Our second year living in France is now two weeks old. This time last year France was in a strict lockdown, time outside was limited and Rochechouart felt like it was asleep. Our initial excitement was very real, but certainly tempered by the restrictions we were facing. So much has changed since then, and certainly... Continue Reading →
Life in our hands
Life is all about making decisions. We make dozens every day. Most of them are small and largely insignificant, but others, like what country would we like to live in are a touch more life changing. Some decisions are out of our hands, but I’ve always been someone who has thought if there’s something you’re... Continue Reading →
Pepper: my new doggo life in Rochechouart
Life has changed for us in many ways, but for us this is only the first time we have found a permanent home in a different country. For our wee dog, Pepper, this is her second such experience. Born five years ago in Serbia, her first year was an awful one resulting in her being... Continue Reading →
Life in the slow lane
When we arrived in France last November our intention was to spend around a month unpacking and settling in before driving back to Edinburgh for Christmas. Heather’s daughter had her 40th birthday in late December so we wanted to celebrate that and enjoy some festive family time. Plus we left most of our furniture and... Continue Reading →
Etsy – it’s not all about the pots and pans
As we didn’t purchase our gite until the beginning of June, we were here for over six months until our attention turned to its readiness for guests. For a large part of that time France was largely locked down, so whilst our focus then was on our new Etsy shop, sourcing stock was made more... Continue Reading →
Rochechouart – une ville fleurie
Over the last few months, with lockdown measures gradually lifting, Rochechouart has begun to come alive. Summer has approached somewhere near normality with everywhere open, and at last August has seen almost a whole month of sunshine. Pavements are adorned with tables and chairs, numerous events and attractions have been open and ‘centre ville’ has... Continue Reading →
Extended Chabaudies and Reverse Laurieres
Our days are now very nicely full. Our gite is fully booked until the beginning of September with our two latest bookings (now that quarantining is no longer required if fully vaccinated) coming from England. Our first seven guests have been and gone, with each one giving us a glowing 5-star review! Changeovers and laundry... Continue Reading →
La Terrasse du Citron – now complete with happy guests
With our first guests arriving last Thursday we had to put in a few late shifts to ensure our beautiful gite was ready. For six weeks we’ve been repairing, rebuilding, refreshing, painting and plastering, searching for new or vintage interior furnishings, doing everything we can to make sure La Terrasse du Citron lived up to... Continue Reading →
The right side of rustic
First things first, let’s get the latest on the weather out of the way. Yesterday, Bastille Day, saw the last of the rain. It has continued to pour, hard. But today has been dry and for the week ahead the forecast is nothing but sun. The rain has been unbelievable, but then we see what’s... Continue Reading →
It might as well rain until September
This is getting a little tedious now. The rain. The never-ending, even though it’s now summer, not just any old rain but heavy, torrential downpours that only come in storms. After living in Scotland together we’ve come a thousand miles south to Rochechouart to discover proper rain. We were told that it was the wettest... Continue Reading →