2023-01-26: A trip into the Auch cathedral. Just a quick look around but enough to make me eager to return to …
2023-01-25: Clearing yet more trash out of the woods. There has been so much weird stuff in there. It is very …
2023-01-23: Just a dusting.
2023-01-21: Good morning, glorious day.
2023-01-18: It’s snowing!! And raining alternately☔️🌧️❄️🌨️
2023-01-17: This weeks storms have brought down a lot of branches, moved some roof tiles around and refilled the …
2023-01-14: Someone likes wood shavings a lot!
2023-01-14: Sand… wash…. Prime… prime… prime. Sand… wash…. Prime… prime… prime. Sand… wash…. Prime… prime… …
2023-01-14: Sofian’s latest project.
2023-01-12: First he declared himself an archeologist and then he went and found an old ruin (foundations and …
2023-01-09: The 13th century church at Sabazan is the cutest in the area. The local chateau also makes an …
2023-01-06: WIP
2023-01-02: Happy New Year friends.
2022-12-30: Another yummy wine.
2022-12-29: Sheep in the vines. It was a funny sight so we stopped to take a picture, then Sofian “bahed” at …
2022-12-25: A drone’s eye view offering amazing new perspectives.
2022-12-25: We got a drone for Christmas!!! Amazing shots from the drone to follow, but here are some pics of …
2022-12-25: Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to you all. 🤗✨🎄
2022-12-25: We finally got the new living room curtains up!!
2022-12-21: Painting the kitchen cabinets from the gite, one door / drawer at a time. One undercoat done…… Ok …
2022-12-21: Necessities of the season…. Also fun new toy!
2022-12-21: Good morning!
2022-12-17: We just went up for the day but we are already planning more trips to the snow.
2022-12-17: The beautiful road up to the ski slopes today.
2022-12-14: Wonderful low lying mists at dawn and dusk today but with a lovely warm clear day in between.
2022-12-14: They are now randomly sprinkled around the house and entrances.
2022-12-13: My mum and I joined a Christmas wreath making party with a bunch of local ladies. The haul of shared …
2022-12-12: Sunrise
2022-12-07: Today we are sandblasting the big beams in the gite. They were black with age and presumably from …
2022-12-05: First fire!
2022-12-05: Installing our fist wood stove… definitely more to follow now that we know that there are actually …
2022-12-05: First frost
2022-12-05: The sugar maple has dropping the last of its leaves.
2022-12-05: We ate most of that Christmas cake before I thought to take a photo 😆
2022-12-02: Time for making the first of the Christmas cakes. 1000g of mixed dry fruit, heavy on the cherries …
2022-12-01: Misty loveliness. The frozen mists are settling in for the duration now… it’s that time of year.
2022-12-01: Don found this amazing 1950s arial photo of the property: Long since forgotten roads, buildings that …
2022-11-29: Bread baking. Gf of course.
2022-11-29: Spending the day spreading 3 cubic meters of gravel on the ¼ km driveway to fill in all the …
2022-11-26: Sanding down the cabinets in the kitchen of the gite. Yes it was painted coral orange under that …
2022-11-26: We had a lovely dinner party with our delightful neighbors last night. It was the first dinner held …
2022-11-26: This morning.
2022-11-26: Last weeks storm brought down one of a dozen or more dead trees in the garden. It gave us the …
2022-11-24: After the fall harvest we were visited by a rather large number of field mice. We bought live traps …
2022-11-20: Ok the bulbs are all in the ground! Phew but that was a lot of work. Next year more big bulbs like …
2022-11-16: A little furniture painting: We have restored these cute little bedside tables For use in the gite. …
2022-11-15: We headed out to yet another vide maison to buy some dining chairs. The chairs were a great find, at …
2022-11-14: The storms this week are likely to bring down the last of the beautiful autumn leaves in the garden. …
2022-11-13: It is too hot in summer to have rhododendrons out in the sun, so I’m planting them in dappled sun in …
2022-11-13: Another really good local wine. I used to think that Gers wine was lousy, but they are getting …
2022-11-12: The weeks before the rains start in earnest, is the best time to plant your orchard, hedge, new …
2022-11-12: Putting on the heating for the first time this year. We carefully put little plastic bowls under 20+ …
2022-11-12: The three new kittens. 🥰
2022-11-10: Morning mists
2022-11-06: Guy fawkes night at the local British pub, deep in the French countryside, but only 7 minutes from …
2022-11-06: We have been joined by three new barn cats. They are only kittens, (and a touch feral), so we are …
2022-11-02: I went to another vide maison yesterday. The surprise was, that it was at an ancient chateau that we …
2022-10-31: A little seasonal color.
2022-10-30: Our neighbor flies small planes out of a local recreational airport, and was kind enough to offer my …
2022-10-30: We found an enormous pile of old trash under a bramble we were clearing today. Pulling each oil can …
2022-10-29: Sorry these pics are a bit dark, but it will give you an idea of it. 😁
2022-10-29: Visiting a local ferronier (blacksmith), who fixed the ironwork on our ancient front doors. He is …
2022-10-25: I’m looking for inspiration, for the creation of a logo for the events business I want to start next …
2022-10-25: The summer season is over, but the locals still fill the Auch restaurants at lunchtime, even mid …
2022-10-25: More and more walnuts, and still lots more to collect.
2022-10-25: A new view of the pigeonaire from ground level. This old retaining wall has a couple of little stone …
2022-10-21: My favorite way to roast potatoes.
2022-10-21: Clearing the brush from another little woodland beside the orangery.
2022-10-21: A very good morning for seeing the Pyrenees.🥰
2022-10-21: It’s getting dark earlier now. This is the lovely sight that greets me when I return from my after …
2022-10-19: Thai eggplant with basil and homemade hoisin sauce. From the garden.
2022-10-18: Happy birthday to my darling boy.
2022-10-16: Exploring the local wines. Yum!
2022-10-15: First time back on a horse in more than 2.5 years.
2022-10-14: New salon paint job completed!
2022-10-14: Mondays are market days in Aignan. We had lunch at the Bistro Brocant, and ran into many of our …
2022-10-14: Lunch at the Henri 5 restaurant in Eauze.
2022-10-14: We had a visitor: One of our neighbors lost all five of his hunting dogs when they escaped today. …
2022-10-04: Who knew that fresh walnuts smell like limes!🤯😲😮
2022-10-03: Wood storage shed complete. In the process, we found that the area that we call the old depot, has a …
2022-10-03: We were just discussing the need for us to adopt some château cats, when at that exact moment this …
2022-10-02: After a lot of work clearing and cleaning, our woodland walks are looking great. The next part of …
2022-10-02: We are preparing to build a wood storage shed to house the wood cut to fit in the new wood stove. We …
2022-10-02: The annual Hunt began in ernest this week. The autumn stillness is broken by gunfire a dozen times a …
2022-10-01: We passed the Highway Code portion of our driving test!! Yay!🤪 so delighted to be done with this …
2022-10-01: With a lot of huffing and puffing we got the new 140kg wood stove, out of the car and into its place …
2022-10-01: Our friend and owner of the local wood mill, sold me 50 oak planks to repair our wood paneling. …
2022-10-01: Don’s in Paris for a conference, so I have been moving forward with clearing, planting and other …
2022-09-29: It turn out that the best place to buy inexpensive plants is the supermarket
2022-09-25: The morning mists have been marvelous the last couple of days. That rosy autumnal glow is …
2022-09-25: The trail blazing, strimming and weed pulling continues apace in the woods and bassin. We are deeply …
2022-09-23: More bramble bashing in the forest. Clearing through to the other side of the new Bassin. It turns …
2022-09-22: We drove down to Pau today to do our Highway Code test. 🤞 The scenery on the way down was gorgeous …
2022-09-21: The new flag stones have been laid and grouted in the mews. Hopefully this, together with the new …
2022-09-18: From the outside of the woods, we snuck into a new part, by crawling through an animal track through …
2022-09-18: We found pieces of hand carved stone in the undergrowth in the area of the woods we are clearing …
2022-09-18: There is an area in the woods with no trees. It is about 100ft square and filled with brambles and …
2022-09-17: Date night dinner in Auch.
2022-09-12: We found, what at first appeared to be a dirty old bathroom medicine cabinet. It turned out to be an …
2022-09-10: Lunch at ‘Cafe Curry’, at a chateau in Lannemazan.
2022-09-10: A day of floor sanding in the Gite. It is slowly getting better and better.
2022-09-07: Measuring the stairs for stair runners. 25 perfectly irregular, inconsistent gorgeous stairs.
2022-09-07: Did you know that putting concrete next to a stone wall, causes moisture trapped under the concrete …
2022-09-06: Slack line fun in the garden.
2022-09-05: Sofian’s first day of school in France. Complexity abounds. Nothing is simple, but little by little …
2022-09-05: A bit at a time.
2022-09-03: Processing the wood from the tree that we had taken down last week.
2022-09-03: Our friend Gert owns and operates this amazing old saw mill. The mill itself was portable. It still …
2022-09-02: A foggy morning after a little rain.
2022-09-01: European firebugs. Not dangerous or damaging to plants or animals, and kind of cute, for an insect. …
2022-08-31: We had these guys take down a tree that was overhanging the orangery roof. It would have caused …
2022-08-30: After the rain
2022-08-29: From the apple trees. They aren’t really eating apples so we will make apple sauce and jar them.
2022-08-27: Remote control electric speed boat on the pond. Thank you Mart for an incredible gift.
2022-08-27: Because it’s fun.
2022-08-27: Today we measured the well. It is 19m of stone lined beauty. A really lovely construction. It only …
2022-08-26: Friends… mostly.
2022-08-26: Dress up. Yes we have a dragon themed dress up bin.
2022-08-26: This evening’s sunset: Just wow!
2022-08-26: More plaster removal reveals a fabulously weird combination of building materials. Ancient and …
2022-08-25: The Gardien’ cottage is a 4 bedroom house, that sits beside the Chateau, with its own interior …
2022-08-22: Zip lines in the tree tops. We return to the Aignan lake zip lines every opportunity we get, before …
2022-08-21: Aignan lake.
2022-08-20: Loving our visit with Martin and Miche.
2022-08-16: Fabulous lighting storm The lightening tonight is almost continuous I have never seen anything like it. The flashes are …
2022-08-16: Exploring the interior of the Chai. This big old barn is full of fabulous old windows and doors. We …
2022-08-14: Today we had lunch with my cousin Sue’s dearest friend from Paris. By a wonderful coincidence she …
2022-08-13: The local zip line park was having a little 2cv party. Soo cute.
2022-08-13: The veggie bins are starting to provide us with meaningful contributions to meals: 2lbs of green …
2022-08-10: Its 85f at 10pm😆 We are having a shadow puppet show in a tent on the lawn. We have an incredible …
2022-08-08: Still no oars but it is lovely to sit and bob about.
2022-08-08: We bought a boat: Both ponds are stone lined. This one, has lovely old stone walls at one end, that drop 6’ to the …
2022-08-06: The heat has eased a little today. But we still spent it hiding in the cool of the stone walls …
2022-08-02: The Gers is very rural, but horse and cart is still a rare sight.
2022-07-31: The sequoia nursery: From even before we found the house we knew that we wanted to plant Sequoias …
2022-07-31: I’m sooo proud of the veggie garden 🥰. The new irrigation system for the veggies is almost finished …
2022-07-31: Yesterday we went to IKEA… again. This time for metal shelves and work table for the workshop. I …
2022-07-28: We found what we think is an old Roman road that runs between the fields from just beyond our …
2022-07-28: Donnie worked soo hard on the beautiful big hedge in the front park… (you just can’t call 7 acres a …
2022-07-27: Rescue operation this morning: a beautiful owl had somehow managed to get itself stuck between an …
2022-07-26: The sofas arrived!!! They are gorgeous, and enormous 😆
2022-07-25: It’s ok. He can have the sock… he already chewed up the matching one anyway.
2022-07-25: My favorite little local brocant. We picked up a set of drawers for Sof’s room and a cute little …
2022-07-21: Remote control, high tech garbage collection in Auch.
2022-07-20: First day with a relatively clean new (to us) pool. The liner won’t last more than a year or two, …
2022-07-19: Yup, I think that we have enough bedding.
2022-07-19: Still sorting through the library…. and I haven’t even opened a single box of our books yet.😆
2022-07-18: 106F today. Yuck! Thank goodness it will start cooling down tomorrow. The wind is up and change is …
2022-07-18: Who ate all the figs? One day we had a tree full of almost ripe black figs, the next they were all …
2022-07-15: The apples are almost ripe… but not quite. I noticed today that all of the windfall apples are eaten …
2022-07-15: We made it home just in time for the harvest of our hay!
2022-07-15: The view of the Pyrenees from Tarbes airport is really quite stunning. Oh and this little local …
2022-07-12: Thank you Victor for your warmth, hospitality and kindness.
2022-07-12: I hadn’t seen some of these lovely women since we were 16 or so. Funny how the intervening years …
2022-07-12: We had a really lovely mini More House reuinion. It was a beautiful afternoon catching up with old …
2022-07-11: Dippy the Diplodocus at the natural history museum in South Kensington.
2022-07-09: Sof and Calvin hadn’t seen one another for almost a year!
2022-07-08: The London science museum was awesome yesterday.
2022-07-08: So lovely to be in London with Sonya and family.
2022-07-05: Sooo many boxes!!!
2022-07-04: One of the new water lilies is flowering, and the lawn is golden with dandelions.
2022-07-03: This puppy is exhausting. It took us all day to figure out that he was acting crazy (crazier than …
2022-06-29: The dog seems to enjoy fruit. Anything below 3’ has been eaten: pears, gooseberries, red currants …
2022-06-28: Sof has had a high fever for the last 24 hrs. Not Covid, but something else. His fever just broke …
2022-06-25: Holihock season:
2022-06-25: The local canal joins the navigable part of the Baise river to the Garonne River and on to the Canal …
2022-06-24: Cuddles
2022-06-22: Schattil’s in the Chateau
2022-06-20: My lovely aunt and uncle are here with us this week.
2022-06-18: Hopefully tomorrow will be cooler.
2022-06-18: It is going to be another scorcher. Early morning watering is a chore but it’s one of my favorite …
2022-06-16: It also has some interesting art installations hidden in the jungle.
2022-06-16: Le Jardin Exotique is a tropical botanical garden about 15 mins from us. It has its own …
2022-06-13: The local market square offers games for the public to enjoy for free.
2022-06-13: Looking for inspiration for rug designs among the patterns on the Chateau’s floors and walls.
2022-06-11: Two big walnut trees, two apple, two fig and two olive, all loaded with the promise of harvest …
2022-06-11: The weather is starting to warm up. It was probably close to 90F today, although it was cold and …
2022-06-11: Veggie bin progress:
2022-06-10: Brocanting for a change.
2022-06-09: Morning mists.
2022-06-06: Our fabulous house guests are full of fun.
2022-06-05: A little tree identification walk this morning with the help of the plant net app. We have yew and …
2022-06-04: We started the mammoth task of cutting trails through the woodlands. In the process we are finding …
2022-06-03: The most amazing Leclerc super hyper mega store in Toulouse. It was like a grocery store swallowed a …
2022-06-02: Ouch. I fell down the stairs. No broken bones, just some heavy bruising. It only hurts when I laugh, …
2022-05-30: My new veggie bins are ready for compost. Half filled with branches and hay, they will have a 18” …
2022-05-28: Squelching clay between my fingers. I’m cleaning pebbles, roots and plants out of the clay from the …
2022-05-26: Latour-Marliac water lily cultivation, gardens, and museum in Le Temple-sur-Lot. Well worth the 3 …
2022-05-25: This dog is growing on me.
2022-05-24: We took griff to the vet for an introductory check up today, (inspired by all the weird crap this …
2022-05-23: Another brocant, this one in Vic-fezansac. Nice stuff but really expensive! I liked the little …
2022-05-23: So the pool cleaning proved to be something of a miner disaster… the pool guy didn’t know that you …
2022-05-22: The local zip line parcourt park, borders a lovely swimming lake, has a paint ball forest, and of …
2022-05-21: Today we bought a bunch of water plants for the lower pond: water lilies and water lettuce. Still …
2022-05-19: More mowing reveals a lovely shady spot below the pool that might make a good pétanque pitch / place …
2022-05-18: Happy birthday to my dearest mama🥰
2022-05-17: Don calls it my new “lady chainsaw”.😆 I love it! It’s brilliant for pruning and clearing brush and …
2022-05-16: Who ever heard of wild gladioli? Slightly smaller blooms and more resilient / longer lasting as cut …
2022-05-16: The library curation project continues: We have made an appointment with a friend who is an …
2022-05-15: We met a lovely local family who live a couple of hundred yards from out southern edge. They have a …
2022-05-15: We went to a fun local horse race. Deep in the countryside with fields all around, there is, what …
2022-05-14: Doggie aka griff, aka grufalo, is getting comfortable in his new home.
2022-05-13: My herb garden. Behind the chapel, there is an enclosed courtyard bounded by the back of the …
2022-05-12: We spent a couple of hours getting to know the lovely local mayor and his sweet Israeli French …
2022-05-11: Then we went and picked up our new puppy. We are delighted to introduce ‘Griffin’. (Provisional name …
2022-05-11: Then… finally, and very belatedly the mattresses were delivered!!! Yay! So we disassembled the old …
2022-05-11: Then I bought some plants and filled 6 large empty planters with little palms, hibiscus, strawberry …
2022-05-11: Have you ever had a day that felt like 3 days? In the early am we drove to an estate sale. We spent …
2022-05-08: Brocanting day. Still looking for drawers and side tables, dining table, outdoor seating etc etc.
2022-05-07: I think we need grazing animals!
2022-05-07: Mowing around the flowers!
2022-05-06: We drove up to Agen to pick up my Cart de Sejour! Such a pretty drive.
2022-05-06: Another brocant. We are looking for drawers and have decided that brocant is way better than ikea, …
2022-05-05: We also got one more bed built, and picked up a nice table for the entrance hall. Happy birthday to …
2022-05-05: Today we set to work, trimming the low hanging branches that obstructed so many of the paths and …
2022-05-03: One bed done. (It only took 4 people 3 hours). Three more beds to build. No mattresses yet. Tomorrow …
2022-05-03: Work in progress. Hopefully the mattresses will arrive today also.
2022-05-02: IKEA again for kitchen wares, towels and hangers. The shippers say that our container is finally on …
2022-05-02: Lots and lots of beautiful big empty spaces: The walls behind, where the furniture and art used to …
2022-04-30: It has been a very long, wonderful day. We spent at least 6 hours cleaning; 5 hours driving around …
2022-04-29: House purchase achieved. It’s gorgeous, and it is really hard to believe that it’s ours. I imagine …
2022-04-28: A little brocanting along the way:
2022-04-28: We traveled From Pamplona back into France today. Travel Day 3:3 Tomorrow is the big day. We pick up …
2022-04-27: Madrid to Pamplona. Day 2:3 Madrid is a massive, sprawling city, with the most complex and non …
2022-04-26: Headed north. Day 1:3 Mile upon mile of olive trees. Ancient gnarled beauty erupting from rough …
2022-04-25: The last day of the grand tour. Wrapping it up in style, with a day at the Alhambra in Grenada.
2022-04-24: And lastly, an unexpectedly fine dinner in the plaza square of a hill village on the way home from …
2022-04-24: After lunch we met up with one of my childhood friends, who lives not far from Banus, with his …
2022-04-24: When I was a child we visited Puerto Banus near Marbella, on many a family holiday. Staying on …
2022-04-23: About 6000 years ago a megalithic peoples constructed a 100ft long barrow on a hill top. Oriented …
2022-04-22: Great date night in the Granada old town. We spent the day trying to drive the big minivan into …
2022-04-21: Another travel day: East from Seville to Granada. The plains give way to low hills. You drive for an …
2022-04-21: Poppies for my Auntie:
2022-04-20: 20 mins to drive its entire circumference. And then an hour to inch through customs and passport …
2022-04-20: Gibraltar A great rock rising out of the sea. At its summit, scrub brush and mean monkeys. At its margins, a …
2022-04-19: Seville’s Alcazar: Mesmerizing beauty. Artisanship that boggles the mind. A depth and breadth of …
2022-04-18: Cadiz is an ancient port town about an hour west of Gibraltar. It sits on a narrow spit of land …
2022-04-18: Seville is stupid hot. 80f by about 10am😆. It makes the three giant bags of coats, hats and scarves …
2022-04-17: A gentle ride around Seville:
2022-04-16: On the road again. Today we are headed to Seville. With a little coastal sight seeing along the way, …
2022-04-16: Family Mini golf at the beautiful Vilamoura Marina.
2022-04-14: We took a fun speedboat tour along the magical coastline of this part of the Algarve. Visiting a …
2022-04-13: Shopping for curtain fabric: It sounds like an odd thing to do on vacation, but the Portuguese make …
2022-04-12: Compared to our recent adventures, a day at the mall may sound a bit plebeian, but we thoroughly …
2022-04-11: Far out on the most south westerly point of Portugal, is a little peninsula called Sagres. Braving …
2022-04-10: One of the loveliest European beaches I have ever encountered. 45 mins east of Faro, this sleepy …
2022-04-09: New house, new region. This week we are in the Algarve. 🥰 Something in the air holds a memory of …
2022-04-08: Seafood dinner:
2022-04-08: Beach day:
2022-04-07: Sintra: A half hour west of Lisbon, there is a hilly neighborhood with views of the coast. Clearly …
2022-04-07: Lisboa from a different perspective:
2022-04-05: Glorious Lisbon. Today we took a 2 hour tuck tuck ride around the center of Lisbon. It was rather …
2022-04-04: It was truly difficult to walk away from all of the beautiful animals. My 9 year old was in tears …
2022-04-04: We had the amazing good fortune to find that this week’s rental just south of Lisbon, is only …
2022-04-04: Kite surfers abound. Lagoa Albufeira is an enclosed lagoon within a circle of golden beach. Strong …
2022-04-02: Today is another travel day! Leaving Figuera da Foz and Coimbra and headed to the beaches just south …
2022-04-02: In love with Portuguese cobble stones. We spend a lot of time lately, discussing where at the new …
2022-03-31: Castelo Montemor o Velho Build in the 10th and 11th centuries as the border between Christian and …
2022-03-30: Beach day.
2022-03-29: Cultiflor Viveiros.
2022-03-29: Another amazing plant nursery. Most comprehensive collection of temperate plants and trees you can …
2022-03-29: Ancient salt pans of nucleo museologico do sal.
2022-03-28: Coimbra museum of Portugal, for little ones. Amazing reproduction of a dozen or more famous …
2022-03-27: The Roman ruins of Conimbriga, just outside Coimbra. I have never seen anything like it. Many more …
2022-03-27: We bumbled into a classy restaurant in Figuera da Foz. Being sweet Portuguese people, they opened …
2022-03-26: OMG
2022-03-26: Another boat tour on the upper Douro river. This is the area with all the vineyards where the port …
2022-03-25: Date night for Don and I, in Porto. These people know how to live! These crowds of people were …
2022-03-25: Yesterday’s river trip in Porto.
2022-03-24: Morning walk on the local beach. The waves are huge here. Fabulous sets line up beautifully, break …
2022-03-21: Tonight we went to an exhibition Fado concert. It introduced us to the beauty, art and history of …
2022-03-21: We went down to the quai to pick up a boat for a little 1 hr tour cruise, but parking our big …
2022-03-21: 🥰
2022-03-20: Porto is my new favorite city! We took a tour in a tuck tuck all around the old city. It was …
2022-03-19: Landing with our proverbial bums in the butter. Our apartment is directly on the beach behind the …
2022-03-19: We are all packed up again and headed to Portugal.
2022-03-18: Corcubion: one of the most westerly points of Spain.
2022-03-17: We drove into Santiago de Compostella, the 8th century town at the conclusion of the way of Saint …
2022-03-16: If any Bay Area friends, reading this, feel like they might be able to spare a couple of hours today …
2022-03-16: Today is the day! The shippers are coming to pick up our worldly belongings and transfer them to the …
2022-03-14: We stopped for lunch at a little restaurant across from the beach. Once again google translate had a …
2022-03-14: Laxe
2022-03-14: Our very nice rental is in Laxe, a seaside town on the western edge of Galicia. Probably a good deal …
2022-03-14: We got totally lost trying to find our new rental. 3 lovely old Galician ladies tried very hard to …
2022-03-12: Dinner in the coolest street in Orviedo. Wow, what a buzz! We ate ridiculously early by Spanish …
2022-03-12: Heading onwards to Galicia via Orviedo today.
2022-03-11: Yum.
2022-03-11: Followed by a nice lunch at our favorite restaurant in Monflanqin.
2022-03-11: Carte de Sejour interview day, at the Lot et Garonne prefecture in Agen.
2022-03-10: Back up to Lot et Garonne. This beautiful Dutch owned airbnb is really exceptional. Domaine l’Esprit …
2022-03-10: The first basque village that we have liked. It seems that there are only a very few medieval …
2022-03-09: Lunch in the home town of Balenciaga
2022-03-09: And flan.
2022-03-09: 1kg of steak. 1kg of turbot. Marinated and Barbecued to perfection. Sooo good. Mission accomplished. …
2022-03-09: Runner beans and Chorizo. noglu-nomoo.com/runner-be…
2022-03-08: Then there was Altamira: Like the Lascaux caves, that we visited in the Dordogne last week, this …
2022-03-08: So sad.
2022-03-08: Yum
2022-03-08: We feel so ambivalent about this place. The natural beauty is incredible, monumental, dramatic, …
2022-03-07: A nice day out, driving the coast.
2022-03-07: The war in the Ukraine: It feels so strange to be vacationing, while not very far away people are …
2022-03-06: I keep meaning to post about the spectacular food. I do mean to take photos, and then the food …
2022-03-06: My Spanish is rusty but there are at least some words rattling around in the back of my brain. …
2022-03-06: And the art 🥰
2022-03-06: The Bilbao Guggenheim :
2022-03-06: To Bilbao:
2022-03-06: View from the rental apartment in the Urdaibai biosphere, on the Bay of Biscaye, Cantabrian Coast.
2022-03-05: The drive down to Spain: I love the Pyrenees. The land itself is beautiful, but the border towns …
2022-03-05: Bigger and bigger
2022-03-04: The amount of stuff we have accumulated in 6 months is staggering. Tomorrow we leave for Spain with …
2022-03-03: We are working on getting everyone haircuts. Two down three to go.
2022-03-03: Monflanquin
2022-03-03: Visiting our friendly neighborhood cat in Monflanquin.
2022-03-02: I finally got my appointment for a Carte de Sejour appointment! It is set for the 11th of March. It …
2022-03-01: It is getting real! Our first of many trips to IKEA for supples for the new house. Don’t panic, I …
2022-02-27: Guess where?
2022-02-25: And then the beautiful drive home.
2022-02-25: art préhistorique incroyable The amazing Lacaux caves. Well worth the drive up into the Dordogne. I only wish that my French were …
2022-02-24: 2.5 hours drive to Seailles to meet the mayor, only to be stood up. Grrr. Then of course 2.5 hours …
2022-02-23: A fabulous plant nursery near Villeneuve sur lot.
2022-02-16: Our plan is to sleep for one more week, and then head out for 2 months of exploring and vacationing …
2022-02-16: On the plus side, our Compromis de Vent was signed today. Our countdown for taking possession of the …
2022-02-16: In summary, thanks to Covid we missed Don’s birthday and Valentine’s Day, coughed, wheezed and …
2022-02-08: Covid has struck our little pod. Yuck!
2022-02-07: Coming back from the grocery run.
2022-02-06: Gasping lungfuls of kinship. A memory of connection, wholeness stepping forward, rising up, down, …
2022-02-06: .. or not. The centrifugal wind, momentum expressing light and shadow towards the fringes of …
2022-02-06: The Dance: A juicy, tender, erratic whirlwind of deep play, or just life. Propelling, excreting …
2022-02-06: Chickens. The house we have been staying at for the last few months has 9 sweet brown hens. They sit …
2022-02-04: Day four of my six day Open Floor teacher training has drawn to a close. (1st of 8 workshops): My …
2022-01-31: We went for a drive along the road between Montpazier and Cahors. Dodging rain clouds and …
2022-01-31: Beynac
2022-01-29: An ice glazed world. Such tender glittery perfection.
2022-01-29: Saturday market in Villereal.
2022-01-28: It has been a hard week: On Monday I checked with the notair that we could, most likely close the …
2022-01-25: Montuban’s new town square paving project is coming along. We watched as they used a suction device …
2022-01-23: It’s Sunday so it must be Issigeac.
2022-01-22: Property #49: Between Riberac and Aubetter sur Dronne. Two very lovely towns. 1.5 hrs from Bordeaux …
2022-01-20: The presale contract is scheduled for January 27th! Yes, it has taken 2 months to even get our …
2022-01-16: This €4 bottle of wine, was really fantastic. If someone had told me it was a $30 bottle, I wouldn’t …
2022-01-16: Issigeac Sunday market.
2022-01-13: Details from the extraordinary interior:
2022-01-13: Through a very foggy, frozen landscape down to #32 again to meet with roofers and painters.
2022-01-11: Views of the Pyrenees from #32
2022-01-11: A visit to #32
2022-01-11: A day out between the rains:
2022-01-07: One of the best so far.
2022-01-05: Another brocant - this one outside Fleurance. Lively collections of copper and coffee grinders. The …
2022-01-05: 2.5 hrs south to Auch. This will be our closest largish town, from the new house. It has a lovely …
2021-12-30: Just in time for sunset.
2021-12-30: Out … finally… after 3+ hours of driving, to Soulac sur Mer on the Atlantic coast. A ridiculously …
2021-12-30: Lots of driving west…
2021-12-30: Next we went in search of Tich Nat Han’s monastery, which turns out to be an hour west of us. …
2021-12-30: Castellones. Heading west from Monflanquin we went through this pretty little village. A sweet old …
2021-12-29: Certainly too good for the stew.
2021-12-29: Hi there. I haven’t forgotten about you:) We have been lazing about at home this week, but will be …
2021-12-23: Chestnut pudding with crème anglais port poached pears and chestnut cake. …
2021-12-21: A few pics on the way to Toulouse this am. We felt like intrepid explorers venturing into the frozen …
2021-12-21: We went into Toulouse today to visit our BNP bank manager in preparation for buying the house. Our …
2021-12-20: Danish / Norwegian Seed and Nut Brød. noglu-nomoo.com/norse-sty…
2021-12-19: More from Bergerac.
2021-12-17: Heading into Bergerac again, to visit my parents optician.
2021-12-16: A wonderful brocant.
2021-12-16: Another gorgeous foggy morning.
2021-12-15: Ok maybe it is a little early for Christmas cake, but it is delicious anyway :p …
2021-12-14: An incredible ArtNouveau classic in the heart of Agen. It’s an apartment building and is for sale 😲
2021-12-14: An afternoon exploring Agen.
2021-12-13: Experimenting with Clafoutis. One of my favorite deserts, made dairy and gluten free of course. This …
2021-12-10: A wintry walk through the nighttime streets of Agen.
2021-12-09: Sarlat Christmas market:
2021-12-08: Property #49: Very nearly right. 3 sided mas with 2 towers. 9 bedrooms. Two lovely ones and a bunch …
2021-12-08: Even though we have an accepted offer on 32 we continue to look at properties for 2 reasons: 1) the …
2021-12-07: Christmas markets are popping up in every little town. Here are some pics from yesterday’s trip into …
2021-12-05: #32 continued:
2021-12-05: We have an accepted offer on #32. ✨🌸🙏🏻🎏🍁✨
2021-12-04: After the rain.
2021-12-04: Property #48: 39 hectares of forest, a river, mill, ancient forge and 17thC chateau. Gorgeous …
2021-12-03: Foggy morning walk.
2021-12-02: More photos of 47. Another heartbreaker.
2021-12-02: Property #47: A working vineyard of 9 hcts. With a lovely 19C house. No heating, all single paned …
2021-12-01: Lunch in Carcasonne on the way back up to the house.
2021-12-01: A few more pics from Sete.
2021-11-29: So the medical exams went well. Paperwork in hand we move on to the next step of our residency …
2021-11-29: We have traveled back down to the Mediterranean coast to attend a medical exam for our long term …
2021-11-27: The pretty medieval village of Gordon on a frosty grey afternoon.
2021-11-26: Property #46: Into the wilds of Correze. This listed Templar castle was both too medieval and beset …
2021-11-25: Property #45: Amazing perigordine stone rooves on super cute 16C fairytale house and gite. Ceilings …
2021-11-24: Sarlat continued…
2021-11-24: Back to Sarlat. A fabulous decommissioned church with a farmers market inside. It specializes in …
2021-11-23: Property #44: Road noise. Road noise. Road noise. Historically listed manoir, with very well …
2021-11-21: Property #43: Soo ‘Home and Garden’. The dead animals were awful. The house was cute but too small.
2021-11-20: Property #42: Gorgeous 16th century chateau with 5 towers, remade in the 18thC. On a limestone …
2021-11-19: Frog #41: if we could just be less picky… no never mind, even then we wouldn’t be interested in this …
2021-11-18: Martel: cute town east of Sarlat with an abundance of really good restaurants.
2021-11-18: Property #40: So sad when the nicest ones have wrap around roads.
2021-11-17: Property #39: the most perfect venue space we have seen so far. 2 lovely gite, but main house to …
2021-11-17: The village of Lallind. An old canal and disused canal port, feed a series of man made runnels that …
2021-11-16: Building pillow forts on a quiet day in, as we rest up before a busy few days.
2021-11-16: Property #38: Amazing piece of land (29hectars) on the southern edge of the Dordogne. Another mixed …
2021-11-13: Ongoing discussions about the sleepy bucolic Gers (specifically the remote location of #32), Vs the …
2021-11-13: Property #37: Back into the northern Gers, very near our last rental. This true castle is a crazy …
2021-11-11: November holiday festival in Duras.
2021-11-10: The Dordogne.
2021-11-10: Troglodyte city: Inhabited from prehistory (55,000 years ago) through the Middle Ages.
2021-11-10: Sarlat Caneda: Such an adorable town. Awake, alive, busy and vibrant. Lots of restaurants and stores …
2021-11-09: Our host took Sofian for a ride on a great big tractor and let the 9 year old drive! He was in hog …
2021-11-08: Returned to #32 again. Really a remarkable property. It has everything on our wish list: woodlands, …
2021-11-08: Property #36: Light and clean, well renovated shabby chic on a lovely hill top in the southern Gers …
2021-11-07: Issigeac farmers market was chilly but buzzing with activity this morning. Quite beautiful, with a …
2021-11-06: Property 35: pretty, well renovated Chartreuse house with views, seemed like a possibility until too …
2021-11-05: We also decided to explore a new section of the Garonne river valley on the journey home, the …
2021-11-05: The city of Liborne lies in the valley to the NE. of Bordeaux amongst the vineyards of the mighty …
2021-11-04: An evening stroll through the wintry streets of the village of Issigeac.
2021-11-04: Property #34: rather similar to #33 but on a smaller piece of land. No road noise but no gites …
2021-11-04: Property #33. Beautiful old Georgian style house. Pool, tennis crt., 2 gite, stables, lake, but no …
2021-11-03: Evening light and ground fog. Last night we had some lovely rain, so this evening as the sun was …
2021-11-03: Today we journeyed up to Perigeaux and then to Riberac. Perigeaux was very urban in the least pretty …
2021-11-02: The tour of the Plus Beaux Village continues. Today, in Monpazier, we had the honor of supporting a …
2021-11-01: Another month another house. We moved again. This time we are in a huge old farm house, between two …
2021-10-30: More photos of #32:
2021-10-30: Property #32: It’s really hard falling in love every other day. It’s an emotional roller coaster, …
2021-10-30: Property #31: Isn’t it strange how something can check all the boxes in theory and yet not make an …
2021-10-29: Property #30: This one was certainly a show stopper. A touch outside our budget, not close to any of …
2021-10-28: The gorgeous farmers market in Eauze this morning. Strangely we have not made it to a lot of farmers …
2021-10-28: A little geographical context:
2021-10-28: Someone asked for a more in-depth look at what ‘needs everything’ means, in terms of cost. 🤣 …
2021-10-27: Property 29 also had another ancient medieval stone wash basin in the forest. Spring fed, very much …
2021-10-27: Property #29: Oh my goodness. It’s gorgeous, huge and amazing value! 12 hectares of forest, meadow, …
2021-10-26: This is our last week in the Gers before we head up to explore the Lot et Garonne / Girond and …
2021-10-26: Today I did battle with the French postal service. I’m not sure if I shall emerge victorious. I will …
2021-10-26: Property #28: Condom area. A converted factory made into a nice industrial modern home. Lots of …
2021-10-22: Bergerac: I like this little city. It has a lot of character but is very natural. Not at all …
2021-10-21: Property #27: Elegant chateau, on white stone bluff overlooking a valley. Unfortunately industrial …
2021-10-20: #25 didn’t post last night. Oops. Fabulous views. No ground floor apartment, but a very beautiful …
2021-10-20: Property #26: I want it! I want it! It has my dance floor, and venue, and beautiful volumes. But …
2021-10-18: Monflaquin: A tres baux village. One of the signature villages of the south west. Charming, …
2021-10-17: Happy birthday to my darling boy! Sofian is 9 today!
2021-10-16: Pics of Mauvezin, just east of Auch. It is pretty and quite dynamic for a little place. With nice …
2021-10-16: They are not all gorgeous: as we explore villages to find an area we would like to live in, I would …
2021-10-15: Property #24: Medieval manor with gargantuan fire places, low ceilings, even lower doorways. Don had …
2021-10-13: Property #23 A heartbreaking property. Exquisite, neglected, ancient, with orangery, pigeonaire and …
2021-10-12: Yesterday we went down to Mont de Marsan and Saint Sever. This area would theoretically be …
2021-10-11: Property #22 The village chateau in Fources. A 13th - 16th Century gothic stone castle, on a river. …
2021-10-10: And Arcachon: A lovely old beach resort town on a bay to the south west of Bordeaux.
2021-10-10: Today we went to Bordeaux. Wow. An ancient and gloriously beautiful city on the banks of the vast …
2021-10-09: Sofian’s birthday is fast approaching and Autumn is in the air. I love this time of year. We put …
2021-10-09: Property #21: Another very elegant house in good general condition, in a private park with no close …
2021-10-09: Property #20: A beautiful house between Nerac and Castlejaloux, with fantastic private park, on the …
2021-10-07: We decided to explore the areas a couple of hours north of where we are staying. Today we went to …
2021-10-06: Eauze:
2021-10-06: Vic-Fezansac:
2021-10-05: Fources: The village closest to our rented house, is very quaint and enterprising. There were 3 …
2021-10-05: Montreal du Gers. Where we had our daily helping of duck and steak.
2021-10-05: We returned to property #13 to ask some more questions. Don asks that we re-number them so that this …
2021-10-04: Property #19: it’s got a lake, an amazing view, 2 gites and a nice house, but it’s criss crossed by …
2021-10-04: From the year 1062 the cloisters of La Romieu are still graceful and serene after more than a …
2021-10-04: Les Jardins de Corsiana: Beautiful planting in the style of an English country garden. A privately …
2021-10-03: Back to the Gers for a month long rental in a luxurious house near Condom. Our Airbnb accommodations …
2021-10-02: Ceret: Once home to Pablo Picasso and a host of his contemporaries, this hill village above Couliure …
2021-10-02: Property #18: We drove all the way to Couliure and then an hour west into the most outstanding hills …
2021-10-02: Couliure: Quintessential Mediterranean seaside village. Glam and gorgeous.
2021-10-02: Property #17: Back to Castelnaudary area again to see this 19th century mas conversion. Almost worth …
2021-10-02: Coast near Perpignan:
2021-10-02: Perpignan: Now this is a city I would like to live near.
2021-10-02: Cathar country:
2021-10-02: Property #16: Magnificent landscape of Cathar country. Huge house with several abandoned barns for …
2021-10-02: And more
2021-10-02: Narbonne food market yesterday:
2021-10-02: Tonight we are near the Mediterranean coast close to Perpignan. The landscape is spectacular, the …
2021-09-30: We spent yesterday exploring the area around property #13. Particularly the cafes & brocant …
2021-09-28: Property #15: in the heart of the pine forest of Les Landes. This old convent from the late 1800 is …
2021-09-28: Property #14: Also really beautiful. An old Armagnac distillery. 10’ wood barrels fill a huge old …
2021-09-28: Property 13: A firm maybe! Between Fleurance and Lectour. Two of the most beautiful villages. This …
2021-09-27: We drove up to Marmand, half way to Bordeaux today. It’s a big town on the Garonne river. Very …
2021-09-26: Nerac is the most beautiful little river side town. With a medieval heart, a renaissance royal …
2021-09-25: Property #12: Vast, beautiful unusable spaces. House with close agricultural neighbors, in a village …
2021-09-24: A trip into Condom: An ancient and beautiful town in the Northern Gers. By my count it had 5 …
2021-09-24: Property #11. A gorgeous renovation of a Maison de Maitre. One nice big gite, but lots of big …
2021-09-23: Property #10. Is 12 bedrooms too many.. ? ok I think maybe it is. Look out for the 18’ ceilings, and …
2021-09-22: Even though it is a gorgeous area, we decided that we are going to stay clear of the nuclear power …
2021-09-22: We dropped off our rental car, picked up our new Peugeot space ship and headed up to Montouban to do …
2021-09-20: An after lunch drive. The sky cleared and then clouded over again and again. The weather is so vivid …
2021-09-20: The lovely town of Nay: Our French pass Sanitair finally came through, which allowed us to eat out …
2021-09-19: Today we drove up into the mountains to visit a Neolithic dolmen. Built by mankind 80,000 - 100,000 …
2021-09-18: Property #9 Zigzagging 3 hours back into the Ariege to see a beautiful 19th century chateau built on …
2021-09-17: Lourdes in the rain. We didn’t go down to the sanctuary. We are saving that for another day. We just …
2021-09-15: A random grocery store by the Biarritz airport. I would consider living in this neighborhood just to …
2021-09-15: A day trip to the beautiful Saint Jean de Luz. Just minutes from the Spanish boarder, this little …
2021-09-14: The sale of our house closed today ! We stayed at our Airbnb, drank champagne, cooked up a wonderful …
2021-09-13: And we visited Pau, a little Paris hidden in the foothill of the Pyrenees. Elegant and cosmopolitan, …
2021-09-13: But, oh my goodness the scenery was beautiful.
2021-09-13: Today we went back to property #8 to drive around the area. Unfortunately this lovely house is a …
2021-09-12: Property #8: A new favorite… again. An amazing restoration project by a very talented couple. They …
2021-09-11: Property #7: It looks stunning from a distance but the workmanship is appalling. High quality …
2021-09-11: The first agent that we have seen in this area assures us that, because it is so wet and warm here, …
2021-09-11: The change of scenery and climate is startling as we shift gears from the Langudoc to Jurancon, …
2021-09-10: Property #6 Wow. This one is special! From the early 1700s, this Maison de Maitre has had some …
2021-09-10: Property #5 A petite chateau on the edge of a lovely little village. The wonderful old lady who owns …
2021-09-09: We drove north to Mazamet, taking the twisty road through the tall pine forest of the black …
2021-09-09: Property #4 Castelnaudary Not a bad house, with lots of space to build gites, and a venue space, but …
2021-09-08: Today we returned to property #2, to chat with the owner and his wife and ask a bunch of additional …
2021-09-08: We only have a couple of days left in the Aude. We have not seen nearly as many properties as we had …
2021-09-07: This afternoon we drove the hour out to Narbonne. I had not been there since my teens. The old …
2021-09-07: Property number 3: Castres. Wow what a contrast! Pristine, ultra modern renovation of an old Maison …
2021-09-06: Property number 2: Castelnaudary. Oh my goodness, I’m in love! Did someone say that you shouldn’t …
2021-09-05: A busy day: While the real estate agents were closed for the weekend, we visited the brocant market …
2021-09-04: From the Southern edge of the Aude to the north of the Ariege district. Beautiful rolling hills and …
2021-09-03: The first property we looked at: Puylaurens. Fabulously elegant petite chateau, with two gite, a …
2021-09-03: Revel, a beautiful old town, at the edge of the Haut Garonne and the Tarn regions.
2021-09-02: Welcome to the South West of France.
2021-09-01: Barcelona to Toulouse today.
2021-08-31: Up up and away!
2021-08-30: Hotel rooms with heaps of giant pillows are awesome.
2021-08-30: Dear New Owners, We have loved this house and we hope you love it too. Please take care of the …
2021-08-29: Bye to the house.
2021-08-26: Bye to the redwoods.
2021-08-25: Counter offer accepted on my parents house!!! 38 Alexander
2021-08-25: Tout ira bien. Respire profondement!
2021-08-21: Just sold!! We had the best agent ever. Phoebe took really good care of us. 2 spruce
2021-08-21: Packing and packing and packing!
2021-08-07: Time for a nap.