Week 4 - first week of April

Had a full on weekend courtesy of the Beverley/Nogent sur Oise twinning society and our hosts Annie and Adrian Petit. We were treated royally by the food-and-wine-loving Petit family!

Back to work Tues 5th April. 

A return to painting the front twin bedroom. Unfortunately we have exhausted our Dulux home bought paint so are now using french paint bought from the french B and Q. We hope the bedroom will have a seaside feel - white beams, blue ceiling and sandy coloured walls. We think this will be the most transformed room if the scheme works. Graham has spent ages hiding various wires, sockets and bodged bits of wall - he hopes to create a platform to house a bookcase to hide the worse.

It is nice to have a tea break in sunshine in the garden - today it has been in the early 20 degrees C - very pleasant!

A view of the ? Almond tree - in the sunniest part of the garden late afternoon. The thermometer says it is 22 degrees C at 6pm.

Graham has also demolished a cupboard in the dining room - unfortunately revealing a rather damp wall. More work!

 

Another before - the landing -

And after -

Tomorrow a trip to Nantes - to Ikea - Graham can't wait!

 Graham then spent a few days assemblying the purchased Ikea products - 2 beds, a bedside cabinet, a chest of drawers and a tall bookcase - all for the "kids" front bedroom which is now finished - again difficult to get a good photo on the ipad.

The panelling which is to hide the wire which is being re-routed.

The new colour scheme

And the beds - we think it will be a lovely bedroom - especially once dressed with curtains, bedlinen,headboards and a few seasidey/nautical decorations. We will get these in England as we think they're cheaper there.

We are almost on first name terms with the workers at the dichetterie (tip) having made frequent visits!

Here we are preparing for another trip. As you can see we are not content just to attack the inside of the house - we have attacked the garden just as enthusiastically!

We will leave the dining room and kitchen until our return in May/June. A new kitchen is planned to be fitted then as well as a wood burning stove.

Further exploration of the damp has now left a stone wall needing drying out 

The wall between the kitchen and dining area is to be demolished

So we have come to the end of our first trip of redecoration and some renovation - we have booked a ferry to return 12th April. Just a few more decorative jobs over the last few days and a clearing out of the kitchen ready for it's demolishment. 

Back to Angleterre for a rest!

On the positive we feel that the house is beginning to feel more of a home.

We have also had time to have a soiree with our french neighbours who have kindly offered to help feed the  fish, water the  plants AND mow the lawn whilst we're away. We even have a lovely lady Christelle lined up to do changeovers once we have paying guests in the summer - result!!

Just a few photos of the many little decorative gifts left by our french vendors.

A pirate ship with firefighter and pirate - in the garden BBQ shelter - along with

A plaque dated 1922 for a prize for a dog show ( we hope!)

A budding duck collection in the downstairs loo

And in the hallway a few objects d'art

One person's tat is another's treasure - It certainly adds character!

A la prochaine!

March - April 2016. Fettling La Maison Pierre.

Weds 9th March

We set off this morning for Portsmouth via London ( lunch with the kids)

At driver change over - (Carol's shift ) Graham checked his phone - the ferry had been cancelled due to bad weather! We have to be in Surgeres for Fri as furniture is being delivered and a kitchen designer is visiting to measure up. Catastrophe! After a call to Brittany ferries we managed to get on a ferry leaving much later at 11.15 pm to Le Havre - but no cabins left just recliner chairs! At least we will get there!

So had a few hours in the toilet that is London (in Graham's opinion) - lunch with Ben and Fay and an early dinner with Philippa - ( which was lovely -C)

Spent a restless, sleep deprived overnight journey courtesy of the economie ferry. To be fair if we had had a cabin it would have been very acceptable however it is definitely the dark budget option of the Brittany Ferries fleet, ugh! France awaits. 

Thurs 10th March

Arrived 8.30 am. A much longer drive to undertake -  Le Havre is a further 2 hours away. 4.5 hours to Nantes for  the delight of an Ikea stopover lunch and purchase of a bed and mattress. Oh dear the soul destroying experience of the Ikea shop. Queued for lunch, queued to pay for our furniture, queued at the customer service desk for our discount, drove to the warehouse which was miles away to pick up the bed and mattress, loaded up the roof rack with said purchases and continued our journey a couple of hours later! Another 2.5 hours (driving even slower than normal due to the ballon shaped cargo on the roof), we arrived chez nous at just after 6pm. Emptied the car of contents and set off for a supermarket shop . Arrived 7.15pm the shop was shutting at 7.30! Undertook a supermarket sweep search for food necescities, beer and wine!  Back home for hastily prepared meal and an early night. Phew, what a day!

A reminder of the rear of the house - taken last September.

Unfortunately due to lack of wifi and other equipment - we're relying on ipad photos so apologies for the poor quality of future photos ( Graham's ipad is rather old)

Fri 11th March.

The kitchen designer arrived on time - he is English and has a team of expats who fit the kitchens (the easy option for the english home purchaser!. The  quote appears very reasonable - we will see how it compares to the local man but it will be much easier for us to be able to communicate fully with the fitters etc.

Then on to the bed assembly - oh dear - several hours of screwing and unscrewing  - much sighing and cursing at those Ikea clear to the swedish but not so anyone else illustrated instructions. It will be worth it once finished but that will not be today!

The delivery of the furniture from Maisons du Monde arrived as planned - both delivery men came in, shook our hands and exchanged pleasanteries, and then on departure shhok hands again  wishing us a good weekend, something we have never witnessed before on delivery of flat packed furniture boxes! How civilised. We're still left with more furniture assembly though....

Lounge now looking a more lighter white/ yellow after 3 coats of paint over the blue walls and door!

Another early night after a pasta supper and too much wine- what else is there to do with no télé and only french radio to listen to! We forgot the ipod. At least we remembered our kindles.

Sat 12th March

Our lovely neighbour Annick called by - she and another neighbour Christine had put a notice up asking any deliveries to be sent to their homes - we had sent postcards to them stating we were expecting some furniture deliveries and just in case we were not able to be there could they oblige?

How neighbourly! They had  also put a sticker saying "Pas de publicité" on our letterbox so we didn't get any junk mail. Annick has also been feeding our "poisson rouge" (carp and goldfish) in the pond for us.

We managed to set off for the market at 11.40 am - just enough time to buy salmon for dinner.

After lunch chez nous we spent time painting and wall paper border stripping - it has to be done!

A dinner chez nous and another early night- in the newly contructed Ikea bed - we are now in the master bedroom - progress indeed!

Sun 13th March

A nothing day in terms of excitement - just a supermarket shop and further fettling to report

Mon 14th March

       - the woodburning stove man arrived this am - on time. He informed us that it is possible to fit a woodburner in to the existing fireplace in the dining room. Thank you Lord! The house is freezing in the evening at the moment and the electric heaters appear not up to the job. Unfortunately there is not the capacity to fit a gas fire - graham's preferred option. However we are assured that the woodburner will heat up the place well and we can look forward to feeling toasty in a couple of months. ( by that time we wont need it hopefully!) 

Another day of painting and fettling - another early night to avoid the cold.

We did manage lunch al fresco today in warm sunshine on the patio so not all bad for early March. 

Tues 15th March

Ventured to Niort today for a shop at Castorama,the french B&Q. Bought a large step ladder to enable us to paint higher up, a curtain rail, lagging for some pipes and a lawn mower - such excitement.

Did go to Conforama also to purchase a matching toaster for our kettle. At the checkout we give our surname and postcode, Est-ce que Graham? Oui, the computer remembered us from last time and for the guarantee. 

Another sunny afternoon spent in the garden with Graham mowing the lawn and Carol supervising.

Otherwise nothing to report.

Weds 16th March

Another day of painting and decorating - we are trying to lighten the place up - it is proving rather tedious as it is taking 3 coats of paint on everything - the previous owner having favoured battleship grey, bright pink, purple and red - paintwork as well as walls! 

Examples of the rich colour scheme - the photos make it less lurid than it actually is!

Nevermind tomorrow we have an invite for a drink in the evening with a couple Sarah and Duane who have lived here for about 8 yrs. should get some useful advice and information re all things Surgeres.

Thurs 17th March

More painting and fettling.

We had a lovely evening chez Sarah and Duanne - our first " Apero" - drinks and nibbles.

They gave us lots of local information and advice. We hope to the return the hospitality when we have something to sit people on - our sofas do not arrive until 30th March - we continue to huddle in the dining room on our 2 armchairs. We do have a dining table now - and 4 dining chairs. Whoo!

Week 2 and 3

The days are all now much of the same - so will now just post before and after photos as we progress.

The first completed room is the front double bedroom.

So here's a before as it was when viewed last Sept 

And as we have decorated it ( apologies this is an ipad photo so not too clear)

Unfortunately we have not brought our gadget to transfer our camera pictures on to the ipad so will have to make do with ipad photos for now. 

The other room now decorated is the lounge.

Again here it is as viewed

And as newly decorated

Unfortunately the ipad doesn't appear to be able to capture the whole room at once - so hope this gives you a feel for the room. We look forward to showing you the real photos on our return .

 We have decorated the walls light yellow and white - there is a light grey 3 seater sofa, a dark grey 2 seater, a couple of grey armchairs and a small yellow chair. Carol has bought lots of cushion covers in yellow and grey from her favourite store - Maison du Monde. Lamps in white and one in acid yellow add extra colour - are we selling it?!

We're just awaiting delivery of a small bookcase to compliment the tv cabinet and sideboard - from - yes you've guessed - Maison du Monde!

We continue work on the most challenging bedroom. The bedroom is to be a twin to appeal to children - unfortunately there are many Drapeau( previous owner ) bodge jobs to remedy - a headache for Graham having to recall his minimal carpentry skills. So we continue our painting and bodge repairing.

Fortunately we are having a weekend in Nogent sur  Oise - our twinning society town - north of Paris where a lovely activity packed weekend awaits 1st - 4th April.

A la prochaine!

Carol and Graham xx

Week 4. Charente Maritime completed!

Thurs 1st Oct ( white rabbits!)

Another sunny day so we decided to cycle to another part of the island. Set off just after noon - our usual travelling time, but to be fair at this time of year the sun only gets going at mid-day and we're not working. 

We decided to have lunch out today to try the local seafood (Graham dusting off his wallet!) - heading off to St Trojan les Bain -  stuated in the south of the island.

En route we saw a typical charentaise fishing building at a place called Port de Salines  - near a salt  eco museum visiting site. This would do just fine- as we approached the place it was evident it was a well known restaurant (Michelin recommended said the sign). We were given the last table outside on the terrace overlooking a little harbour area and marshland - very pretty.

We had the fixed price 3 course menu and a bottle of rosé - very civilised. Lobster bisque, followed by Fish pot de feu (fish stew) or Duck with a chickpea mash, and apple compote with meringue or a chocolate bombe creation containing sponge,cream and banana - we decided to try everything on the menu bar the oysters which unfortunately neither of us like! Not the simple seafood spagetti €9 lunch we had in mind, but it was a delightful surprise which we thoroughly enjoyed!  

As in all such places we enjoyed people watching - as usual most had fleeces, jeans, quilted jackets and the all important scarves, as we sat in out tee shirt and shorts enjoying the sun! Fashionable french men appear to find the need to wear a scarf ornamentally wrapped around their necks whatever they wear! 

View from our table whooo!

The flat bottomed barques are used to harvest the oysters and other fruits de mer. 

Onwards to St Trojan les  Bain - a village that overlooks the bridge to the island and mainland France.

The tide was out so inevitably the coastline was inundated with - yes- cocklepickers!! We talk to one, an old chap and ask him what he is catching.  Ver! (Worms). He says they're for his fish, not for eating ha ha, you idiot, which Graham, thinking of the carp in our (new) garden misunderstands. They're for fishing, bait for for cod and others. Evidently you need to be quick otherwise phut! They descend! He's not as quick as he used to be, he says, but he seems to have been quite successful today.

We cycled along the coast with pine forest to the other side to another sandy beach where we spent a while resting to allow our stomachs to settle post lunch. This beach was covered in cockle shells - a shell gatherers dream!

Then back to the site following our tracks with a little detour when we lost our way - 18 miles in total  today. Extra little photo showing the interior of ile d'Oléron. On first look it's boring swamp land but we think it has a certain charm and definitely recommend a visit.

Friday 2nd Oct.

All good weather must come to an end! - with a forecast predicting rain for several days we left the Ille d'Oleron and headed for the big city - Bordeaux. We have an ulterior motive: there are Ikea and Maison du Monde shops in Bordeaux and it would be useful to try out a budget sofa in case we have to buy online - are they cheaper in France?

Arrived late pm after the usual lunchtime drive, supermarket shop we arrive in rain. Dinner chez Rex - ready meal - Paella- watching the French rugby world cup with the odd glass of wine .. We are really embracing  the french way of life!

A restless and mostly sleepless night for Carol, as it lashed down with rain, thunder and the constant drips and plopping sounds on Rex's roof and sides felt like water torture! - Thank goodness for a backlit kindle! Graham slept on regardless.

Sat 3rd Oct

We cycle to the nearby shopping complex -with Ikea and Maison du Monde. The cycle paths are very impressive here - an easy flat ride took us about 15-20 mins from the campsite direct to the shopping centre.

Spent hours pricing up furniture with the rain beating on Ikea's tin roof, with a break for lunch in the self service restaurant which was good value and surprising tasty! No we did not have the swedish meatballs! Answer: Cheaper, with an exchange rate of 1.35 France is 10% cheaper (excluding delivery which are astronomical and increase the more you spend!?)

A race back through the rain and a Carol freezer hot pot special dinner, then watched England's demise against Australia at rugby. Spent a while also watching a young German couple in a makeshift van putting up an inventive awning comprising of a sheet of plastic, rope and what looked to be a couple of broom handles! Well the male was working and hammering away whilst the female checked her phone. After about 3 attempts the awning was up ,although the female did not look that impressed as they huddled under it ,glancing at us cozy and warm in our heated van drinking wine and eating hot food! Ooh to be young again ....

Sun 4th Oct.

Decided despite the rainy weather we would do Bordeaux. Cycled the 8 kms to the centre along the again impressive cyclepath network. Bordeaux is one of the most cycle friendly cities we have visited - plenty of wide pathways for pedestrians and cyclists and a great tram network. Must be all those wine revenues. 

Cycled along the riverfront to the Place de Bourse - a mirrored pavement installation occasionally poured a stream of misty steam around the people standing upon it.

Now you see him..

Now you don't!

Walked around the centre - Bordeaux does not appear to be a poor place!

There were lots of river cruise boats moored on the river and then we saw this miracle of man's ingenuity- which explains all the American voices round the city. How does it stay upright?

Cycled back and arrived back just before the heavens opened .. Again ..! Could be worse - 17 dead in Cote D'Azur in worst floods for 20 years. 

Tomorrow we will head back up north. We purchased some chocs in a rather nice looking chocolatier today, and aim to drop them off for Ingrid the agent tomorrow as a thanks for all her help. 

Mon 5th October.

Decided to stay over in Aytre just outside of La Rochelle with the aim to visit La Rochelle tomorrow to remind ourselves how nice it is.

Weather not too good - cloudy with showers - still 20 degrees C though. Arrived at the campsite to discover the pool was still open - an enormous indoor one as well as outdoor. Enjoyed a brief swim - indoors- as it started raining as soon as we donned our cossies!

Tues 6th October ( Happy Birthday Philippa!)

Heavy rain overnight - we're both ready to head back home .

However we will not waste our last day! Walked a very long km to the bus stop and caught the bus in to La Rochelle. The harbour and marina looked as lovely as we remembered but after a quick picnic rain arrived, so we meandered around the shopping area - very sophisicated! A few souvenir purchases were made ,but Carol disappointed as we didn't find the usual seasidy decor shops - she had hoped to begin building the decoration section of La Maison Pierre!

No photos here of La Rochelle as we took them for last year's blog.

Back to Rex and over a cuppa Graham got out the paperwork for our return crossing tomorrow night - yes we are booked on the 8pm crossing on the 6th Oct - WHAT! - that's this evening!! Oops - Graham had entered the wrong date on our calendar... It was 5.30 pm there was no way we could get to the ferry in time.

After several calls to the Caravan Club we managed to rearrange our return - we leave at 4.30 pm tomorrow from Caen ,and as the ferry arrives at 9.15pm in Portsmouth we will stay at a Caravan Club site overnight near Fareham. Not quite the relaxed overnight crossing we had hoped for!

Oh Well ... It could have been a lot worse.

A long drive anticipated tomorrow and we will need to head off by 9am - a difficult concept for us to grasp as we have been managing to awake and breakfast by 11am the last few days! Nothing at all due to the tasting of the tasty cheap wine in the evenings! 

Tues 7th October

Up and at em - and on the road by 9.30am.

A long drive -    miles, just got to Caen at the advised 1 hr before departure. No time to stop for all the

 bargain wine and food purchases or even the cheap diesel ... Boo Hoo. One of our friends is going to miss out on the promised bumper french sausage selection! Thank goodness we managed to buy a few bottles of wine at Leclerk a few days earlier.

A rather bumpy crossing followed which seemed to last much longer than just under 6 hours. Graham had to abandon his dinner just as the cheese course arrived, having suddenly felt a need to lie down. Carol gamely stayed at the dinner table to finish the cheese and remaining wine - always willing to do the polite thing.

Then back to Blighty - as usual all good things come to an end...... With the promise of a very exciting French adventure in 2016!

A bientot! A la prochaine!

Week 3. Time to chill and enjoy the rest of the trip.

Thurs 24th Sept.

A late start to the day - quelle surprise!

After breakfast cycled in to Chef Boutonne to buy a baguette for lunch and a chance to check out C-B. A grey town we thought, full of bagnoles (old cars) and a fair percentage of Brits. 

After lunch took a pleasant walk around the woods overlooking the site and then in to Chef Boutonne.

Visited the grounds of Chateau de Javarzay which is just on the edge of the village. A pretty chateau built in the early 16C - one of the earliest examples of a renaissance chateau in Poitou. 

Tomorrow we will head to Melle. We are really killing time, exploring the interior, waiting for Saturday to meet up with Jackie and Peter, who we met last year as they were in the process of buying a farmhouse and gite as a permanent move. 

The campsite turns up a mesmorising attraction, at least for Graham. A couple of martin pecheurs (kingfishers) patrol the stream behind us. There he sits, french book in one hand, binocs in the other happily watching kingfishers and the kestrels which hunt the cornfield behind.

Rex pitched near the duck topairy!

Fri 25th Sept.

Another leisurely start ( what else) and arrived in Melle as everything closed for lunch as usual.

Picnicked in the park with a shop bought Croque Monsieur - remembered we didn't really like them as we got to the end of consuming them!

Melle - " the gateway to Poitou" appeared a tad scruffy and the promised gems of churches appeared not in walking distance of the centre - so we left.... After doing a reccy of the campsite which looked dire!

On to Celle-sur-Belle a very pretty village with a royal abbey. The gardens were free to wander which we did but we also paid to visit the inside - those monks knew how to live!

We chatted to an English couple who just happened to be sitting where we parked - they have 2 holiday homes locally - 1 just outside of Surgeres - which their son now manages as a holiday let. We exchanged phone numbers as their son had used a local builder to help build a pool. Already building up contacts!

 

So back to Chef Boutonne for another nights stay, and the kingfishers, for want of any near alternative, tomorrow we visit Jackie and Peter who now run a gite in Les Eglises d'Argenteuil. 

Sat 26th Sept.

Another leisurely start and a drive through the back roads to Aulnay. Shopped at the supermarket on the outskirts in which most voices heard were English! and prepared a picnic lunch. In to the centre to visit the church of Saint-Pierre d'Aulnay - standing in a cemetary - it is a beautiful building remarkable for the sculptures that adorn the portals - apparently classic themes of Romanesque art. 

We ate lunch in a medieval themed garden overlooking the church.

Onwards to Les Eglises - where we met Jaquie and Pete at their charentais house overlooking extensive gardens including an orchard. Also a large enclosed pool area.They have a seperate gite  which Jaquie manages and Pete currently supplements by working in London Mon - Fri and travels back weekends - in time to mount the ride on mower! They have been here for 1 year - we met them on the campsite in St Jean last year just as they were signing for the purchase. A lovely peaceful spot it's easy to fall under it's spell. The gite is called Rue Vincent (google) if anyone fancies a peaceful week away. 

We tear ourselves away and on to Saintes as there is an exhibition of Salon d'Habitat and du jardin  tomorrow where we may get some ideas. A minor panic as we thought we couldn't get a tv signal - it's the England v Wales rugby game tonight! - panic over the signal is found!

Sun 27 th Sept

Visited the exhibition - not the house decor design idea place we anticipated but spoke to several pool companies and log burner/pellet burner salespeople to get some idea of what's out there. As anticipated costs were top top end of the budget! Food for thought!

Set off to head for the Ille D'Oleron but decided as we travelled to stop over in Fouras instead - as nearer to Surgeres. We have an appointment with the bank manager Tues pm and also a stop off to chat with Simon who ownes several gites just outside of Surgeres late am Tues- thanks to Ingrid our intrepid agent! 

Arrived in sunshine in Fouras - checked in with the municipal site and explored the sea front. Walked the penisula to the port where the ferry to Ille D'Aix departs - about 3 kms. Fouras is the place for oysters and other shellfish in the whole of France- hang on haven't we heard that before! The place was buzzing with people lunching and purchasing shellfish at the various stalls.

Windy but sunny - we decided to plan to visit the Ille D'Aix tomorrow.

Walked by several windsurfers and kite surfers doing their stuff in the sea off the promenade back to the site - they were very impressive picking up what looked to be great speed across the bay.

Mon 28th Sept.

Service wash this am - clean towels, bedding , clothing and undies today - luxury!

Prepared a picnic and then headed off to cycle to the ferry to Ille D'Aix. Passed lots of people on bikes clutching buckets of clams and mussels - the tide was out and amateur and professional shellfish harvesters were out in force! 

Windy but sunny the crossing proved easy and uneventful. Arrived on the Island which is 4 kms by 2.5 kms aprox and was basically a fort in Napoleonic times to protect the entry to Rochefort and La Charente river. Now it is a tourist destination and today the ferry was still busy with holidaymakers. It is a car free island other than service vehicles and easily walked or cycled around.

Had a picnic on the windier north side and then practically circumnavigated it! We soaked up the sun at a completetly secluded beach on the east side. 

Many of the beaches consisted of what looked to be millions of shells - mainly oyster and clam - bleached white by the sun.

Egrets are in abundance all over these islands - presumably, like us, they don't eat oysters. 

We would definitely return. It is well worth a visit and we guess it will be mobbed in summer! Had a fabulous day trip. 

Tomorrow back to Surgeres - again!

Tues 29 th Sept.

Late start again - we have an appointment to call in to see Simon, a Brit who owns a 5 gite farm house complex just outside of Surgères and has kindly offered us a cuppa and chat about life in this part of France.

Although late we decided to detour to Muron where a road sign promised a biscuiterie - rather be a few minutes more late with a gift than arrive late with nothing we thought. The biscuiterie was a small unit making traditional charentais cakes not biscuits as we thought - bought one for Simon and a couple for us as the owner tried to press us to buy a selection of all cakes he made!

Simon appeared a man resigned to submitting to the french system to enjoy the french life,who despite his rather gruff first impression supplied us with lots of useful information and advice. He has lived here for 12 years - his eldest (of 4)child was 10 years old when they arrived and now firmly integrated in to the french way of life. He says he came to France to embrace all things french and so deliberately does not mix with any expats. He is happy for us to contact him once we're in Surgères should we need any further info. 

So on in to Surgères and having a couple of hours to spare until our interrogation had lunch in the Cafe de Paris near the Marché and opposite the bank. Had a lovely Plat de Jour - think this will be a regular spot once here. Graham thinks we should frequent several local restaurants regularly once we're holiday residents to get known in the community, and who is Carol to argue - she'll force down the food and wine for the cause!

Just over an hour this time with Geraldine the bank manager to arrange home and contents insurance cover - evidence of this is required by the Notaire BEFORE the final signing for the property.

Then off to  the Ille d'Oleron - a larger island with bridge access. Promising some of the best oysters in France - again,and vineyards, forts ,forests, beaches and white painted villages. We pitched up at our selected site and had a pre dinner drink as the sun set. We hope to explore by bike tomorrow.

Table setting chez Rex - we don't like standards to slip!

Weds 30th Sept.

A cloudy start with a sprinkle of rain but by midday the weather appeared to be changing.

So we packed a picnic and cycled off to explore the island.

First port of call Le Chateau d'Oleron and a visit to the Citadel. Another fort built by one of the Roi Louis's - which unfortunately was bombed by the allies in the 2nd World War - it appears work is being done to renovate some of it, but in it's present state other than views across the Charente, it was not a very exciting sight. The tide was out and scores of cockle pickers were out scouring the mud, yuck!

We did wander round an art expo sited there but all a bit too modern and difficult to appreciate with our uncultured eyes!

Then on towards La Grand Plage - after a while battling along the main roads we found the designated cycle paths - much easier and prettier- we picnicked in a forest at a picnic table. Then on to the beach- and what a beach!- not the choppy muddy Charente but the blue Atlantic with dunes and miles of golden sand. We walked along the sea observing the surfers,the sand kites, the wind surfers and .... cockle pickers!

Apologies, our fly has returned inside the camera. 

On our return we passed by a pond area with ducks, geese and a beaver rat looking thing, Coypu? - am sure those avid nature watchers reading will put us right! Have to say they gave us a bit of a surprise.

Back at the site  sheltered from the wind and in full sun the temp in Rex was 32 degrees C ! Not bad for the last day in Sept!

Tomorrow we will decide to stay a little longer if the weather holds as there are many more places to explore. Or head inland. Life is hard for the retiree van owner!

Week 2. Search for the perfect holiday home continues

Thurs 17th Sept.

Further torrential rain in the night! 

Spent the am doing a service wash! After lunch walked in to the centre of Rochefort. 

Visited the Corderiere Royal - a massive rope museum on the site of the workshop built by Louis X1V to support the massive ship building yard nearby. In it's day it provided rope for the sails etc for warships built in the dockyard, the centre of naval shipbuilding in France in the X1V C. It was an interesting museum with demonstrations of how the rope was made and also had a section with how the sea is depicted in comic books and animated film in France. 

Moored nearby was the l'Hermione, a replica of the 14c warship La Fayette. L'Hermione has taken 17 years to build by 73 artisans and only just recently launched and crossed the Atlantic to celebrate the original's involvement in a famous battle.  The original La Fayette took 6 months to build by about 600 people. During the recreated voyage just about 20 crew were professionals the other 50 or so were volunteers. The crew in the 14c La Fayette numbered in the hundreds. Both voyages took  about 35 days.

Rochefort is an interesting town on the estuary of the River Charente. Would recommend a visit.

Friday 18th Sept.

A leisurely drive down to Saintes. 

Did a big shop at an enormous Hyper U supermarket and then lunch chez Rex waiting in the car park of the municipal campsite until 3pm to be allowed on to a pitch, - such excitement!

Cycled in to Saintes for a reccy - will return tomorrow for a sightseeing day.

Dinner chez Rex and watched the TV - Rugby World Cup - England v Fiji. The french TV people were going nutty with extensive pre match coverage - goodness knows what it will be like tomorrow for France's first game!!

Further rain in the night! This is NOT what it is supposed to be in this land of milk and honey!

Sat 19th Sept.

Walked in to Saintes . First port of call the Roman Amphitheatre. This weekend in Charente Maritime all museums are free - result! 

The Amphitheatre is probably the best of it's kind in Europe. Very impressive. The english speaking audioguide was excellent in informing how life would have been in the 1st C AD.

Walked back in to Saintes centre to the Archeological Museum for a further Roman fix - gratuit  merci.

Arrived at a nice bistro just as they stopped serving food so carried on looking for somewhere open and ended up in a cafe near the tourist info with great views of the ginormous L'arc de Germanicus (roman) and ate a nondescript cheese on toast thing.

Then on to the L'abbaye aux Dames  an old Cistercian abbey also free to visit today!

There was a marriage service just starting as we arrived and the sound of singing from within the abbey church was lovely. However as it was a Catholic service ( presume lengthy) didn't hang around to see the happy couple emerge from within.

Bought a couple of books from a street bookstall as we walked back to the site - hardback pictorial guides to Charente Martime - as a start to the info corner of La Maison Pierre - yes getting a little ahead of ourselves here!

Returned to the campsite - it has not rained so far today - hurrah!

Will dine Chez Rex and watch the Rugby in solidarity with our French amis!

Tomorrow there is a Brocante in Saintes (a street market with bric a brac and possibly antiquities) - so will call in there before heading off to Pons.On Monday  we will keep an appointment to view a property there to compare with La Maison Pierre. (just in case it is our very perfect house)

We have an appointment on Tues with the Notaire in Surgeres to start the official house buying process and will then have 10 days cooling off period before reaching the point of no return!

Here's a couple of internal shots of La Maison Pierre:

Rear half of the lounge overlooking the garden.

From dining room open to hall to lounge. Other pic of lounge was of the back, to the right.

Sun 20th Sept.

Called by the vide grenier/brocante before leaving Saintes. Unfortunately it was all Graham expected with mostly tat, old clothing, shoes and toys and not the undiscovered art deco gems that Carol hoped for!

Headed west towards Pons.

Stopped for lunch at the pretty riverside town of Jarnac- the celebrated birthplace of Francois Mitterand, and had a picnic in a park overlooking the river, canal locks and the Corvoisier cognac centre. Very peaceful and picturesque.

Weather sunny and all well with our world!

Then on to Pons via Bourge Charente, a picturesque riverside village with a Michelin starred rather swanky looking restaurant. There are properties for sale here but despite its beauty there appeared nothing to occupy yourself for a period of time - probably not the best place to achieve integration with the locals (probably all second homers!)

And then on to Pons ready for a viewing tomorrow. Settled on to the municipal site then walked in to town to check it out before dinner chez Rex. The area around the Donjon with it's Cafes and square is lovely but the town does not feel as nice as Surgeres - the house tomorrow needs to be pretty special!

Mon 21st Sept.

Met John the estate agent who will be showing us houses this am. We only booked to view 1 but apparently we will view another 2! 

The first propery was a lovely detached traditional house in Archiac, a large village near Jonzac. It faced a tabac and pharmacy with a glancing view of the church. It is the holiday home of a notaire who has retired to an appartment in Bordeaux. Very grand inside but the usual pokey kitchen. Upstairs 5 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms - 1 shower room, 1 bathroom neither with WC and 1 WC all along the same corridor - weird! The house had further rooms unused and also access to another attached small house needing renovation. A rather grand pool and enclosed walled garden outside. Again probably more suited to someone with a larger budget and more imagination than us. So we were "out".

The next house was a strong contender - walking distance from Pons centre. However, disappointment loomed over us again - another overpriced home needing almost total renovation. Again lovely outside space but inside - oh dear! Again all bathrooms had no WC - with only 1 seperate WC for the whole house of 4 beds. Again an air of slight decorative neglect. Sorry John we're "out"

The final property was in a suburb of Pons definitely not within easy walking or even hiking distance from the action! It has been empty 2 years since the owner returned back to the UK following the death of his wife. A large modern spanish style property - not to our taste - which had a rather sad air of abandonment. Again a lovely outdoor space with pool and summer kitchen. However - location,location,location - we were "out". It was well overpriced too!

After the resigned John dropped us back to pick up Rex we motored on to a lovely picturesque village on the Gironde estuary called Montagny sur Gironde. Had a picnic lunch overlooking the small marina.

Ducks have priority over cars in Mortagne.

Here also was an Aire for motorhomes - where you can park overnight for 8€, and outside for free. But you have to be quick or lucky - there is limited room. We were lucky. As we picnicked a stream of hopefuls having missed the boat as all pitches were already taken at 2 pm circled and drove on by.

We continued to drive up the coast admiring the views and enjoying warm sunshine. We overnighted in Marrennes - the oyster capital of France . However the weather did not hold so the splash in the pool at the site did not materialise. We also heard from Ingrid the agent - our appointment to sign the contract is now to be Weds am.

Tues 22nd Sept.

Another rainy day so headed to Rochefort for a day killing time of supermarket and furniture store mooching.

Unfortunately what we thought was a furniture store was the french equivalent of BM homestores or a cheaper Dunhelm mill! No design ideas to be had!

We decided not to stay in Surgères again, but headed onto Courçon on the edge of the Marais Poitevin - however rain stopped play so had a supermarket ready meal chez Rex and an early night ready for the big day tomorrow.

Weds 23rd Sept - the possible day of no return!

Met Ingrid at her office,then off to Rochefort to sign the contract. As she drove us Ingrid informed us 2 other buyers were wanting the property since we signed the pre contract- we are now so glad we turned back and signed so quickly and feel much better about offering the asking price- for once it appears luck was on our side! Ingrid says there is a lack of quality housing in Surgères.

Estate Agents can draw up the initial contract and this was Ingrid's 1st time with a house purchase. There was another estate agent colleague, a translator who worked for the same agency who was a  fluent french speaking english woman. Monsieur the vendor and ourselves. There followed over an hour of paper signing extraordinaire and talk of termite inspections, electricity inspections, asbestos and house eating mushroom inspections - all mandatory and funded by the vendor, then the job was done!  The translator informed us of some jobs needing to be done identified in various surveys - apparently there is woodworm in the loft and garden shed - " quite normal in old french houses", a possible problem with the electric trip-" an electrician will just fix it" and hopefully that's it! Eeek!

We shook hands all round and Ingrid treated us to lunch with a glass of wine at a brasserie, where we sat and ate al fresco in warm sunshine- how civilised! 

We then went back to Surgeres where Ingrid accompanied us to the Mairie to enquire how to commence the planning process for a swimming pool, and also to the Tourist Information Office to obtain their list of holiday rental properties available in Surgeres (to suss out the opposition and possible friends. One English couple appear to have a several gites in a hamlet just outside of Surgeres - may be worth contacting them for info re pool companies and other tips?

Went to the bank to pick up our new bank card and cheque book and on enquiring re home insurance got booked in to see Geraldine the manager for an interview in a few days time, - no handing over of info leaflet here - oh no a thorough interrogation will be required!

Decided to move further inland for a few days and so headed for Chef Boutonne - to La Moulin campsite - which has a restaurant in a former mill. Greeted in english by the caretaker and on talking to a fellow camper discovered this was an English owned site in an enclave of English expats! We had passed a white van with a catering box attached parked in a car park as we had approached the campsite. We were intrigued as it had lettering on it stating a Chatsworth address. Apparently this was the mobile fish and chips van!

Had dinner in the restaurant served by the owner - weird ordering french food in english - at least the chef was french! Stuart the owner advised us re pool buying almost trying to put us off - but we will not be deterred!

As we chatted to Denise and Ray at the table next to us - we ordered some wine - chosing a bottle rather than the cheaper carafe from a wine box. Ray had ordered this when they had dined here previously and asked Stuart what is was and where to get some. Stuart had described it as Chateau Plastique, and so on visiting the local cave a day or two later Ray asked for a bottle of Chateau Plastique, only realising he had been the receipt of a Stuart witticism when the shop owner handed him a wine box! Doh! Oh how we laughed -poor Ray!

After a typical  french very tasty 3 course meal at the cost of €17.50 pp (£13), and a couple of celebratory bottles of wine (keeping up with Denise and Ray just to be polite), we staggered back to Rex to watch the 2nd half of the french game in the rugby world cup. The champagne will have to wait until tomorrow!