The Garage, laundry area and 'caves'

The garage takes up a large portion of the ground floor. It is entered through huge heavy double doors to the street and doors from the entry hall and the den. The garage has a closet and a large armoire for storage of cleaning and maintenance supplies. It also has a laundry area with a washer/dryer, iron and ironing board. There are locking, private storage areas for each owner and a community wine rack for everyone to take from when needed and add special vin ordinaire finds to share. There are also 2 bikes to enjoy the bicycle paths in the area, or ride to market.

The Rear Bedroom

This bedroom is also very large. It boasts another huge bed with luxury linens and 2 duvets for all season comfort. There are bedside tables and lamps a dresser and amoire, as well as a corner storage unit with bookcase. The room is carpeted and has two windows, nice art and an antique mirror set in a small alcove.

Master Bedroom

The Master bedroom has a beautiful wood floor, beam and wood paneled ceiling and a huge bed. It is furnished with side tables with lamps, a dresser and an amoire. There is great view from the double-pane window and a large corner closet with plenty of room for linens as well as empty suitcases and tons of clothes. The bed has 2 duvets for any season and is equiped with luxury linens. Our wonderful housekeeper Murielle washes and irons the bedlinens and towels weekly.

Entertainment Center

We gave a great deal of thought to the entertainment center. While some owners (or their children) may use it more more than others, it was important to have options. The house has 2 terrestial antennas, one for French stations and one pointed towards Spain that picks up the Spanish channels. It also has a satellite dish and a British SkyBox that receives all the 'free to air' English channels (over 100). There is a DVD player that also provides full 5.1 surround sound. The whole system is anchored by a Media Center computer connected to a 40" plasma TV. You can check your e-mail using the wireless mouse and keyboard. The broadband internet connection is through France Telecom's LiveBox which also provides the telephone service with free international long distance. Enjoy!

Complete Redecoration

Notre Maison dans Toulouges has been completely redecorated and painted from top to bottom. Today I'll talk about the livingroom. Of course the stone and brick has been left exposed, but the plastered surfaces have been painted an ash white. The floor is tile and the the ceiling is wood above the centuries old hand hewn beams. The windows are classic French windows with working shutters on the outside of the 2 foot thick walls. The shutters can be adjusted appropriately for the weather and time of day. This house was comfortable in all seasons long before modern heating and cooling became available.

New website-reactivated blog

It's good to be back online with the blog. We have just returned from the second 3 week trip to Toulouges to prepare Notre Maison and I have much to report. I'll try to do this in several short postings so they aren't overwhelming. We have painted, furnished and supplied the house to an extremely high standard. With the help of our Decorator Mark Howorth, the place looks fantastic. The picture is a new one of the livingroom. This large room is comfortable for relaxing, big enough for entertaining and great for just watching the French or Spanish terrestial TV, the British satellite, or anything you can get on the web. That's it for now, we'll add again tomorrow.

Bill & Chris

Back in the US of A

We are back in Oakland after a mostly uneventful flight from Paris via Frankfurt. I say mostly because at our departure time, CDG airport was experiencing very high winds and they had to hold our flight for a break in the wind. Actually it ended up being a remarkably smooth takeoff, but I think a large number of passengers were having a serious chat with their higher power.

This is another photo of the living room. You can see the brick and stone detail as well as the tile floor. It feels much "warmer" than your classic stone walls.

Travel to Paris

This is another view of the living room. I also forgot to point out one of my favorite details in the kitchen photo posted yesterday. That is the small window you can just barely see on the right of the picture that looks from the kitchen down the entry staircase so a person in the kitchen can greet arriving guests.

Today, regretfully, we take the TGV High speed train back to Paris. It is a 3 hour and 15 minute trip and from a door to door basis is faster than flying. The train is so fast it feels like you are flying. Sometimes it parallels the highway and you can easily observe how much faster you are going than the cars travelling at 130km+. More to come from Paris.

Our date with the Notaire

Today was a busy day. In the morning we met a carpenter and an air conditioning engineer at the house to get an estimate for building 12 lockers in the garage to be used as personal storage for each owner and suggestions regarding how the house might be air-conditioned.

Later, we had our meeting with the notaire to sign the compromise de vente, or agreement to purchase. Bureaucracy is a French word, and the process of buying a house is a perfect example. Every page must be translated and explained by the Notaire and then signed by both of us. There are termite reports, asbestos reports, global warming efficiancy reports and lead reports. Our house passed with flying colors, but we were exhausted.

Visit to the Med

I've included another photo of the house. This is the livingroom. It's 6.5 meters by 5.6 meters (21x18 feet). This is the current owners furniture which will be upgraded significantly.

Anyway, yesterday we visited Collioure and other villages nestled on the coast very close to the Spanish border. They are beautiful hillside villages surrounded by terraced vineyards. The temperature had dropped today to 45F or so and the wind was blowing hard. We watched some French military guys launching kayaks (made by Bic, of course) into the cold chop. Better them than me! This was a great little day trip, maybe 40 minutes from Toulouges to a small artist colony full of wonderful restaurants and shops.

We had dinner with our friends Mike & Hazel (Brits who have settled here and are active in a English-French Club that sponsors immersian French for English speakers and English for French speakers). We had an excellant meal at a place whose name translates as "The bone on the table" which doesn't sound as romantic in English. It was a first class dinner that looked too pretty to eat but wasn't and lasted 3 hours! A great time was had by all.

Well, we have a new fractional house. 18 rue Jean Jaures is in Toulouges, near Perpignan. It is an almost 1300 sq.ft. stone & brick village house with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms; and it's gorgeous. The rooms are huge by French standards and it has a small patio in back for barbecue and relaxation. There is a large garage, plenty of storage (we'll make some private for each owner) and it has many architectural details.

We're getting a new home!

Well everybody, after looking at literally dozens of properties, we will probably be making an offer today on a new Gerard Benton Fractional Home in Toulouges, France near Perpignan. Woo Hoo! More (including photos) soon.
Bill & Chris