Blogs from Navarrenx, Aquitaine, France, Europe

To make up for our lack of communication over the last week or so here is a monster entry to bring you all up to date. The House We have finally had an offer excepted on a house in Sauveterre de Bearn (nearly 6 weeks after initially making it) and we are signing the first contract (compromis de vente) on Friday 23rd - the day before we plan to start heading north to come home - typically last minute and french! Anyway after signing this contract the house is still not definitely ours! we have to wait another 7 days which is a cool off period before we can crack the champaigne and start to plan our return. The house itself is based in the centre of Sauveterre de Bearn within walking/staggering distance from all the ... read more

Well as many of you will know I have been left in France whilst Ben goes back to the UK to sort a few things out. So now I have a decent amount of time on my hands I will start to tell all about France. First - yes it is everything I hoped it would be - it is as exasperating, bureaucratic, beautiful, fascinating and incomprehensible (and I don’t mean the language!) as expected. And we have definitely made the right move - especially if the recent UK weather forecasts are correct!! Anyway I have been pestered for more details so here we go - and don’t complain if you are still reading in 20 mins time! The campsite and the town We are on a beautifully kept campsite outside the town of Navarrenx, called ... read more

We have discovered that the cusine in this area of France is heavily duck influenced. We are bombarded every mealtime with more and more fantastic recipies for our feathered friend. They come in all shapes and sizes, from packets to cans, sliced onto salad or converted to the local speciality foie gras, there isn't much that can't be done with a duck. My favourite so far is duck saucisson with a lightly peppered outter layer. They eat duck the same way we would eat chicken in the UK. It is everywhere. Not that I'm complaining, it's just that myself and helen expected to be loosing a little weight around the waist by tucking into fresh veg and salad whilst we camp, however the reality is that the aquatic fowl is adding the pounds left right and ... read more

The word habitable means something along the lines of being able to live in. It seems in France that a habitable house is just that, you can live in it. You can also live in cardboard boxes, tents, mud huts, corrugated iron roofed shanty’s, some would say in some countries you could also live under the stars. All of the latter options would be more suitable than some of the ‘habitable’ houses we have seen. Got to give the immobilliers 'A for effort' in their marketing of these properties. We have however found one or two gems in amongst the merde, so to speak! Though it is quite funny, the French don’t wear their wealth on their sleeves, they won’t normally as a rule spend their money on the finer things in life - cars, furniture, ... read more