. The community spirit is extremely contagious.

We welcome our first visitors tomorrow and as I write, Mr. Fix It is still drilling holes in walls to afford them an extra socket or two in their bedroom. The 2 ensuites are coming along well and much though I am not madly keen on spending hours looking at plumbing materials in Bricomarche, I am ever grateful to know that Mr. Fix It’s talents mean we are gradually making this house into a beautiful home. He is becoming quite an expert on what to buy where, aided by my France Buying Guide, I am proud to say ww w.francebuyingguide.com/guide.htm

Every day sees a little more done and we feel as though we know the space now: ideas for paint colours and furniture ramble around in my head even though these things will have to wait a little longer.

So our musings on life, love and France continue. Did we come to any conclusion? We walked the dogs along the canal the other day and were stunned at its beauty. I guess you could simply say that we love life in France. We never want to leave this beautiful country.

Drilling Holes and Drinking Wine

2010-04-23T01:45:00.000-07:00

If you asked, say, 10 people what really makes them happy, doubtless each would come up with something different. Mr. Fix It is rarely happier than when either leafing through a building materials catalogue (I know… but each to his own) or getting on with the job in hand, thus this huge project we have undertaken gives him tremendous pleasure and this week has been a prime example of just that. We needed to create a pipe run to the drainage outside for our ensuites which has involved heavy physical work, drilling through brick and rock. “I have used all the tools I brought from the UK now,” he mentioned proudly to me the other day. Not one to be taken unawares, he thought ahead and was well equipped from day one.

Some tools tend to be dear here so this was, as it turned out, an excellent plan and I have watched in awe as he has created the pipe run on the outside of the house, at first balanced somewhat precariously high up, heavy (and lethal) power tool in hand, cracking through solid brick and rock.

We have created much interest in this little wine growing village and our new American friend Craig has been helping with some of the tough work. We have spent many a leisurely hour contemplating life in different countries and Craig has been here 11 years now. It occurred to me that France has attracted so many different nationalities to its shores: even in this small village there are English, Danish, Belgian, American and Canadian people, all mixing in together. The community spirit weaves its magic wand! Life down here in the south of France is much more relaxed than in the UK. It is working to live rather than living to work. Dare I suggest that this is perhaps something which has got somewhat lost in recent years in the UK? Mr. Fix It and I miss nothing about our home country, we have felt at home here since the day we arrived and have encountered nothing but friendliness and peace. We wake up to sunlight and tranquillity, sure that the day ahead will be filled not just with hard work on the house but good leisure times too.

And the wine! We are literally surrounded by vineyards and the choice of decent red wine at extremely reasonable cost is huge. The Languedoc Roussillon has around 700,000 acres of vines and is the single biggest wine producing region in the world, being responsible for more than a third of France’s total wine production. Couple that with the snowcapped Pyrenees in the background, stunning beaches within a short drive and Spain on the doorstep and it is easy to see why this area has so much going for it.

You can find out much more about every region of France in my comprehensive France Buying Guide here: www.francebuyingguide.com/guide.htm

Spring is well and truly under way and we look forward to some traditional fetes and celebrations in the weeks to come. On Sunday there is a flower festival here: the main promenade will be filled with flowers, plants, little stalls, a band and no doubt the wine will again be flowing. The following weekend is a 3 day “feria”. This is a local tradition, much influenced by Spain, involving a team of horse riders and a bull running through the village, to celebrate the bull’s fighting spirit. There is no cruelty; the feria has become a springboard for local celebration with outdoor meals, dancing, a torchlight procession through the village late into the night, a firework display, music and frivolity.

Meanwhile the work continues and every day sees us a little closer to restoring this beautiful old house to its former glory. Whilst I cannot pretend I have been drilling holes in walls or digging pipe runs, I have I suppose been something of a builder’s mate (I am a dab hand at sweeping up as you are about to see) and after all, someone has to go out and taste the wine.

Making Friends In Our Village

2010-04-16T02:40:00.000-07:00

Our village is a “circulade”, that is to say a traditional village dating from the 12th century which was built in concentric circles. The centre of “circulades” is often a chateau or parish church and our house is a stone’s throw from the beautiful Parish of St. Julien. Thus we find ourselves in the heart of the village and since we have been here we seem to have attracted much interest locally, not least because we have undertaken this massive project of renovation and we have Eddie & Alfie bounding around in the sun.

The spirit of community is almost tangible here: the lovely young family who run the “epicerie” asked me the other day how we got on with the builders they had recommended. I told them I would have no hesitation in recommending them to others, they did a great job demolishing the supporting wall in our kitchen. Then whilst sitting in the sun by the canal we were approached by a lovely American couple who have a holiday house in our village and invited us for an “apero” the next day. Mr. Fix It made a trip to our local tip this week and met a French chap who is renovating the house opposite us – another invitation, another friend. He was telling us that this village was in medieval times the third most important little town after Carcassonne and Narbonne and had at one time no less than 5 churches! The people remain quietly religious and somehow one respects Sundays here: even Mr. Fix It downs tools then and I am able to entice him to some little brasserie for a “prix fixe” lunch (this is actually not difficult).

We have now put in our permission to the “mairie” to take down the tower in the garden, extend our balcony and put in a spiral staircase. Our lovely builders are preparing us a quote for this part and we hope to be able to get on with this in about a month. The sun and light here are quite stunning and the demolition of the tower means our kitchen and bedroom will be flooded with light.

Mr. Fix It is working on 2 ensuites for our bedroom and the one next door and I have been mulling over kitchen design. We are lucky to have a great space and for my part, I cannot wait to have a proper cooker, decent fridge and good accessories to fully indulge my culinary skills, such as they are. I have had no complaints so far though, it is not difficult to create excellent meals when one has good ingredients: oh the joy of shopping for fresh vegetables in the many markets here. Even Eddie & Alfie seem to be thriving on French dog food!

Many of us dream of doing up a property in France and we do really seem to be living that dream. I would urge anyone to pursue their dream and if yours is to do likewise, do arm yourself with a copy of our excellent France Buying Guide, it has become a veritable bible for many: www.francebuyingguide.com/guide.htm We have our own copy with us here and seem to be constantly referring to it, just lately for the list of shops and outlets for building materials and the like. Mr. Fix It has become rather good at finding obscure pipe fittings, aided by the Guide, his book of “French Building Terms” and his innate ability to mime.

As with most things in life, you get out of it what you put in and gradually making friends here makes us feel we are slowly becoming integrated.

An English friend of mine asked me what, in essence, makes life so wonderful here in the south of France. Mr. Fix It and I mulled over the reasons the other day over a glass of Corbieres wine in the garden. “The sense of space and lovely community springs to mind”, he said. “The sun helps too”, I replied. Then we both realised what really makes us so happy to be living here: it reminds us of how England used to be with its people who take pride in their community and look out for each other, a feeling of safety in one’s home and renewed value in what really matters in life.

The longer we are here, the longer we want to be here, it is as simple as that.

Our village in the early evening sunlight

BLESS OUR FRENCH BUILDERS!

2010-04-09T08:17:00.000-07:00

We bought this huge house from the Church, it is an old Presbytery. Indeed, it looks on to the beautiful 14th century Church of St. Julien, just a stone’s throw away. We are not religious people but there is something about being here which gives us a real feeling of calm: the house has a lovely atmosphere, even in its present somewhat rough state.

This week we have reason to celebrate as the local builder, whose very reasonable quote we accepted, has taken the supporting wall down between the kitchen that was and the next room (complete with corner marble fireplace). He came with his brother and another chap when he said he would, got on with the job and now these two rooms are one. We keep looking at the space, it is wonderful and we can now get on with designing our kitchen. So religious or not, we really do bless these builders. Now how many times can one say that?

It pays to shop around, get at least 2 quotes and to trust one’s gut instinct. We both liked this chap and now that he has done such a great job, we have built up confidence and shall ask him to quote for further work (of which there is a great deal). He is local, lives in our village and was telling me just today that he has done a lot of renovation for other English people in the area.

Meanwhile Mr. Fix It is designing the kitchen, making the best use of the space we have. Preliminary thoughts include black granite worktops, an L shaped breakfast bar at the kitchen end and then a large dining table at the other end looking out on to the garden. As for me, I shall soon be sourcing a large range cooker, a fridge and dishwasher. We are just half an hour from Carcassonne, on the edge of which is a large estate filled with shops such as Brico Depot, Weldom, Tridome and many more. The concept of DIY is relatively new in France but becoming more popular and we look forward to shopping for the best deals. If you are not sure where to start, you could do worse than arm yourself with a copy of my France Buying Guide: aside from the main Guide, there are 2 bonus sections with detail of the best shops to go to for everything from DIY to mushrooms! www.francebuyingguide.com/guide.htm

Our future bedroom is coming along, we have stripped the rather strange wallpaper (the French do love their wallpaper) and Mr. Fix It has run pipes up to it so that the ensuite shower room can be put in place shortly. This room faces due south-east so once the tower in the garden is demolished, will be drenched in early sunlight. I envisage many a morning sitting on our new balcony with a cup of coffee and a croissant from our local boulangerie.

But that is yet to come. Last Friday I took Eddie & Alfie to their first class at our dog club and they did rather well. Their French is almost as good as mine now, they respond to “bisous” (kisses), “promenade” (walks), “manger”, (eat), “viens ici” (come here) and their vocabulary grows apace. My main goal is to get them to walk to heel and the lady at the dog club was pleased with their willingness to learn. We met a couple of lovely people, one of whom has a puppy Yorkshire Terrier which looks remarkably like a hairbrush. Eddie & Alfie, although sometimes timid with other dogs, rather took to this one.

So this week has been a productive one and we look forward to a very sunny and warm weekend. I hope to encourage Mr. Fix It to take a well-earned break and go exploring a little more in this, the most beautiful part of France.

Embracing The French Lifestyle

2010-04-01T08:29:00.000-07:00

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.

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.

Spring has arrived

2010-03-26T07:10:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that just 2 weeks ago our village and surrounding countryside were covered in 6 inches of snow. As I write today, the sun is peeking out through the white clouds and it is markedly warmer. With the clocks going forward tomorrow night, it will stay light until almost 8.30 here.

We have made progress this week despite having a flat tyre on our left-hand drive Renault. My husband - Mr. Fix It you will remember -quickly put the spare on and we drove it to a local tyre garage where the most charming man spent a good half hour locating the puncture. He whistled as he worked and again we remarked on how friendly people are in this lovely part of France. We will re-register our Renault with French number plates very soon. French bureaucracy notwithstanding, this is something both my husband and I are keen to do: another step in integrating well in our new life in France. For more information on how to go about registering a car as well as how best to integrate and more, please take a look at my France Buying Guide here: www.francebuyingguide.com/guide.htm

There is so much to do in this beautiful house that one is almost spoilt for choice each day for what to do next! Currently my husband is working on making our future bedroom habitable: he has already fixed the “chauffe eau” (water heater) in the ensuite and will be going back yet again to the plumbers’ merchants this afternoon to buy enough pipe to run the plumbing and electrics up there. We await a couple of quotes for knocking the supporting wall down between the existing kitchen and next room and inserting a steel. I am so looking forward to actually seeing the space we have there and then planning our kitchen. But it is workable in its present state and I have managed to make several decent meals for us in my mini oven and stock pot!

Having a practically minded husband is something to be grateful for but sometimes he doesn’t know when to stop! Hence I took him off to Carcassonne last Sunday with the dogs. This really is quite the most stunning ancient city and is the second most visited site in the whole of France: one can easily see why. Eddie & Alfie, blissfully unaware of the history, loved meandering around the cobbled streets and we had supper in a restaurant with them by our side.

Having 2 cute dogs is definitely one way to ease the integration process: Eddie & Alfie are hugely admired wherever they go. We often take them, without leads, for a wander around the village last thing at night when all is quiet. I met a lovely girl doing just the same thing with her Alsatian the other day and we now meet up quite regularly.

We have been here almost a month now and cannot imagine wanting to go back to the UK. Aside from the enriching lifestyle here, I realise it is also the feeling of space one has here that makes us happy: France is not overcrowded and one feels far less stressed. We are just at the start of our journey, it is true, but we are determined to carry out our house renovation gradually and temper the work with visits here and there. “This is not an assault course” said my husband. It is so rewarding to see the house slowly taking shape though; we are just thrilled that we finally did it.

Cracking on in France

2010-03-19T09:53:00.000-07:00

Spring officially starts tomorrow, according to Jean-Pierre in our local tabac. Little remains of the pretty snow which fell last week, save on the Pyrenees which we can see in the distance, also now bathed in sunlight. We have had a week of hard graft, knocking down walls to create larger rooms and making our main bathroom temporarily functional. My husband and stepson Jack took great pleasure in demolishing the grim WC and shower just off our existing kitchen. It already looks so much better! Next job: putting in a steel in order to knock down the wall between it and the next room. This will create a lovely spacious kitchen and dining area.

Hard at times though it is to be covered in brick dust, the reward of knowing we are creating a beautiful home keeps us motivated and excited. Now we have warmer temperatures and stunning blue skies, we all seem to have renewed energy, including Eddie & Alfie who bound about along the canal and in the woods.

I decided to drag my husband away from the plumbing and electrics yesterday and, dogs in tow, we headed up to the 13th century fortified city of Minerve for a well-deserved day off. This is simply stunning: a higgledy piggledy collection of small cobbled streets surrounded by a deep gorge and grottos hiding in the rocks. We stumbled upon a little restaurant looking over the river, seemingly carved out of the hillside, and had a leisurely lunch in the sunshine. “This is what it is all about really,” said my husband. He is right: life is to be enjoyed here, the pace is slower, the people less stressed. If you are pondering areas in France, I would recommend the Languedoc Roussillon, it has so much going for it: a great climate, proximity to mountains and the ocean and Spain is just down the road. You can read more about this and other areas in my comprehensive France Buying Guide:

www.francebuyingguide.com/guide.htm

Fortified by a day of relaxation, my husband is turning his attention to what will be our bedroom, looking out on to a balcony with 3 full length windows taking in the morning sunshine. He has already planned a little dressing area and an ensuite for us. As for me, I turn my attention to future colours, lighting and furnishings. I am lucky to have a great friend, Nadya Sawney, who has transformed many houses into warm homes with her wonderful eye for interior design. She has kindly agreed to come down here in the summer to help us. You can take a look at her work here:

http://www.decordivainteriors.com/

This is in truth a massive project. Some friends visited us for lunch this week and said they thought we were brave to take it on. It will take a while to finish but the key to success and happiness, as with many things in life, is to enjoy the journey as well as looking forward to the end result. I can tell you it feels so good to know we are here for several months and it is up to us how we pace ourselves, no-one else. Renovating a house like this requires energy, an ability to “rough it” and a vision. I think both my husband and I have all of these in equal measure. If we have ever had a moment’s doubt about the enormity of the job, we simply have to take a look at any one of the 7 marble fireplaces, the back lit huge stained glass hall window or indeed our village itself, almost the colour of peach in the evening sun, and we know we have done the right thing.

Snow and Sun in the South of France

2010-03-12T05:54:00.000-08:00

Just a few days ago the 4 of us sat in the sun in our garden on a well earned break from working on this huge house. “It feels as though Spring is around the corner,” said my husband. He then muttered something about getting on with renovating our first bathroom in anticipation of being free to enjoy barbeques and glasses of wine on the terrace.

The next day we awoke to thick snow: our village was a picture postcard!

We have made great friends with Maurice who runs our local “epicerie”, literally a stone’s throw away. He says he has never seen so much snow here. Reassured however by Maurice’s conviction that soon after Easter the temperature will start to rise, we felt happy to continue work on the house on the basis that any exercise will keep one warm.

Meanwhile Eddie & Alfie are having a ball. They are rapidly becoming bilingual, something which impressed Jean-Pierre in our local Tabac. How great it is to be able to walk out of our house with the dogs, down a little lane and into the Tabac, dogs and all. Jean-Pierre and his wife welcome them with open arms and have told us about a wonderful vet in the next door village.

This is what I find so joyous about living in rural France: we have only encountered friendly faces and, aided by Eddie & Alfie, have already met many neighbours. We truly have no wish to return to the UK, this has felt like home since the moment we walked through the door. Are you tempted to do the same as us? You could do worse than consulting my France Buying Guide for tips galore on how to plan your own French sojourn. www.francebuyingguide.com/guide.htm

And so the work has started and my husband and his son Jack knocked a wall down in what will be our main huge bathroom. Buoyed up by such progress, they are much looking forward to doing the same in the kitchen, knocking a wall down to make one huge room out of what is currently two but for that they will enlist the help of a builder as the wall is a supporting one and will need a steel insert.

I marvel at their knowledge of the intricacies of plumbing, something with which I, sadly, cannot help, aside from translating in plumbing and builders’ merchants. My husband, ever modest, says it is not so hard to learn. I call him “Mr. Fix it” and thank my lucky stars that I am married to such a practical man.

I love the high ceilings in this house, they give such a feeling of space and light and whilst they were pondering over the correct pipes for installing the shower, I was imagining shades of French blue and cream for the walls, perhaps matching towels and why not a large bowl of pot pourri on the windowsill? Jack’s lovely American girlfriend Blaine agreed and husband and stepson gave us both a sideways look…. At that I realised that now all 4 of us make a good team and between us we will make this house become something quite stunning.

We have arrived!

2010-03-05T08:08:00.000-08:00

The log fire is in full glow and Eddie & Alfie are at my feet. The electricity and plumbing leaves a lot to be desired and to be perfectly honest, the wallpaper is hideous. But I don’t mind, we are here!

Our journey down was great. I must say, having 2 gorgeous puppies creates much interest and we were welcomed wherever we stopped. We had one night in a little Auberge roughly halfway down and Eddie & Alfie met their first French friend: a miniature poodle called “Plume”.

Language was not a barrier for them, they got on well and we were able to have them at our feet as we ate supper in the cosy dining room. I love this about France: dogs are normally welcome in restaurants and cafes.

So our dogs will not have a problem communicating but my husband is determined to upgrade his “restaurant French” as he calls it and I caught him yesterday leafing through my France Buying Guide. He loves the language tips he found there and is already familiar with several rather obscure construction words which frankly I don’t even understand in English.
www.francebuyingguide.com/guide.htm

As we neared Toulouse we saw the Pyrenees in the distance and Edith Piaf’s famous song “Je ne regrette rien” came on the radio. It seemed somehow very fitting, made us both smile.

It is a great feeling to actually BE here, knowing we own the house and that we can take time to carry out the improvements it needs whilst embracing our new French lifestyle. Wednesday is market day in our nearby small town of Lezignan Corbieres. The whole town becomes a market, it is the most wonderful atmosphere and I took great delight in buying fresh vegetables, fruit and flowers. Although our kitchen is basic at the moment, I decided to try my hand at the local special dish, “cassoulet”, a wonderfully rich stew of goose, duck, sausage, beans and breadcrumbs. I had some appreciative takers: my husband, my stepson Jack and his lovely American girlfriend Blaine. No Michelin star yet but I am getting there.

It is wonderful having this space: our house is on 3 floors and is over 3,500 sq.ft. The ceilings are high and I have not yet even counted how many marble fireplaces we have, there is one in most rooms.

As I write we await quotes from 2 French builders but my husband and stepson have already got down to some hard graft and Blaine and I find stripping the huge walls is quite therapeutic.
We have slept well this week, lulled by the silence and peaceful evenings we spend here. There is a great feeling of safety in rural France and the sense of community is something I feel many of us have lost in the UK.

“This is just beginning to sink in,” said my husband, “we don’t have to go back to the UK for several months.” With that he and I both breathed a huge sigh of relief.

There is a lot of work ahead of us but what an adventure. We have much to look forward to in the next few weeks and right now, sitting in front of the fire with the dogs, life really does seem wonderful.

2010-02-26T04:04:00.000-08:00

I joined my husband for a couple of days in our house earlier this week. I flew into Beziers Cap d’Agde Airport in my warm boots, having left a cold rainy Luton Airport behind just over an hour before. I was greeted by sunshine and palm trees waving: a great omen. We lingered over a glass of wine at a 17th century port at Marseillan in the late afternoon sun before heading back to our house. “I must say French plumbing is a bit of a minefield,” said my husband. However, not one to sit on his laurels, since he had been there for a few days before me, he had already installed 2 stop cocks, bought a shower unit and a water heater, not to mention finishing his drawings for our new balcony and spiral staircase outside. He had earned his glass of Minervois wine in the sun…

This would be our last time here before we come back down for several months with Eddie & Alfie. Driving from village to village, watching the hills in the background is a joy. Relying on my slightly better command of the language than his, my husband decided to wait until my arrival to sort out our bank account and telephone. So off we went to Carcassonne the next day and both of these rather important items were taken care of. It was all pretty straightforward, French bureaucracy notwithstanding, and as always I was ably assisted by my very own French Buying Guide(www.francebuyingguide.com/guide.htm)! Carcassonne is stunning, I look forward to a proper visit to the ancient city in the weeks to come.

On Wednesday the sun shone again and I sneaked over the square to take a look inside the stunning 14th century church whilst my husband was up a ladder checking out our rather archaic fuse box. The interior is so beautiful, it took my breath away. It is uplit at night, bathed in yellow and can be seen from afar as one approaches the village like a welcoming beacon. I realised that our new life in France is something I am so ready for.

Everyone we have met in our village and locality has been friendly and helpful. “Bonjour Rod,” said the chap in the plumbers’ merchants. They shook hands and I was introduced to Christophe. He welcomed us to the area and admired our sense of adventure he said. “You know, I have not encountered a single unfriendly face here” said my husband. “I just don’t want to go back to the UK.”

But back we came to be greeted by 2 wet noses and a lot of wagging. The thought of our dogs joining us in France for several months is a great one. The French are huge dog lovers and we will have no trouble finding somewhere to stay on the long journey down by car which welcomes pets. Excellent news too: Eddie & Alfie have passed their blood tests! Their passports will be issued imminently so we are free to travel with them very soon. Next time I will be writing from our house, no doubt in front of a roaring log fire, dogs at my feet.

I just cannot imagine life getting any better than this.

Thoughts for our French Home

2010-02-19T04:28:00.000-08:00

The last few days have flown by in a flurry of fine tuning our wonderful drawings for the exterior of our house (done by my husband), French lessons for Eddie & Alfie (yes really) and most importantly, musing on the different types of wine we are about to enjoy down in the Languedoc Roussillon (the best bit).

I write with my France Buying Guide by my side, consulting my own description of this beautiful area. www.francebuyingguide.com/guide.htm

There is so much to discover down there, we are determined to make time to tootle along the Canal du Midi, stare at the wonderful old churches and marvel at the incredible ancient city of Carcassonne. “This is not an assault course”, said my husband. He is right: although we have a lot of hard graft to undertake on this property and we can’t wait to get our hands on it, we will make time to enjoy our new surroundings, welcome in the Spring and make new friends. I have a sneaking suspicion that our project may well attract some interest in our village. The charming couple in the chambre d’hote where we spent 2 nights last week told us to pass by for a welcoming aperitif when we return; the lady in the boulangerie welcomed us to the village and said if we need help of any kind, just to pop in any time….

We have found ourselves itching to get back there, so much so that my husband decided to make another short trip down there whilst I pack up here. He is there now! He wants to feel the fabric of the house, muse on how the rooms are going to work, gain some vision for our garden plan. Preparation is often the key to success and between us, I have no doubt that the renovation of this grand old house will be successful.

We make a good team, he and I. A designer by trade, he is champing at the bit to get his hands on this building and make the space work. I shall enjoy making it into a comfortable home, shopping in the local market, lighting log fires. But for now it is all hands on deck!

As I write, we await the results of Eddie & Alfie’s blood tests in a few days’ time. All being well, they will be issued with their passports and from then on, it will be no holds barred: we will be on our way down in our left-hand drive car. More information on both pets and cars in France can be found in the France Buying Guide, I must remember to pack my own copy…

I will not miss February here in the UK, it has been overcast and cold. Warmer weather and a whole lot more await us down in the South of France, not long to go now till we are welcoming in the sunlight.

2010-02-12T06:02:00.000-08:00

A lot can happen in a week and this past one has been one we will remember all our lives. We became the new owners of this huge house in the Aude as the sun began to set last Friday. We are buying it from the Church and the priest shook our hands warmly as the transaction took place. Our lovely agent presented us with a bottle of local wine and the notaire thrust the large key into our hands. We were off to our new home!

I talked about life’s moments last week and next came one of those to cherish: my husband opened the huge front door and sitting in the grand tiled hallway was a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne, beribboned in red white and blue along with two glasses. Yes, he had secretly arranged with the priest to have this ready and waiting for our first entrance. We drank a toast to ourselves, our new French house and our future life in France.

Our rented van stood outside, filled to the brim with many of our worldly goods. Where to start, we thought? The future months will mean a lot of hard toil but first things first, we lit a fire in one of our marble fireplaces and sat in front of it to start planning. I opened out the handy worksheets I had brought with me from my France Buying Guide and decided that the best thing is to take things in stages. We needed to make the house at least temporarily into a comfortable living space whilst we worked out our plans for renovation.

Tired but happy, we decided to leave unloading our van until the next day and made our way across the road in our little village to the lovely chambre d’hote that we had booked for one night. Bright and early the next morning my husband and super stepson Jack unloaded the van whilst I went off to the local Carrefour supermarket to buy brooms, cleaning materials and the like. The rest of the day was spent cleaning up, clearing up and swinging between thoughts of how much we have to do and great excitement at the very idea of it.

In about 3 weeks we will be driving down to our house to stay there for several months. Our puppy Cocker spaniels, Eddie & Alfie will be coming with us once they have their passports. Details of how to go about this, amongst many many other things, as well as those incredibly handy worksheets I was talking about can be found in my France Buying Guide here: www.francebuyingguide.com/guide.htm

I leave you with a picture of this grand house, the sheer scale of it really takes one’s breath away.

Watch this space for more on our progress, the work is about to begin.

We are signing the "Acte de Vente" today!

2010-02-05T07:38:00.000-08:00

I imagine by the time you are reading this, we will be the proud owners of a large old house down in the sunny Languedoc Roussillon. Yes, we are off to the notaire’s office late afternoon today to sign the “Acte de Vente” and then, huge key in hand, we will open the door and fling open the shutters to let the light in.

I often think that life is about moments and the good ones are to be remembered. In this world so many of us tend to be constantly planning our next move, working out what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next year. There is nothing wrong with that of course, it needs to be done, but moments like this really do deserve to be cherished. My husband and I have both always adored France and for us, this really will be a dream moment.

Our agent has been marvellous: not only has she liaised magnificently with the Church regarding the contents of the house, some of which we are keeping, she has made us appointments with the local bank and a couple of builders so that we can really get our teeth into renovating this property from the start. We even have an invitation to dinner to meet some of our neighbours! A good agent is a must. You can find out more about how to go about finding decent property agents and other professionals in my France Buying Guide www.francebuyingguide.com/guide.htm

I am lucky enough to have a husband whose idea of heaven is to be in a tool shop. A film production designer by trade, his skills extend to installing bathrooms, kitchens, floors, painting – I could go on. His French language skills do not quite come into the same category however and for this he will largely be relying on me so I have a feeling we will make quite a good team and he will no longer be pointing to obscure drill bits in shops such as M. Bricolage, he will have me to translate. I love the French language and would encourage anyone to try their hand at brushing their French up before embarking on a life there. I have some tips for you on how best to go about this in my Guide.

I am so looking forward to my next blog, no doubt I will have a tale or two to tell from our first few days in our house. One of the first things I intend to do is to go and introduce myself to our “maire”. I am hopeful he will be as pleased as we are that this glorious but faded house will be breathing new life in the coming months. And who knows where that will lead? New friends, new experiences and a great deal of sunlight await us down in the South of France.

Until next week...

Alexis Goldberg

mailto:Alexis@OverseasGuidesCompany.com

Our French adventure is about to begin...

2010-01-29T03:54:00.000-08:00

In a little over a week from now, my husband and I will be sitting in the notaire's office deep down south in the Languedoc Roussillon, pens in hand, ready to sign the "Acte de Vente" for our beautiful new property. We are filled with excited anticipation about what the future holds for us in this beautiful area of France. Our house is huge (about 350 square metres with a large walled garden), clean and original but needs a massive dose of what I can only term "tender loving care" to bring it back to its former glory.

Today is a good day, we have transferred our funds ready for completion through Smart Currency Exchange (http://www.smartcurrencyexchange.com) They offered us a great rate and as I write, my husband is opening a decent bottle of Bordeaux, having worked out that we have saved a massive £10,000 compared to what our bank offered us. That has not only paid for the left-hand car we just bought, it will mean we can celebrate in one of the Michelin star restaurants down there and more. How about that?! Smart's service is second to none, we would recommend them to anyone. Believe me, it is a wonderful feeling to know we have got the best deal possible, we are so thrilled.

So the work will begin in earnest towards the end of February. Our house needs all the services installed, and we shall need planning permission to take down a rather large tower that exists in the garden. The house is an old presbytery, adjacent to a 14th century church in a really lovely village. It has been sadly neglected, like a grande dame who would benefit from a pampering makeover. But little by little, I have no doubt that we will make it into a stunning home.

My France Buying Guide will be coming with me! Yes, even I love to refer to it and even use the worksheets myself for forward planning. You can get your own copy here: http://www.francebuyingguide.com

So our adventure is about to begin and I am delighted to be able to share it with you as the weeks roll by. Follow my story, you never know, it may inspire you to do the same.

Until next week...

Alexis Goldberg
mailto:Alexis@OverseasGuidesCompany.com