Insights into the French way of life and European travels by an Australian living in the Loire Valley
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Sworn Translation – Traduction assermentée
For all sworn/certified translations from English to French and French to English, click on Sworn Translation in the menu under the photo at the top of the page-
Loire Valley Accommodation!
Stay in our beautiful 400-year old Renaissance house in the Loire Valley. Click on Gîte Loire Valley above. Accommodates 2 to 4 adults. 3-night minimum stay.-
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Recent Posts
- A-Tisket A-Taskat and Tea for Three
- Weekly Blogger Round-Up: Monumental Churches in Charente Maritime – Villa Romana del Casale – Malbork Castle in Poland
- The Secret Châteaux of the Loire Valley – Langeais, Villesavin, Montpoupon & Beauregard
- The Truffle Fair
- Weekly Blogger Round-Up – All About France with Lou Messugo
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Category Archives: Renovation
A Mock-Up of the Little House
You may remember our poultry yard dilemma that got in the way of our project to renovate our “little house” to make a gîte (self-catering holiday rental accommodation). We thought we might have to drop the idea altogether. The next … Continue reading
Back Home in Blois to a Broken Weather Vane
We pick up our car at the long-term parking lot near Orly Airport at 10.30 pm after our flight back from Malaga and drive the two hours back to Blois with no mishaps. Closerie Falaiseau is safe and sound with no … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Closerie Falaiseau, Life in France, Renovation
Tagged repairing a weather vane
16 Comments
Our New Office
It’s not really an office. That’s the word Jean Michel uses in French; it means a place next to the kitchen or dining room in which the table service is prepared. Well, it’s sort of that. I would call it … Continue reading
News on the Home Front
It’s now four weeks since we moved to Blois. All the boxes are unpacked (except those in storage such as Christmas decorations and things that we’re not sure where to put or may never use again). I finally found the exercise book … Continue reading
Posted in Closerie Falaiseau, Country living, Renovation
Tagged moving house, traductrice assermentée
18 Comments
Blois Chambord Cycling Itinerary 11 & 11bis
Most of our time in Blois seems to be spent frantically gardening, restoring fireplaces and making laundries, but this time, I’ve checked the weather report and Thursday looks as though it will be bright and sunny. We have breakfast in … Continue reading
A Laundry in a French House No Less! #1
We’ve set aside two weeks to make a laundry at Closerie Falaiseau. Like most French houses, it doesn’t have one. I’ve talked about this before. In fact, Jean Michel has already drilled a 10 cm diameter hole through a 70 … Continue reading
Friday’s French – travaux
This is going to be a very short post because we are up to our necks in travaux. Travaux, the plural of travail is, interestingly enough, from the low Latin trepalium, instrument of torture, derived from the Latin tres, three, … Continue reading
Posted in French language, Renovation, Uncategorized
Tagged Friday's French, travaux in English
6 Comments
Weekly Blogger Round-Up: Renovating a château – Visiting Southern Italy – No pants in the Paris metro
Welcome to this week’s Blogger Round-Up. Three posts caught my eye immediately this week. The first, by Janine Marsh from The Good Life France, tells the story of an Australian couple who have bought a château in the south of … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, France, French customs, Italy, Paris, Renovation, Uncategorized
Tagged no-pants metro, renovating a château in France, southern italy
4 Comments
Rethinking our projects in the Loire
I was very encouraged by all the sympathetic comments on the post I wrote a couple of weeks ago called War declared by next-door neighbours. Thank you for your support. I have to confess that I have been depressed ever … Continue reading
Making the Most of Spring in Blois
I don’t know how it got to be 10th March when just a couple of days ago, it was still February. All that R&R we were supposed to have this week doesn’t seem to have happened. Even though the fireplace … Continue reading
