Off abroad again

I'll hopefully have some photos to show when I return, but I'm off any minute now :)

where are you going?

philomel, we don't care where you are going.:) Just so as we can come along.:)

Philomel is on the way to France I think :)

Waiting....... for those photos. Hope you have a nice trip.

I sure am hoping your trip is great and gives you everything that you need and deserve.

Hugs, Lani

Oh boy! When DG members travel we get to see the world through their camera's eye! I look forward to seeing the sights when you get back :~) Have a great trip and a safe one.

Hope you are having a grand time but I am now...

Tapping with my fingers,
Tapping with my toes,
Get back home soon
so I don't have to start tapping
with my NOSE...

Philomel, Don't know when to expect you home with some pictures. Hope you have a great time. Donna

Thanks for all your interest everyone :)
I'm just back, will pop some photos up soon

Yes, I went to France again, this time with my daughter and her family. We're planning to move out there and have been looking at areas and starting to get a feel for the properties

Exciting!!!!!

I see there are 8 DG members in France, but no subscribers as yet
Reckon I'll be needing to keep in touch with all you gardeners even more than ever....

WB Hilary. You were missed here!

I can't wait to see your pics. Lani

Salut!

Great to have you back :)

Are you moving to France? Nice :D Which part of the country were you thinking?

Welcome back, Phil! I hope you had a successful expedition.

Sorry Pond - still haven't sorted my photos. Will try to do them tomorrow, though I have a french class to go to lol...

Amities Evert. Sorry, didn't find a flag....again LOL! :(
We're looking at the SW - perhaps around Cahors, though it just depends where a suitable property pops up in the area.

Thanks Weez. We had a great time and covered a LOT of miles, but have learnt a lot and saw 8 properties in 4 of the 7 days we were there. None of them were just right, but close enough to make us feel pretty confident that the right one is lurking there somewhere :)

Oh.. Well, no problem. Maybe the next time you go there? ;)

Hope you find a nice property, with a house made of rocks and old vignoble around it, and maybe some jasmines growing in the yard? :)

Hope so Evert. The stone houses are lovely. One had 150 year old rose bushes and many have all sorts of fruit and nut trees. My ambition is to find one with truffles on the land lol. Mmmm jasmine would be good

When you find a house with all of those and move there, be sure to invite me there ;) Hehe

We plan to have gites/chambres d'hotes, so should have enough room :)

I sure am glad you got back in a hurry because it might have hurt my nose if I had to tap with it. giggle

I guess I should start studying my French again. I took it in high school and only know enough to be dangerous. I think if I asked for the loo location I would end up in a lake. LOL

That's an easy one Lani - les toilettes ;)

Oú est le toilette? :>

Oui. mais c'est lA toilette
Je ne sais pourqoi elle est feminine LOL (mais je peux deviner - il aurait du les hommes qui ont fut les regles!) ;)

Please forgive the lack of accents. I haven't worked out how to find them in Outlook Express - only in Word :(
How do you get yours up Evert?

Of course.. Je never remember les prepositions. :D

I get the accents from my keyboard, they are all showed in Finnish keyboards. ^ ¨ ~ ´ `

Lucky you - looks as if I'll need to invest in a French one, as it's a pain using the character map on my puter :(

Though don't you need more fingers to work your keyboard? ;)
*g*

:D Before that, you could try learning the codes for French letters with accents:


à = Alt + 0224
â = Alt + 0226
ç = Alt + 0231
è = Alt + 0232
é = Alt + 0233
ê = Alt + 0234
ë = Alt + 0235
ï = Alt + 0239
ò = Alt + 0242
ó = Alt + 0243
ô = Alt + 0244
ù = Alt + 0249
ú = Alt + 0250
û = Alt + 0251
œ = Alt + 0156

Pheww.. I hope that was all. :}

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
;)

Thanks I have that on a piece of paper next to my puter, but.................. *g*

Well, gee, that's wonderful............but sure wish you had said stateside.......we sure would love to see ya!!

"eyes"

Yes, Phil. Eyes is right! You should consider moving to a provincial little spot in the US. How about Alaska. In fact, you could stay in our rustic old cabin (just have to move the potting soil and pots out of it). It's 16'x16' with a small sleeping loft. Plenty of room for you and the family! It even has some 'facilities' out back. It even has a bidet in the rainy season. Sorry, no jasmin in the yard... the bears eat it.

lol Weezin. You make it sound soooo inviting.

Man I wish I had paid more attention in French class. But that was about the time I found BOYS. Forget the French when BOYS were involved. giggle

Interesting sidelight? My French teacher was from Spain and my Spanish teacher was from France. I have no idea why they switched them.

I missed all this. I had to look at your threads after you mentioned it this morning.

I record and watch 'A Place in the Sun' every day. France looks fantastic. I also enjoyed the TV programme that finshed recently where a chef moved his family to France for a year.

What about the Dormice that need you?

Thanks "eyes" and Weez.
That offer is particularly tempting Carol, I'd love to take you up on it, but not on a permanent basis *g*

That teacher arrangement sounds a muddle Pond!

I have seen some of those programmes Mark, but the people always are made out to be such idiots in their planning just to make the programme 'interesting'. I'd love to see an honest appraisal one instead of all the panicking.
I missed most of the chef one, though enjoyed the ones I saw. I've owned french cookbooks (including ones in french) for years, as I love the way they do things and treat their fresh ingredients.

I shall be abandoning the hazel dormice (they don't occur in the region I'm going to), but I shall hopefully be getting to know garden dormice :) Equally I hope I WON'T be meeting the edible dormice (other than fattened for eating during the winter) as they can be quite a pest if they venture into the house. However I shall be able to study lots of new spp of bat :-D
And there'll be lots of other new animals to find - like Beech (Stone) Martens and Genets.....

Here's the gite we stayed in in a little hamlet called Simon, near Domme.

Getting the car in and out without disappearing down the hillside was something of a challenge. The drop is just off camera right LOL

are you planning to buy a traditional building with huge attic and old beams?

Those are the ones we're looking at most - but it depends if we can find one with the right accommodation and land

Here's one fifteenth century place we looked at on 10 acres. Unfortunately these would have been the gites and the house was 1950's ****

I loved the tiled floors inside

and the outside walls at the back were unbelievable

But this is the sort of place I'd love
It didn't have much land with it unfortunately and needed a lot doing to it as well, but the view when you opened those upstairs shutters was stunning

Oh, Phil, what an adventure! I love the photos! I'm glad you're contemplating this venture with some young folks to offer strong backs and enthusiasm! If it were me, I'd be looking for some vigorous old Frenchman with a well-worn carpenter's apron or a thick wallet! You could pull out that French cookbook and ply him with some down-mason cooking!

LOL Weez.

Hilary, I love the photos too. What an adventure you are on in your quest for the "perfect place" for your family to live. I wish I could travel in your pocket with ya so I could see it firsthand.

It sounds like you will be getting to know a whole new set of critters in your new home and that is exciting in itself. But "edible dormice"???? Poor little things don't stand a chance if they are squidgy or don't these get squidgy?