We arrived home from our walkabout through Italy to a warehouse of boxes stored in the gite and busied ourselves unveiling an old life and melding it into the new one. While I had ideas of where to put things, it mostly fell into place organically as proportions and ideas are malleable and it was fun to play around with different concepts.
ArghhhhNow that’s much better!
Then spring brought the thunderstorms consisting windy vortexes, lightning and occasional hail; one time a small river developed at the end of our property that soon dissipated into the neighbor’s farm. It was good to know where our property would potentially flood — thankfully that would be at the end of the property where it slopes into the neighboring field.
Pretty…but there is lightning in those clouds
Then suddenly it felt as though summer had arrived with the weather warming to near 80 degrees (25 c). Like Oregon, the mornings are cool, waking up to occasional mist covering the fields and valleys, barely muffling the birds who for now, wake us up gently with their morning ritual.
We have spent time with our new neighbors who live walking distance from us; a good walk though as there are acres between us and them. It has been invigorating getting to know these new friends and neighbors in this rather fantastical “hood.”
This included attending a Mad Hatter Party that included a lot of sugar (really good muffins and cake), and trying our hand at archery. Though I don’t have a day job I wouldn’t quit it to pursue a career as an archer.
We had the opportunity to visit a friend from Portland who was hiking the Camino de Santiago that was commencing in France then meandering into Spain. She was passing through Armignanc (home to the lovely, ancient brandy) and as she was within driving distance, we decided to take a trip down her way to catch up. She and her colleague had already done 500 of the 1000 miles of the trip! After a short but pleasant visit we bid farewell, leaving them with protein bars and electrolyte gels that they gratefully needed when they were caught short without an evening meal.
Bob’s sister and brother-in-law were set to arrive at the end of June, so we got busy again unpacking, sorting, painting, decorating – trying to make the gite habitable and figuring out where to put all our “stuff.”
When we needed a break, the terrace became an extension of our living room where we could flop in the Adirondack chairs (we brought with us!) with our tea and listen to the sounds of nature, and if the wind picked up, our favorite chimes blessed us with their soothing tune.
The mornings are particularly lovely.
Summer mornings on the terrace
Thankfully, Bob got his “CPAM” and is now enrolled in the French healthcare system. I, on the other hand, keep getting requests for information including a new copy of my passport since the one they have is unreadable. It’s not really clear why they made so many copies of it and how it got so mangled, but I bite my tongue and send what they need to complete my file. All of this is done manually and by snail mail. As they say on Mandalore “this is the way.”
During all this I acquired a lovely e-bike in anticipation of cycling the quiet backroads of our hood. I’m looking forward to getting back into cycling shape and taking some packed lunches to the chateaus in the area.
Then the pool arrived. This brought out our French neighbors from across the road and we had a chance to do some fractured-french-bonding as they speak no English. It’s quite something watching the pool land in our yard without taking out the power lines. Within a week they were to dig the hole and fit the pool. Well…this will be interesting to say the least.
A few days later, the “piscine” workers arrived with a digger, and unfortunately it rained for the three days they were excavating the area. I use the term excavate because there were decades of construction and roofing materials (tiles) from the gite that they had to dig through. Through the thunder, lightning and at some times torrential rain, the pool was installed. They did manage to level out where the garden was to go but the rains were followed by high, dry temperatures turning the mud into cement. We will compost heavily and when the rains return (and we will probably have some passing showers over the summer) we will be able to cultivate the garden for next year.
How it’s done in France
Otherwise we will be patient and figure out how to deal with the rather large display of tire tracks that have been sculpted into the lawn.
While all this hustling was happening, in a blink of an eye the sunflowers burst into bloom! We are surrounded on three sides and feel as though we are being spied on as their smiling personas keep a steady and unrelenting vigil over the fields.
Happy faces!!
Bob’s sister Kathryn, and her husband Bruce arrived just as the weather was warming up. In fact, the weather swung to the other end of the extreme bringing in a high pressure system of heat that eclipsed 90 degrees then fell back into the 70’s when they left! Thankfully they were not rained out and we had a lovely time cruising the countryside and spending an afternoon in Bergerac. Otherwise they decided to hang out with us and work on projects for which we are eternally thankful!!
We bid them a fond farewell, looking forward to another visit when they can do some actual lounging around the pool.
The next day a pool technician arrived to treat the water and get the filter working. The piscine was now ready for use! While the landscape is graveled in a rough and ready sort of way (we have to wait a year to do any credible landscaping as the surrounding earth needs to settle), we can still get some serious laps in.
Then, on a beautiful day with the temperatures in the 70’s we set out on a bike ride through the quiet back roads of Beausejour, cycling by fields of barley, beans and sunflowers, surrounded by the ubiquitous French stone farmhouses and crumbling structures smothered in vines that once held the bounty of a former era, making one feel like you were in a different time and place. I felt as though I was gliding along a slipstream; traveling through the ether of ancient lands and unerring traditions, disturbed only by the occasional modern mechanizations of a passing voiture (car). Not since I lived in Northeastern Washington State as a kid have I been surrounded by this level of beauty and solitude. I am now a thief of time, the flower-sentinels standing ready to defend those rarified moments as I recapture what was once lost to me.
Lots of sunflowers Castillones and its cool tower
And what did we do when we came back from the bike ride???
And if you’re too busy to get to the boulangerie in time, well never fear!
We arrived in Seattle and landed at the funky downtown Kimpton Hotel. It was a good location as we were walking distance to Pike’s Market and the Piers. The hotel sports military style paintings ranging from Jimmy Hendricks to Kelsey Grammar and free wine tasting for happy hour.
Strange Bedfellows at the Kimpton
So much had changed since I last visited the waterfront; the viaduct was no longer and much of the area has been modernized, but the smell and feel of the area is eternal; the play of smoked salmon on my senses and the elixir of big sky, the bay, the stir of oceanic breezes that are unmistakably Seattle.
We spent Sunday afternoon on the Seattle Waterfront catching up with my brother and sister-in-law, Duane and MaryJo, and browsing through some of my childhood haunts such as “Ye Old Curiosity Shop” down at the pier.
Checking out old childhood haunts with the family
We then had lunch at the Edgewater where we were married back in 1996! We scored a table with a view; the sun shot diamonds across the bay with Mt. Rainier’s unmistakable silhouette in the background.
The same fireplace we did photo shoots at during the wedding reception
The following day, which was our final full day in the U.S., was spent visiting with the Leingangs who treated us to lunch at the Athenian. We then traced the “Sleepless in Seattle” nostalgia as we wandered through the Pike’s Place Market. We were blessed to have fantastic weather and views of the Olympics across the bay.
Ahh the memories
Back at the hotel, we packed up our bags (too many, but we were relocating after all!) and headed for the Crowne Plaza at SeaTac, performing one final sort of our “stuff.” This was followed by a trip to Redmond for a farewell dinner with Duane and MaryJo; a wonderful home cooked meal of pork stew and cornbread to send us off. We bid our final farewells, which would be our last in the U.S. with the understanding they would come and visit us in France.
It was all so very bittersweet.
We drove back through downtown Seattle with its iconic skyline, lit up like a constellation against the night sky – the Space Needle refusing to be overshadowed by the unrelenting progress.
It has been a great way to end our residency in the States; I was born in Seattle and would be departing to another life from there.
The next morning we headed for the airport, where our plane was unfortunately delayed but it didn’t really matter; we had a direct flight to Paris and plenty of time to get to Orleans for our first night stay.
The flight was delightful as we had upgraded to Delta Comfort and it wasn’t too full. When we landed, we breezed through passport control to get our Visas stamped and voila! We are now feet down in our new country.
We picked up our luggage (lots of bags so that was an experience by itself), but did not need to stop in customs which was rather odd, and the airport wasn’t crowded at all. As we waited for our luggage, we swapped out our SIM cards which got us immediately onto the French cell “Orange” network, then proceeded to Avis which was across the street (all so simple!!). We took off for Orleans, just south of Paris. As it turned out the navigation in the Peugeot we rented was tragically incompetent and had us meandering through the back streets of Paris instead of taking their “freeways.” After an hour of sheer frustration we popped up Google Maps and we were soon on our way; glad to be out of the Parisian gridlock where it seemed the traffic signs were simply a suggestion.
Orleans is the home of Joan of Arc sporting a large statue in a rather posh square. It had been raining and the street lights reflected a painterly glow against the historically crafted buildings. This area is the hub of Orleans and was pristine with an upscale flair to it. Much to my surprise, they were setting up for Christmas and lovely displays in the works. I had thought they didn’t start any Christmas activities until a few weeks before.
Cool architecture and art in Orleans
As we were tired, we settled in for a simple meal of stew and then registered our visas online that as is customary. The French system wasn’t entirely clear but we powered through it; we are now officially residents – not yet permanent but that’s our eventual goal. We soon found ourselves fast asleep around 9:00.
The next morning we strolled around the gorgeous avenues but were anxious to get to our BNB in the Dordogne; it would be a seven hour drive. After a few hours on the road we stopped off in Limoges (yes – home of the famous ceramics) where we started seeing all the culinary delights such as truffles and Foie Gras courtesy of the verdant Dordogne Valley. When we reached the valley, the roads began to unfold into the dreamlike landscape with stone farmhouses and the occasional chateau – the countryside we had been pining for.
We stopped by the supermarket (Carrefour) in Sarlat to pick up necessary items; it’s difficult not to linger as grocery shopping in France is a whole new experience! But had been a long day and we at least had some necessities for the BNB (called a “gite” in France).
We reached our gite, just outside the small hamlet of Prats du Perigord, and were greeted by the lovely Aurelia who spoke little English so we reverted to our very practiced sign language. The gite was a converted tobacco barn; much like the last one we stayed in last September. It had all the amenities we could hope for plus two bedrooms – one we would be using for storage that would also double as our “kitchen pantry” for the goods we had shipped from the US via special carrier.
I had been working with realtors for several weeks prior to our arrival and we had our first viewing on Friday – the next day! The house we visited was lovely; a classic French Country home complete with a pool in the peaceful countryside – the problem was that it needed way too much work as the owners had “let it go” and the roof was in desperate need of repair. Repairing roofs in France is not cheap and no small feat; these are tiled roofs specific to the region – you can’t just slap on the usual roofing materials you see in the U.S. Some of the quotes we had seen were upwards to 60,000 euros.
We departed the viewing and went to the Leclerc Hypermarket – think of it as one of the larger Fred Meyer’s but with better food options😍 Including two long mind-boggling refrigerator rows dedicated to yogurt. The wine and alcohol section takes up a good fifth of the area (of course!). Many of the options are organic and the vegetable section is a display of commercial and locally grown produce.
We found the “Demi-lait” which is their version of half and half – organic and creamy – just lovely.
The baking area was an array of fresh baguettes (the basis of the French diet) and an incredible display of artfully crafted tarts and donuts – or as they say in New Orleans “beignets.” They even had a boutique tea section that had Lapsang Souchong which is difficult to find in the markets in the U.S.
What a delight it all was!
But when we tried to check out we got an earful from the cashier that thankfully a bilingual customer clarified that we weren’t allowed to take our small rolling cart through the checkout area; ah ha!! So no one will steal them I guess, but this area was pretty middle class and we hadn’t seen any homeless at all. They also have a clever system where you have to put euros in to “rent” a large shopping cart – when you return it it gives you the euros back.
The French are very conservative if not downright chic even when running simple errands. It was a lot like Japan; no sweat pants or sportswear – usually jeans and a jacket and in many cases well matched leggings and sweaters. And a lovely scarf.
After that experience we decided to torture ourselves further – we then decided to venture out to a home goods store which was a hodge-podge of crafts mixed in with furniture and decorating. We found some Christmas paper hoping to ship items back home if we can ever find boxes and figure out the postal system here.
We then stumbled into “Boulanger” that was next door (curiosity kills the cat) that turned out to be an appliance store with a lovely KitchenAid Artisan Mixer on a Black Friday sale – bingo! This was our first new edition for our forever-home; and a handy appliance for making bread in the meantime.
We headed back through La Roque Gageac (where the homes are built into the cliffs) which was practically shuttered as it was the end of the tourist season, but it was achingly lovely just the same. We are looking forward to hikes and picnicking in this area come spring and summer!
We survived our drive back to the BNB, having had some experiences with the manic French drivers who are thankfully not too much in abundance on the otherwise quiet country roads.
Thankfully Saturday was a break day and we headed to the Sarlat Saturday Market where we indulged in some Foie Gras, picked up vegetables and duck (duck is like chicken in France, lower fat and healthier!). We had coffee at a bar near the historic center where they were playing American rock music. Whatever the French say about Americans, our influence is everywhere – much like the French influence in America.
The Saturday Market in Sarlat
We spent Sunday getting organized and exploring the neighborhood. We heard the church bells go off as we meandered around the village. We were still adjusting to the dark and the quiet; something we rarely experienced even when we were traveling in our RV.
We spent most of the following week motoring for hours all over the Dordogne looking for houses. Though we marveled at the countryside we were getting understandably exhausted. On Thursday morning (Thanksgiving Day) we visited a home that based on the photos we weren’t entirely set on. It was a bit further south in the Lot et Garonne but still part of the Dordogne Valley.
When we arrived we were completely taken with the architecture which is known as “Colombage.” It had an English Tudor feel to it but with whitewash throughout. These are known as “timber homes” with a unique style; very light and airy. The house is a few miles outside the “Beaux Village” of Villereal known for its Saturday Market that has been around for centuries. This area also boasts some of the largest assortment of stunning villages and is a half hour to Bergerac which is a main hub for getting major appliances, furniture, groceries et.al and has a small airport for local flights. Just far enough away to not be disturbed by any city hub-bub.
Our New Home!!!!!
We are also just southeast of Bordeaux as an alternate flying route and we will look forward to exploring🍷
More info on the region for those wanting to know:
The main house has 4 bedrooms and two bathrooms, one with a tub (yeah!), the huge dining room/lounge also called a “Sejour.” The kitchen is new but we will need to retrofit into our own style. There is a cellar that holds the oil heating (hoping to change that as well but it’s pretty prevalent wherever you go).
The property encompasses nearly an acre surrounded by farmland that rotates sunflowers and wheat…I try to imagine sitting on the terrace overlooking fields of sunflowers. The country road is quiet and dark – except for the occasional truck and mad driver. We would need to install a pool which is well within our budget.
The veranda is east facing so we get the morning sun and the afternoon shade as we anticipate it getting hot in the summertime which is standard for this region.
Happy Hour will never be the same – ahhhh
The gite is a beautifully converted barn – what an added and stunning bonus. We left with a lot to think about.
We had planned to roast a duck for Thanksgiving (our first away from the states), but wound up in the Sarlat Renault dealership, buying a lovely Renault Captur Hybrid and didn’t get back home until late. We went with a new build that was sitting on a lot not far away as the used models weren’t much cheaper, and the other dealers weren’t as accommodating. We scored as I had been pining for one with gold accents and voila! It magically appeared.
Renault Captur Hybrid – what a cutie
The purchasing process involved a go-between interpreter/sales agent as the primary agent, the charming Enzo, didn’t speak much English. Adam, our interpreter liked practicing his English so we were extremely lucky. This went back and forth for two hours until we finally got the papers signed and agreed on a delivery date. Our next step was to get the funds transferred from the US to the Renault bank via international transfer. This became rather involved as Bank of America required two factor identity and we had just switched our phones over to France. Bob popped his Verizon SIM back into his phone so we could muddle through the process.
On our way home we discussed the house and asked to see it again on Friday.
For dinner we settled on a simple salad and FaceTime with Duane and MaryJo. We were visibly exhausted but happy to connect with relatives on such an important holiday.
On Friday we ventured back to the prospective house and after further viewing, photographing and discussion we decided this really was the place for us. All the boxes checked off and most everything fell into place on our wish list (not everything like a water well for example, but we can manage around that and add a pool). Luckily, the Mairie was in (the local mayor) and we reviewed our plans with them by way of our French-speaking realtor. He confirmed no problem on the pool and additional solar panels as well as a carport – we were ready to rock. We made the offer that afternoon and it was accepted and signed over the weekend. We got such a deal on it as the owner had bought another property and needed the proceeds to move. We had the added benefit that homes in this region outside the heavily touristed areas can sit on the market for months even during a hot real estate market.
The process will take a while as we need clearance from the local agricultural committee that they don’t wish to buy the property; we are located in farming territory and it’s highly regulated. Then we go through the usual French process using a “notaire,” much like an escrow agent that may got a bit speedier as we are paying cash. The realtor let us know that we could actually obtain possession of the house by the end of January which would be a delight.
What a week it had been!! We purchased a car and a home, all meeting and or exceeding our expectations😍
On Saturday, we did some more reconnaissance of the area not far from our forever-home, including the lovely Saturday Market in Villereal where we sat and had coffee – watching the world go by. There are no drive-through Starbucks or the like here; you basically sit down for a chat and respite at the cafes. On a sunny day people just bundle up as the preference is to sit outdoors. When the sun is out it becomes pleasantly warm.
We will soon be regulars – note our new french shopping basket
The next challenge was getting our funds moved into Euros. On Monday and we had the accounts prepped and by Thursday Morgan Stanley had our funds in an international account ready for conversion to Euros at our signal. In the meantime we will keep an eye out for the fluctuating dollar to work in our favor.
For the car purchase we wound up using an international transfer service known as WISE, but it takes a few days for the transfers to push through and they sometimes ask for more backup info. The money arrived in time to the Renault dealership for us to pick up our new baby on Friday. Whew!!
Additionally, once we get our French HSBC checkbook and cards (we have been waiting for six weeks) then we will eventually shut down B of A as it’s too much of a hassle managing funds overseas; they do not allow international phone numbers for two-factor ID which makes navigating their systems that much more difficult.
In the meantime we can set up direct debits through WISE to pay for incidentals through euros so we can manage the exchange rate as the dollar possibly weakens.
Sigh…we now had time to check out the area around our gite by way of the “groomed” trails sporting old farmhouses and châteaus. Such a different pace and environment from our haunts in Portland.
Prats du Perigord – just down the hill from us
On a sunny day on Friday December 1 we collected our new wheels, headed to Bergerac to drop off the rental and kicked around the city for a few hours; celebrating our good fortune at finding our new forever home as well.
Proud New Owners!
In the meantime, our other challenges included the switch from Amazon US to France. We finally got it transferred but we were required to buy the French Prime membership and then let our US membership expire. Somehow this messed up the app on our phones and it started to show up as Amazon India (it’s these quirky things that you spend your time troubleshooting). After deleting and reinstalling the app we were back in the French app – which does not have English as an option😂. Even the translation options choke on some of the pages. Then we get on and off French speaking US programming on our Prime Video.
But we concluded that it’s a great way to get to learn your French – when your forced to do shopping in a foreign language!
Then to add to this goat rodeo, I kept getting notifications from Amazon that our shipments had been delayed or aborted. It turns out they use La Poste (which would make sense as that is the primary French postal service) but we were mystified that our goods were sitting literally five miles away and they couldn’t seem to find the gite.
Then miraculously… Mon Dieu!!! Amazon showed up with all of our goods at once; I suspect they delay and consolidate shipments in remote areas to economize on trips. It was like Christmas (but not really but just as exciting) as we opened the boxes and retrieved items we couldn’t find locally – things like calcium supplements, psyllium powder, meat thermometer and a new blender that was cheaper on Amazon than at the local appliance stores🤷♀️
Alas, after all this international intrigue, we were now entering the “dead zone” going from a frantic pace to “what do we do today” 😒
Well…there is still plenty to do: Make new friends (in progress), work out, hike, do our French lessons, make healthy meals with our new appliances, go on day trips to cool-looking villages, explore the local markets, figure out how the Captur works using a French car manual — things like that. Oh yeah, and I have to go to battle at La Poste to navigate their overseas shipping system – I needed to fill out an online customs form apparently – assuming you can find it which I eventually did and then you need to visit the post office and see if you got it right or if they throw you another curve.
Suffice it to say, even though we have made exceptional progress on our goals thus far, navigating some of the quirks in France can be understandably exhausting – as we were warned!
For those familiar with my past know that I’ve had a difficult life and I think it prepared me to meet these challenges; turning adversity to my advantage – if I can survive what I have then I can get through these current challenges. I am equally grateful that I am getting established in a new dream life – more than I could have ever hoped for.
Likewise, I’m thankful for the downtime – it’s been a particularly busy year that we will close out with family in the UK🇬🇧
FocalDreams 