Gerard Benton Homes

I'll tumble for ya

2009-10-20T12:49:00.000-07:00

When was the last time your doctor made a house call for 60 euro? After a week on my back, recovering from falling down some stairs. I finally contacted a local doctor in Toulouges and within 20 minutes he was at our townhouse. Hello doctor. I had a huge bruise on my derrier(butt), and felt like someone beat the crap out of me, this is after one week of resting me aching bum. My bloodpressure was up from the pain so..... of course out comes the stethoscope to listen to my heart and my husband says cop a little feel and a burning big old shot in the butt. Nothing says France like a little t&a(tits&ass). Well whatever, I am now feeling better, enough to blog about it.

The Little Yellow Train

2009-10-18T04:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went for a trip on the Little Yellow Train. The train leaves from Villefranche de Conflent at 400 meters altitude and goes up the valley to many little villages at 1500+ Meters. There are hot baths at some stops and popular ski resorts at others. The train was one of the first to use engines in several cars instead of just one big engine pulling, and consequently can climb a steeper grade than many trains before. It is a great ride as it crosses the valley several times on high trestle bridges and even one early suspension bridge. The views are spectacular!

We stopped at a village, Mont Louis, that has a solar oven that reaches 2500 C. It is a giant reflector 9 stories high that concentrates the sun's energy on one point. It was completed in 1969! Who knew? The town has buildings dating from 1780 that are in sight of this huge reflector and is also a ski resort in the winter.

Fete d'Olive Redux

2009-10-12T12:30:00.000-07:00

Chris enjoyed the fete for the dancing giants, but I went for the olives (and olive oil). French olives and oil are distinctly different from the more common Italian version and one could taste many different varieties here. It was also a beautiful day at the beach. The beach here is long and deep and, outside of August, not terribly crowded. I think all of the sand on this end of the Mediterranean ended up here, because the beaches further north in the Riviera are almost all rocks.

Today we visited Madam Velarde the Master Ceramicist in Amilie de Bains and started our immersion French lessons in Perpignan. Chanterelles for dinner too.

Fete d'olive

2009-10-11T09:05:00.000-07:00

Today is Sunday, October 11th, 2009. Bill and I went to the Fête de Olive (olive festival) in Canet en Rosselin Plage. It is our first time here, and what a gorgeous sunny day it is. We walked along the promenade next to the mediteranean sea, restaurants and cafes with a cool comforting breeze blowing in our hair. There in an open courtyard by the sea were tables filled with tapenades, olive oils, and black and green olives in marinades, oils etc. along with fresh baked breads, pastries and fresh vegetables for sale. All of a sudden, a parade starts up with giant king and queen figures of around 18-20 feet high. I have only seen this before on t.v. or read about it and it's quite a sight to see dancing figures that tall. All in all, it is a lovely day.

Back in Toulouges again

2009-10-10T10:01:00.000-07:00

It's great to be in Toulouges again. We had a good trip. San Francisco to Frankfurt on United, connecting to Toulouse on Lufthansa and picking up our Europecar for the drive to Toulouges. Murielle & Jean Philippe had the house opened, the water heater on and ice made in the refrigerator. We are lucky they are around. It was marvelous to snuggle up in the big bed and sleep off the jet lag. We've been eating well - pork chops yesterday, and a whole chicken with a medal (trimmed and tied by the butcher) on the rotisserie built into the oven, haricot vert with toasted almonds, and the deserts you see here from the sweet bakery up the street. The little cookies you see are macaroons and melt in your mouth. These 3 are strawberry, chocolate and caramel. They are works of art.

Chris' back went out yesterday and she has been suffering, but it seems to be getting slowly better, so we hope she'll be better by tomorrow. We went to Ceret today for the market, and plan to go to Canet-Rosellin for the Olive Festival tomorrow.

We'll keep you posted.

The Garage, laundry area and 'caves'

2008-11-02T15:46:00.000-08:00

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

2008-10-26T17:48:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-23T08:28:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-22T08:15:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-18T10:10:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-17T08:11:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-11T19:20:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-07T00:01:00.000-08:00

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

2008-03-06T09:27:00.000-08:00

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

2008-03-05T03:54:00.000-08:00

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.

2008-03-03T02:52:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-02-27T21:55:00.000-08:00

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