Issue No. 13

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Beginning French... by Les Americains Marty and Eileen Neumeier from California reveal how they fell in love with a house and life in the Dordogne even though they live thousands of miles away. They and their daughter Sara say it’s worth every minute of the effort to get there each year and they’ve even written a truly inspiring book about it... The couple unlocks the French doors and walk onto the stone terrace. Their bodies are stiff, achy, jetlagged. They’ve just endured the 27- hour ritual in which they drag heavy bags from house to car, car to shuttle, shuttle to plane, plane to plane, plane to taxi, taxi to train, train to car, and car to old stone house—the house that waits patiently all autumn, winter, and spring. They collapse on wicker chairs and stare into the distance. The air is warm. The first stars make their shy appearance. The woman gets up, her chair creaking. She disappears into the house and returns with a bottle of pale rosé, sets one glass here, one there. After a long pause, she says: “I’m not sure I can do this anymore.”
The man nods. “It’s impossible.” They sit, taking small sips as the stars grow bolder and more numerous. A bat zigzags through wooden columns that strain to support a roof heavy with old tiles. The breeze carries the scent of burning vines. “Of course,” the woman says, “I always say that. Then we get here, we come out onto the terrace, and I remember why.” The man turns his head. “You know—why we do it,” she says. “Why we pack up our clothes, our computers, the dogs, everything. Why we close up our house in California and hire strangers to watch over it.” “Why do we?” “Because of this,” she says, with an inclusive gesture. “This landscape. This fragrance. This view. As soon as we get here I start to forget all the effort and pain. And then I never want to leave.” The man raises his eyebrows. “I think we should write a book about this,” she says. “I think we should write a book about this part of France, about our friends, our neighbors, about Sara, this house, about learning French. About this.” The woman drains her glass and places it on the table. “Same way we do everything,” she says, her smile a miniature Milky Way. “You’ll drive and I’ll navigate.” He reaches for her hand. They laugh. They walk into the house, where the jetlag and the wine and the fragrance of the night overtake them. For the record, my name is Marty and my wife is Eileen. We’re Americans. But here’s the thing: if we could introduce ourselves to all of our 320 million neighbors in all of our 50 states, no one would call us Americans. We would simply be Marty and Eileen. Yet in this part of France, no one would call us anything but les Américains. Why? Because there are no others. We’ve looked. Aside from the French, we see quite a few English. In the summer we hear a smattering of Dutch. While the Dutch may simply be taking advantage of the cheap flights out of Rotterdam, the Brits have a historic claim on the place. They lost it in the Hundred Years’ War. And now, six hundred years later, it’s as if they’re quietly buying it back, bit by bit, hoping no one will notice. They gaze across the field. A light goes on in the next hamlet over. The sky has become a sea of stars. The Milky Way is the heavenly wake of some huge ocean liner, passing silently millions of miles overhead. “Both of us?” says the man. “Why not?” “How can two people write a book?”
Page 1:
16 great prizes to win _
Page 4 and 5:
Contributors Brian Beard is a write
Page 6 and 7:
Page 62 Page 55 Page 84 Page 64 62
Page 8 and 9:
10 Brilliant Book Nooks in Paris lo
Page 10 and 11:
La Belle Hortense Berkeley Books Th
Page 12 and 13:
American writer in Paris Barbara Pa
Page 14:
Artazart Artazart first caught my e
Page 18 and 19:
Credit Sarah Sergent, Paris Tourist
Page 20 and 21: Full on glamour and Bobo treats Thi
Page 22 and 23: A captivating Corner of Paradise Ha
Page 24 and 25: A young woman came out of the house
Page 26 and 27: In the summer the cows go higher up
Page 28: In a seaside resort with an English
Page 31 and 32: Historic and very very chic Le Touq
Page 33 and 34: Left: Le Touquet at Christmas; abov
Page 36 and 37: The Chateau de Brissac is a private
Page 38 and 39: Clockwise from top left: Sitting ki
Page 40 and 41: Micro Provence: Parc Naturel Régio
Page 42 and 43: Les Alpilles So it is with Les Alpi
Page 44 and 45: Les Baux de Provence Continuing sou
Page 46 and 47: It may be a hidden gem in the Frenc
Page 48 and 49: Not only was the ski in, ski out a
Page 50 and 51: Paris Mon Amour Author Mark Pryor w
Page 52 and 53: Credit Doug Crawford In every sense
Page 55 and 56: The Belle of the French Author Patr
Page 57 and 58: One imagines the author peering out
Page 59 and 60: Of all the narratives that make up
Page 62 and 63: Magical Musical Moments at Saint-Ch
Page 64 and 65: Carcassonne, the p Karen Slater, Fr
Page 66 and 67: French Caviar a la Carte Caviar is
Page 68 and 69: SPotligHt on BLAYE spotlight on bla
Page 72: But that doesn’t explain why we
Page 75 and 76: I also visited nearby Saint Simeon
Page 77 and 78: Above left: Susans's home in Ile de
Page 79 and 80: we're giving away 16 Great Prizes o
Page 81 and 82: A fantastic foodie gift - Fine Fren
Page 83 and 84: A truly inspiring book about an Ame
Page 85: september - mont st michel By Danie
Page 89 and 90: Expat in France Susan Hays shares t
Page 91 and 92: our dream house... and then I got t
Page 93 and 94: Find your dream home in La Rochelle
Page 95 and 96: How did you come to be in France? I
Page 97 and 98: FIND YOUR DREAM HOME IN HAUTE-VIENN
Page 99 and 100: 'Bugsy' as he is nicknamed continue
Page 101 and 102: Above and left: The Burrows rental
Page 103: FIND YOUR DREAM HOME IN DORDOGNE Th
Page 106 and 107: Says Tim Sage, property expe Buying
Page 108 and 109: Looking after elderly relatives in
Page 111 and 112: What to do with your UK Pension whe
Page 114 and 115: © Sergio Coimbra, from Pierre Herm
Page 116 and 117: Perfect for parties, these gorgeous
Page 118 and 119: Tartiflette Savoyarde with Reblocho
Page 120 and 121:
See Page 66 to find out more about
Page 122:
My Good Life France As I sit here w
show all

Issue No. 13

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?