Day two of house hunting

Today I saw seven houses in several different towns:

Levignac de Guyenne, Sainte Foy la Grande, Gensac and Pessac sur Dordogne. My head is swimming trying to remember which details went with which property.

With the exception of Sainte Foy, which is quite large and bustling, the other places were much smaller than Duras, but all still had their share of charm and amenities.

Levignac de Guyenne is just south of Duras and you could miss it if you changed the radio station as you were traveling past. It does have a very large Gothic church and a few shops. The church is the most imposing feature and was, in fact, the bulk of the view from the terrace of the house I saw there. It had a beautiful exterior on both sides, and there were many interior features I also liked including a lot of exposed stone walls and multiple fireplaces. It also had an ample terrace and courtyard below, which was very private and basically a blank canvas. The negatives were a lot of updating and rearranging required. The kitchen was also pretty awful, but that's not unusual here.

My next stop was at Saint Foy, which is big and busy with a large year-round population,and it was hard to find a parking spot. I finally got one on the quai along the Dordogne, which was murky gray and rushing in a menacing way today. 

I met Marie-Claude and Jean-Pierre Jeanson to see two houses in that town. One was large, with many square rooms and as many patterns of wallpaper as there were rooms. It had a nice, bright courtyard, but it was mostly without charm and looked rather like a handball court.

The other was one I had seen in advance and requested a viewing before leaving the states. It was a Middle Ages townhouse with a half-timbered facade, very nice spaces and a lovely, gravelled courtyard. Unfortunately it felt dark and damp and there was evidence that they had recently broken into walls, and along baseboards to treat for termites. These termites were likely descended from the same ones that were probably eating the house in the 13th century. As with some of the other houses I saw on the internet, it was much better looking in the professional photos than in reality. I hate to do it, but it's off my wish list. I don't really think Sainte Foy is for me either--too big.

The Realtors recommended a place for lunch, just across the town square from their office. It was a very good choice and I enjoyed a salad with some delicious local charcuterie, then a pan-seared pork chop with pommes Anna, carrots and turnips. 

After lunch, I drove to the small, but charming village of Gensac to meet Gaby Van Edom, a six-foot amazon with a commanding presence. She showed me four houses, three of which were not even worth considering,but one was a knockout!

The knockout was a free-standing stone cottage in the very small village of Pessac sur Dordogne. It retains most of the original exposed stone walls, but has a modern kitchen and updated bathrooms. The real thriller is the large terrace that overlooks the Dordogne along with a charming garden below. The garden even has a tall "monkey puzzle" tree, which is quite a rare thing.The house was built in 1752 and there are several stone fireplaces and floors from that era. It exudes charm. It seems perfect, except that the town is sooo tiny. There are a few basic shops for essentials, all walkable, but no outdoor market. No restaurant. I wish I could pick it up and put it in Duras or Monsegur.

Maison du Vins Duras

At the bottom of the hill upon which Duras sits is a very attractive wine shop that sells bottles made by dozens of the area vineyards. 

When you first approach it, big colorful flags grab your attention. 

It's an impressive building, modern and bright. In addition to tastings and sales, they also host regular wine classes, food and wine pairing and wine-related festivals all year round.

Inside are racks of product as well as bi-lingual educational posters that describe the region's terroir, climate, grape varieties, etc. 

I was the only one there when I showed up yesterday afternoon for a tasting. I heard bottles clinking somewhere in the distance and had to call out "bonjour" to get the attention of the woman in charge.

I asked her to help me choose une cadeau pour mon mari and asked about the area's best reds. She quickly pointed to her favorite of all--100% merlot, aged in oak for 18 months. I asked for her best blended wine and she gave me one that's 50% merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Malbec. These are the most popular grapes grown in the cotes du Duras. Same as in Bordeaux.

For myself I picked up a refreshing rose that tastes of strawberries, and I  enjoying a glass as I write this.

Le chien est dans le restaurant

It's not at all unusual to see dogs in restaurants in Europe and the UK. Mostly they are sitting at outside tables or under barstools sat upon by tired laborers after a days work. But this portly old boxer was polite and right at home beneath his owners' table indoors in a rather upscale place. Here, he's studying me to see if I plan to out him to management.

House hunting gets serious: 6 houses today!

I started my day with a walk through Duras's outdoor market and found myself some provioions for the rest of my stay. I bought 2 small goat cheeses, 2 types of olives, olive breadsticks, a basket of strawberries, 2 pears, yogurt,milk and coffee. This should get me through breakfasts and light suppers at the house, assuming I eat a big lunch out each day. Today's lunch was at La Terrace, which has outdoor seating in full view of the chateau. The plat du jour was a veal cutlet with mushroom sauce with sauteed veg and an herby polenta cake. Delicieux!!  I enjoyed also a quarter litre of local rose'.

So, houses: you know those illustrated kids books that are divided into three sections so you can flip parts back and forth and end up creating different animals by changing the top, middle and bottom?

Well, I feel like all the houses around here should be presented like that so, for example, I could choose the kitchen of one, the bathrooms of another and the terrace of a third and come up with the perfect house. Each of them has some obstacle to deal with, it's just a matter of what type of obstacle I am willing to put up with, I guess.

I will show you the best of each place, and briefly tell you the worst:

House 1, Monsegur:

This is a gorgeous, modern apartment with everything brand new on a beautiful street. Look, Luisa, even the countertops are your favorite marble. The problem is that the builder renovated an old house into 4 apartments, and they share a commom, small courtyard. So no privacy for outdoor space.

House 2, Monsegur:

Okay, so this one has a sweet, private courtyard, and is fully modernized on a nice  street, but it has only one small bathroom, no storage for bikes, the only place for the washing machine is outside and the spiral staircase is very narrow. Also, the current owner is a smoker and the smell permeated the house.

House 3, Monsegur:

Beautiful private outdoor space and very nice facade with cute white shutters, but needs a complete refresh: new kitchen, new baths, paint.

House 4, Duras:

 This is Monsieur Robin, who just happened to walk by as we were looking at the clocktower house, which is the one I primarily came here to see. The house is lovely, perfect condition. I might want to make small changes, or add a rooftop deck at some point, but it really doesn't need anything changed at all. I have included Monsieur Robin because we were so lucky to have him stroll by and say Bonjour. All 4'9" of him on a good day. He used to live in the clocktower house and it makes him happy to look at it each time he takes a stroll through town. He told us that his family ran a boucherie (butcher shop) in that house in the 1930s and he reminisced about having to jump off the second-floor balcony, using the ropes and hooks for hanging meat to escape to the pavement below, when his father was fast asleep. He was very animated, with lots of pantomime, when describing this. He would then meet his girlfriends at the chateau grounds for a night of ooh-la-la . . . He asked me to guess his age and I knew he was quite old, but flattered him by guessing soixant-huit (68). Non, he laughed, then took my palm and wrote the numeral 90 with his finger. What a memory. He continued to tell us stories about life in town during WWII and I really didn't want it, or him, to end. What a lively, happy character! So the clocktower came with a wonderful look back through l'histoire de Duras.

House 5, Duras:

Beautiful renovation, has everything except outdoor space--there is none except a narrow strip of sidewalk in front, where the real estate agent said it's possible to put a small table and some potted plants.

House 6, outside Duras: 

I didn't take pix because I did not like the location and I started sneezing the minute I walked in.

Duras, France: the adventure begins

A view of the awful stairs from the attic, above, and from the kitchen, below

Duras, France, day one

My ride from Bordeaux's Merignac airport was tres facile. I just followed signs for Toulouse, passing hectares of grapevines on both sides of the road. Before bud break, coming very soon, the vines are like hunched little men with raised arms yelling up to the sky. After about 25 miles of vines and agricultural lands, I got off the highway at La Reole which is on the Garonne River and wound my way through tiny golden towns including Monsegur, to Duras. I had seen the images so many times that when it appeared in the distance atop a great, flat-topped hill, it seemed like an old friend. I really didn't need the GPS for the ride. Everything felt familiar and safe.

I parked in the lot behind the tour de l'horloge and clacked my rolling bag along the cobbled lane to find Ken Blackwell standing in his doorway at the house he's named Puitsnoir.

A cheerful couple of a certain age, he and Barbara showed me around the house, including the rooftop terrace that can only be reached by a steep--did I say steep--ladder into the attic. I am going to amend that last sentence--it's not steep, it's treacherous!  I stood at the bottom fearing the trip up there, but then watched as the surprisingly limber Ken scaled the steps with great speed despite being 20 years my senior. I went up there too, and happily as all I could think of was that once I was alone, it was very doubtful I'd try to do it again. If I fell, who would think to look for me in some French attic--or on a roof! No one even knows where I am. I tried to imagine how one does this while holding a bottle of wine, glasses and maybe ingredients for a picnic supper? Anyway,my rooftop terrace fantasy was quickly exterminated by this unfortunate ladder situation.

The Blackwells set off for their other apartment on the beach near Beziers. I was alone.

I took a stroll through town, which was very quiet. Few tourists are visiting now, but there were locals hanging out at the Cafe de la Paix, also a wi-fi bar. I had un verre du rose’ and what was their idea of a chef's salad with delicious cold cuts, cole slaw, zucchini slaw and a sliced tomato. It was good and filling.

Back to the apartment for a nap with my U.S. Airways sleepmask and earplugs. I woke up still tired, but saw that even at 6:45 and not daylight savings time yet, the sky was still bright. I felt compelled to take another stroll around the town and I wandered toward the chateau and caught the sun just as it was bathing the square in a glow the color of rose’ and I felt lucky to have lived in that moment.

The sunset reflected on the chateau:

Three more days . . .

It always takes so much to get ready for any trip. Not only do I have to consider my vacation needs, I have to be sure all I am leaving behind is in order and is likely to stay that way. The dog and the dog-sitter, the houses, cars, the water heaters, the bills . . . Really it's just endless!

But, today, for the first time I can see the end of the tunnel, and since the tunnel ends in France, I am starting to get excited about this next leg of my fantasy.

My base will be Duras, a charming town of about 1,200 people in southwest France, about an hour east of Bordeaux. It's a wine-producing area and has more than 100 vineyards where you can taste and buy wines. They also have a Maison de Vignerons, which is a shop just ouside of town, where you can taste and buy the wines from many of the producers all in the same place. I think I will make a stop there early in the trip so I can sample some of the local brew. As much as possible, really.

Duras also has a castle that I hope to tour as well as several restaurants and shops--all walkable from the townhouse I am renting in the center of town. The best feature of this townhouse is a rooftop terrace, where I plan to do some soul-searching or bird-watching or sunset-gazing soon. I will post pictures of myself engaged in these various pursuits in a later blog.

I have been working with a real estate agent named Rosalind, and her partner Louise--British expats who've lived in Duras for more than 20 years. I have been identifying houses on their website as well as others and sending them links for several weeks. They are making my viewing appointments and organizing my days so I can see as many houses as possible. I think there are 8-9 at this point, perhaps there will be others. I like not having complete control over this part--I will be led around and shown the area by presumed experts--I hope to learn a lot from them.

Joe is totally behind this fantasy thing. He knows how strongly I feel about this part of France and he is indulging me by allowing me to venture forth to see what happens. The other day we were talking about this house hunting and he reminded me that I came home empty-handed and somewhat disheartened from my last attempt. His solution, and I am quoting him: "if you can't find what you want, don't be afraid to go up a level and SPEND MORE MONEY." Seriously, where do you find a guy like that?? I am soooo lucky!!

So, I've been studying my French and I know enough to make polite small talk. On Saturday I am off.

Next blog from Duras!! A bientot!

A New Year's resolution

The UPS guy brought my much-anticipated new Rosetta Stone Francais today. I have resolved to achieve an entry-level proficiency in the language this year. My first step will be with Rosetta Stone, which I have used and enjoyed before. After that I will seek ways to interact with other learners and native speakers, perhaps a week or two of immersion learning is in my future as well . . . My old version of RS, the Italian language, did not have all the bells and whistles of this newest method that combines self-learning exercises with online games and ways to interact with other language learners around the world. I tried the online version of lesson 1 and was pleased to see that not everything has changed--the new "garcon" is the same kid as my Italian "bambino." It'll be nice to revisit these familiar characters as I plug away at a language I studied many years ago, and hope it will all spring back into the forefront of my mind.

I will have a first opportunity to practice a little live Francais when I travel to Brussels for Ale and Flora's wedding in just two weeks. By then I should be able to order a cup of coffee and read some signs--I hope!