SPRING BLOOMS ON THE TERRACE: MAY, 2019

While hunting for our retirement home in France, we knew that we wanted to be in a village, a village with a bakery, with a place to buy milk and eggs. Maybe a butcher. Bread trucks are fine for some. Not for us. And we didn't want to have to climb into a car just because we ran out of butter. Restaurant? Nice but not necessary. Cash point?  Petrol station? Nice but...

The house itself needed to have a place for me to hide...I mean, to work. And separate living and dining spaces so that Cathey could cook without having to entertain at the same time. In other words, no 'open plan' combination living/dining room with a kitchen corner.

Finally, there needed to be outside space. Not a communal courtyard or a piece of sidewalk commandeered for personal use. A private garden or a terrace, thank you. Attached. The idea of a plot on the edge of town on which to grow veggies is an interesting European concept but not sufficient to our needs.

In the end, we found exactly what we wanted. A house on a pedestrian walkway with no through auto traffic. A baker and two butchers and shops and a bar/restaurant all just a few meters away. Cathey has a nice salon on a different floor than the kitchen. I have an 'office' on the top floor and out of the way. No cash point and no petrol station, but so what?

And a terrace. Cathey says that she's only just begun to configure it to her liking. I like it just fine but then, I'm a guy.

Spring cleaning in progress. Not our house but caught my eye on one of my walks around town as did the following.