m&m&boo

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Thankfully the house in Sourzac fit our needs nicely. It was an old farm, with a grange and on the River L'Isle.

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Chasing a lead on a house further north in the Dordogne we spent the night at an aire in the village of Sourzac. The aire sat across the road from a medieval church that had been sacked by the Vikings in the 10th century. This part of the Dordogne is dominated by the River L'Isle.

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Next stop was the Dordogne market town of Le Bugue. This town has a brilliant market that has been going for centuries. We checked out some houses to rent but no luck. Next....

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After finding it very hard to find a house for rent in the Limousin we headed south to the Dordogne. First stop was lunch in the river village of Terrasson-Lavilledieu

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As we headed further into the Limousin the weather got colder. We stayed the night in the higher altitude of Bugeat at another fantastic municipal camp site. The next morning we awoke to a light dusting of snow. All very nice..... But in Spring?!?

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One of. Houses that we inspected was in a tiny hamlet named Lune, not far from Aubusson. Looks gorgeous doesn’t it. And that’s the problem with a lot of these houses in France. That look amazing…..until you go inside. One of the delights of this one was that there was no plumbing to the kitchen so Yu had to keep a bucket under the sink and keep emptying it. Very rustic!! The immobilier didn’t have an answer when MB asked about a dishwasher…. Looking at houses can be exhausting. On one occasion we pulled over to the side of the road in the middle of the forest and jumped into bed for a couple of hours….because we could

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Next stop the village of Felletin in the Creuse. After a wander around the village we found a campsite that was open on the edge of a lake. This used to be the municipal campsite for Felletin that had been closed down. A British couple purchased and renovated it. Of all the campsites that we’ve stayed this would have to have. Been the most peaceful. You really got a sense that you were watching everything wake up after Winter. MARKB, of course, cooked up a storm 🍲

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That night we made our way to a spot that we discovered last year. This is a free camp spot for camping cars overlooking Lac de Vassiviere, near the village of Peyrat Le Chateau. Last year we missed out on a spot and had to pay to use the campsite next door. This year we were early (in the day and in the season) and nabbed the prime location.

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The first house that we checked out was a cottage in the village of Soussac. We didn't end up returning for an inspection of the interior. Although it was a nice cottage and with a stunning view, Soussac (although a little gem of a village) seemed like it had been deserted with all the shops closed and being a long way to the Nearest boulangerie (essential!!) we decided to continue searching.

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After checking out all the immobiliers in Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat we had a wander around this beautiful town which has a old quarter at the top of the hill and an even older one down the bottom near the river

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After heading East from Bordeaux in search of a new home our first night was spent in a camping ground in a small village of the Haute Vienne named Chateauneuf de Floret. Boo found the night temperatures a bit challenging......for Spring!

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With another beautiful morning in the Village Du Lac It’s time to leave Bordeaux and head off in search of a house to rent.

We bid farewell to our PETITE chalet and trade in our Fiat 500L for a rental camping car that the dealer has rented us until our new camping car (apparently named Eleanor…..of Aquitaine!?!……try wiki if you haven’t heard of her) is ready.

As you can see by the pic MB brought along back up transportation.

Now in advance I have to warn you that there is very little planning involved in our search for a house. After months of searching online for houses in the Limousin, the Charente, the Dordogne and thereabouts we’re a little concerned by the apparent lack of rentals in the French countryside. We’re hoping that there are more available on a local level and are planning to drive around and drop into real estate agents as we go. Should be interesting…..

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Next…..Buy a camping car…✔️✔️ Meet the newest member of the family. We pick her up in three weeks. 🚐

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Sunday in France is VERY quiet. Boo and I took a walk along the canal near our chalet. I really need to work on my selfie technique!!

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After an afternoon siesta we've just woken up to find that Spring has finally made an appearance...☀️

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So after a six hour drive south Boo finally had her first night on France at the Village Du Lac just outside of Bordeaux. This site is a truly beautiful spot and has a range of chalets built around a series of man made lakes. The lakes are inhabited by a family of ducks and some seriously well fed fish.

We’ve decided to stay here for two weeks and it’s turned out to be very important to have somewhere nice to come home to. Moving from France to Australia is definitely not for the faint hearted!!! Despite a year of Rosetta Stone my French is still a LONG way from where it needs to be.

We’ve managed to open a bank account so bravo to us! However the fact that Credit Agricole has an English speaking service and they provided an interpreter to assist with opening our account may have had some impact on how smoothly the process went.

We’ve also been looking for a camping car to buy. We visited one that we found online and will probably try and buy it. Although it sounds odd to buy the first one that you look at, our friend Felix accompanied us on the inspections and carried out all of the negotiations. Without him we would have been in a whole heap of trouble and, unfortunately we can’t expect Felix to join us on all future visits.

Our final objective for the first week was to get my application for a Carte Sejour or Residency Permit started. I tried calling the local prefecture and, after trying to work my way through the longest automated menu I’ve ever experienced I’m not sure where I landed but there was definitely no one human to talk to……in French or English. Unfortunately you can’t visit the prefecture without a pre arranged appointment which is organised via (somewhere in) the phone menu. I bit of a problem but we’ll find our way. Right now there is a glass of Bordeaux that requires my full attention…..

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Unfortunately Boo's trip was not a nice as ours. Jetpets made a mistake with the paperwork so her flight was delayed by a day. And after 24 hours travelling she didn't recognise us for a few seconds when we collected her at the Customs Hall in Paris. However she quickly hit her stride. The first priority after a six hours drive to Bordeaux was a shower because she absolutely ponged!! And then Boo went for her first walk in France. ...With Boo's arrival our move to France suddenly felt very real.