LE STEAK FAIL

I have said it before, not all comes up smelling like Roses when you move to a different country. No matter what images your mind conjures up when you dream about Cheese, Croissants or Michelin dining, France has it's fair share of crap restaurants as well. Just as any other country. 

It's just that crap stands out more over here in France, since all you see when dreaming about moving here, is the great images of fresh food markets or TV Shows about La Grande Bouffe en France. (Has anyone seen this movie from 1973?)

Unfortunately 95% of all restaurants close after lunch to give their staff a break (and for sure save on labor costs) before they reopen for dinner service.

Our meeting one day ran late and at the restaurant we wanted to eat at, well, the Chef already cleaned his knifes and wanted to go home for a nap. Well deserved.

"Essayez Le Buff", the waitress casually told us on the way out, they for sure are open all day. And I thought she liked us. We are the ones with the mignon accent when ordering, remember? Not to mention my Canadian sized tip...

Anyway. Buffalo Grill is a french chain of what they perceive an American steakhouse to be. It just seems it was thought up in 1984 and never updated since. the decor is hard core red vinyl with brass accents all around, you know that shiny gold brass. 

The food, the food. Outback on it's worst day serves a better piece of red meat than Buffalo Grill any day.

On the ill informed waitress' advise I ordered a Charolais entrecote, which to my shock was brutal. Tough, with zero flavor. Twenty Euro bucks. 

If I were French and dine at Buffalo Frill,  my image of America would be ruined to no end. Stale popcorn, Iceberg lettuce with Kraft dressing, frozen french fries a la Sysco, all that served without a smile. NOT American. Not at all.

BUFFALO GRILL

TOUS ROUGE

WOULD A COWBOY ORDER A COUPE MOJITO?

WITH CALIFORNIA RED!

NEEDED LOTS OF THOSE SPICES.

TRES CHIC

20.00 EURO FAIL

HARICOTS VERTS  BIEN CUIT

BENNIGAN'S CA. 1984

NON, MERCI

AND THEN, A DISASTER

When in mid February, and one month after we signed up to purchase a home a two week cold spell happened, I emailed the realtor to please turn on the heat in the house to avoid damages.

We would not take possession until March 15th anyway, yet it was a frigid two week long cold, let me tell. This area is not used to minus ten temps,nor equipped to handle it for it to last two weeks. I just wanted to be prudent.

The realtor however was on his annual skiing holiday and did not get my mail until it was too late.By the time he inspected the house, five radiators exploded, leaking some massive liquids all over those gorgeous hardwood floors.

Copper pipes burst, joints separated, and it was a miserable day when we went to see the damages for ourselves. 

So many questions, was there insurance in place? Who in the end has to cover the repairs, how long would repairs take, etc., etc. 

Our realtor is in a league of his own. Within a few days he had an emergency plumber come out to stop further damages, organised a quote and set up a meeting with the plumber who'd sort out the mess.

He contacted the owner, who initially tried to get out of it all together as the house was in Escrow, but the realtor made it very clear to him that the house is not in the same condition anymore as when we agreed to purchase it.

Two weeks later, two weeks to go before closing, all is well and the house will be put back together to it's original state. An exercise I would not want to go through again though.

LA MAISON

When we first decided to spend the winter in France, we played with the thought of staying for good if we'd like it enough.

You know, find a country home, garden, pool, some space for rent to holiday makers and lead the dream french life we read in books such as a Year in Provence, or read on Blogs about.

Well after having looked at dozens of those country properties over the course of three month, both renovated or still in their raw stages, we quickly realized that in the end, life for us is in town, not down some country lane, 5 miles from the nearest grocery shop.

 Many people do like it though and I have to be honest, Victoria realized it way before me. And like a good commercial she kept chipping away at my subconscious mind with her "Let's look at town homes" comment almost daily.

One day, after looking at yet another romantic acreage property in a big field with a realtor who's office is based in Jarnac, we walked the streets of that town discussing the last miss of a property. Will we ever find one we can agree on? What if not? Back to Canada? 

At which depressing moment Victoria pointed out a For Sale sign in a shop window. But I am not looking for a shop, I am not looking for a townhouse, I want a pool. Keep walking.

Women have a tendency of being persistent to an annoying point, but what the heck, the listing realtor's office was only a few hundred yards down the road.

A french Realtor....who as if waiting for Victoria, happened to have the keys for the property. Yes, he even would have time to show it to us, if we want.  The rest is history.  We told the realtor we'd get back to him soon if we would want to see the property again.

The ride back to Villenouvelle was unusually quiet for the first 30 minutes, normally we'd quarrel about Victoria's refusal to see my point on the last property she'd refuse to even consider, though it was a perfect place for me.

Could it be, that a four story townhouse with a commercial space and an attic to develop into holiday apartments is what we'd want? Yes, the floors are amazing, 10ft ceilings are nothing to sneeze at, huge upside at an attractive price? But where am I going to have my afternoon swim with Isabella? In the public pool with my Speedo?

We decided to lay low for 24 hours and then go back for a second look later in the week. And yes, it turned out to be the property it shall be for us.

So as of today, March 15th, we own a property in France. Exciting times, plus plenty of stuff to blog about. Since I am running out of good things to talk about anyway.

Renovations and all it's pitfalls,  a new kitchen for experimenting, a holiday apartment for you to visit and eat gluten free dinners with us. 

Stay tuned.

ENTREE

BUILT IN 1849

ENTRANCE

VIEW FROM THE TOP

WELL SIZED ROOMS

WOOD PANELED DINING ROOM

HALLWAYS

VICTORIA'S FUTURE FAVORITE SPOT

STILL NEEDS A KITCHEN

SO MANY WINDOWS

ORIGINAL FIREPLACE FROM LATE 1800'S

IN THE VERY BACK IS THE KITCHEN

ONE OF FOUR FIREPLACES

THE ATTIC

VIEWS ACROSS THE ROOF TOPS

AND MORE VIEWS

RENO COMPANY WANTED

GREAT SPACE FOR FUTURE HOLIDAY APARTMENTS

SCARY. LOOK BEYOND THE ROUGH STUFF

FIRST APPLIANCE VICTORIA BOUGHT. ON SALE, DUE TO SIZE...